2015 ALL-STAR GAME FACTS & FIGURES (And Ironies)

1.     The South now leads the overall North-South series 12-9-1. The South leads the current North-South series 4-1.

2.     The South has won four straight games. The four-game winning streak matches the longest previous South winning streak (four games from 1976 to 1979).

3.     Players and coaches representing 77 school and 27 conferences participated in the 2015 All-Star Game.

4.     Largest and smallest schools represented in 2015:

Largest =    Eden Prairie (2,845)

Smallest =  Grand Meadow (enrollment 94)

5.     First time representatives in 2015:

East Ridge, Kelliher/Northome, Maple Lake, Mesabi East

6.     Welcome back! In 2015, these schools had player representatives in the All-Star Football Game for the first time in more than 10 years:

Cloquet (2000), Columbia Heights (2001), Crosby-Ironton (2002), St. Francis (2002), Stewartville (2004)

7.     South assistant coach Terry Arduser was the first All-Star Game representative from Madelia High School since Steve Hodapp (South) in 1961. This is a span of 54 years and 42 All-Star games, which is the longest span in All-Star Game history. Note: the Madelia/Truman co-op program did have one representative (player) in 1995.

8.     Game records: 

·         TIED RECORD: most 2-point conversions in one game (both teams combined) = 2

Both the North and South teams scored a 2-point conversion (2 total), tying the All-Star Game record for most 2-point conversions in one game. This also occurred in 1986 and 2014. This is the first time that two 2-point conversions have been scored in consecutive All-Star games.

9.     Most Valuable Player Awards:

·         The North Defensive MVP award won by Derek Porozinski (Park Rapids, DL) is the first for a Park Rapids player. It is the fifth MVP Award for a player from the Heart O’Lakes Conference (second in two years).

·         The North Offensive MVP award won by John Santiago (St. Francis, RB) was the first for a St. Francis player. It is the second MVP Award for a player from the Mississippi 8 Conference (also 2013).

·         The South Offensive MVP award won by Connor Watts (Mankato West, WR) is the second for a Mankato West player (also Aaron Richter in 2009). It is the 12th for a player from the Big 9 Conference (first since 2012).

·         The South Defensive MVP award won by Jacob Johnson (Blue Earth Area, LB) was the first for a Blue Earth Area player. It is the first for a player from the Big South Conference.

10.  The safety recorded by Derek Porozinski (Park Rapids) was only the sixth safety in All-Star Game history and the first since 2001 (Outstate All-Stars).

11.  Mankato West contributions:

·         Two Mankato West players (QB Ryan Schlichte and WR Connor Watts) both scored touchdowns for the South All-Stars. This is historically significant because:

o    Mankato West becomes only the second school to have two players score touchdowns in one All-Star Game. The only other occurrence was White Bear Lake in 2000 (QB Mark Jansen and RB Lambert Brown).

o    Mankato West becomes only the fourth school to have two players score points in one All-Star game. The others are White Bear Lake (2000), East Grand Forks (2005) and Eden Prairie (2005).

·         The 16-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Schlichte to Connor Watts (both from Mankato West) was only the second All-Star Game touchdown pass where the passer and receiver were high school teammates. This also occurred in 2005 (quarterback Nick Mertens and receiver Nate Rambeck, both from East Grand Forks).

·         Ryan Schlichte (South, Mankato West, QB) became the ninth player to score at least one touchdown and throw at least one touchdown pass in the All-Star Game. This was last accomplished in 2014 (by Nick Rooney, South, Minnetonka). This is the first time that this has occurred in two consecutive All-Star games since 1986 and 1987.

·         How many All-Star players have all of the following honors: All-State, State Football Champion and All-Star Game MVP Award winner?

Connor Watts (South, Mankato West, WR) becomes the 12th All-Star player to have all of the above honors.

The last was Anthony Anderson (South, Eden Prairie, RB) in 2014.

12.  Patrick LaCorre (PK, South, Edina) kicked one PAT. He becomes the third kicker from Edina to score place kick points in the All-Star Game. Edina joins Grand Meadow as the only schools to have three different place kickers score points in the All-Star Game.

Also, LaCorre’s PAT was the only point scored by place kick in the 2015 All-Star Game. This is first time since 1995 (and the ninth time overall) that only one place kick point was scored in the All-Star Game. The previous years were 1958, 1959, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1993 and 1995).

13.  The 2015 All-Star Game was the second game to have three players from State championship teams score points, tied for the most in All-Star Game history:

Connor Watts, WR Mankato West, South (1 TD catch, 16 yards)

Ryan Schlichte, QB Mankato West, South (1 TD run, 4 yards)

Will Rains, RB, Eden Prairie, South (1 TD run, 35 yards)

This also occurred in 2009 (players from Caledonia, Houston and Mankato West)

14.  The 2015 All-Star Game was the third game to have players from both the State championship team and State runner-up team (from the same MSHSL class) score points:

Class 6A Runner-Up:     Ben Mezzenga, WR, Totino-Grace, North (1 TD catch, 21 yards)

Class 6A Champion:      Will Rains, RB, Eden Prairie, South (1 TD run, 35 yards)

This also occurred in 2007 (3A Glencoe-Silver Lake and Becker) and 2012 (4A Rocori and Bemidji)

 15.  Players from Eden Prairie and Totino-Grace have scored in two consecutive All-Star Games (2014, 2015).

16.  South Suburban Conference players have served as All-Star team captains in five consecutive All-Star games (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). This represents all five years that the South Suburban Conference has been in existence.

 17.  Landon Jacobson (RB, South, Grand Meadow) was selected as one of the South All-Star team captains. In the last 11 All-Star games (2005-2015), he is the only player from a 9-Man school to serve as an All-Star team captain.

18.  Ben Mezzenga (North, Totino-Grace, DB, WR) was a North All-Star team captain. His older brother Gabe Mezzenga was a Metro All-Star team captain in 2010.

 19.  The All-Star Game MVPs were from Class 3A (two players) and Class 5A (two players) schools. This is the first time since 2001 (and the second time overall) that the MVP awards did not include at least one player from the largest MSHSL class (6A in 2015).

20.  This is only the third game in the current series (1974-2015) where none of the quarterbacks were from the largest schools MSHSL class (6A in the 2014 season). This also occurred in 1988 (no QBs from AA) and 2010 (no QBs from 5A).

21.  This is the first time since 1975 that there was only one All-Star quarterback from a Metro area school. This year, it is Billy Hart (DeLaSalle, South team). In 1975, it was Steve Winum (Bloomington Jefferson, North).

22.  Coaches’ note: this was the first All-Star Game since 1978 where both head coaches were from metro area schools. In 1978, it was Gerry Brown (St. Thomas Academy, South) and George Wemeier (Minneapolis Washburn, North). In 2015, it was Derrin Lamker (Osseo, North) and Brian Vossen (Lakeville North, South).