East Hardy senior Levi Price was listed as a wide receiver and defensive back on the official North roster, but stepped into perfection nailing all four point after touchdown kicks to help elevate the Bears to a 34-7 victory over the South Cardinals in the 50th Annual North-South All-Star Football Classic in South Charleston.
Price was called on for the kicking duties just as he had been all season for the Cougars and rightfully so, as his foot hammered the kick out of the stadium firing through the uprights.
These all-star teams had the opportunity to reside on the West Virginia State University campus for the entire week of practice leading up to the contest.
It was more than just a football week as the players toured the Capitol building, participated in a parade for their honor, went bowling and swimming among other activities.
One of the best traditions of the North-South Football Classic was the decal sticker exchange among the team members.
Price collected decals from nearly every school on the team, but kept them off the helmet for game day to preserve them for better future keepsakes.
“Being selected to the North-South team was a huge honor and something I was very proud of. I really enjoyed the entire experience, especially getting to meet players from across the state and compete alongside them,” East Hardy senior Levi Price commented.
“My favorite part of the week was building friendships and learning from the coaches. The decal trading tradition was a lot of fun and I received stickers from most of the teams that were represented. It was also special to be coached by former East Hardy alum Donny Evans and represent East Hardy on such a big stage. The best advice I received was to give maximum effort, trust the work you’ve put in, and enjoy every moment because opportunities like this don’t come around often. It was definitely a special experience and I’m grateful to have been a part of it.”
Price was joined by a plethora of fellow Potomac Valley Conference representatives, including East Hardy alum and current Hampshire Football coach Donny Evans who was one of the North Bears assistant coaches and former all-star player as a Cougar.
Hampshire’s Andrew Loy won the North National Football Foundation Scholarship and Trojans teammates Landon Eversole received one of the North WVSACA scholarship awards.
Pendleton County Cheer senior Kaitlyn McQuain was named the recipient of the North Barb Brunetti Memorial Scholarship Award.
Keyser was represented on the North roster by Owen Rotruck and Grayson Lambka.
Keyser Wrestling coach Colin Rotruck was honored as the WVSACA State Wrestling Coach of the Year during a special ceremony at the North-South All-Star Football Classic.
Just down the road, the 30th Annual North-South All-Star Basketball Classic was held.
East Hardy Boys Basketball coach Chris Hahn was selected to be a North Bears coach along with Spring Mills coach Shannon Layton.
“North-South was a good time. I enjoyed the players, getting to know them and watch them compete. The entire experience was really good. [PVC players] They were fun to coach. They did a big deal about it, had a parade and it was good,” North Bears coach Chris Hahn stated.
The South Cardinals defeated the North Bears 126-81 in the 30th edition of the North-South All-Star Boys Basketball Classic.
There were several Potomac Valley Conference representatives on the boys squad including Frankfort’s Jeremy Phillips, who won the North MVP trophy with a team-high 22 points, Petersburg’s Kaleb Kuhn, Keyser’s Braylon McGreevy and Pendleton County’s Chase Owens.
The South Cardinals Girls Basketball team completed the sweep over the North Bears with an 80-78 win.
PVC representatives for the North Girls team were: Tucker County’s Makenna Evans and Hampshire’s Della Knight.
