WALTHAM — With more than 30 schools represented in the 45th Shriners All-Star Football Classic, Andover High and the North All-Stars stole the show in a 17-14 win over the South All-Stars Friday night at Bentley University.
After losing the last five matchups to the South All-Stars, the North squad flipped the script with 30 seconds left and the game tied at 14. St. John’s Prep defensive lineman Mikey Nabbout came up with a decisive swat of a desperation fourth-and-long pass attempt by the South, putting the ball back in the hands of the North squad and Peabody quarterback Shea Lynch.
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Lynch, an Endicott College commit, engineered the game-winning drive, finding Andover’s Lincoln Beal on a 13-yard out route with a fraction of second — eight-tenths, to be precise — left on the clock.
As Beal raced out of bounds to stop the clock, his high school teammate, Andrew Wetterwald, trotted out onto the field and nailed a 36-yard field goal to win it as time expired.
“It was such a surreal moment,” said Wetterwald, who will take his kicking talents to Trinity College. “We lined up, and got it done with a great snap.”
Beal, who plans to continue his football career with a post-graduate season at Philips Academy, was confident Wetterwald would convert.
“I knew he was going to hit that!” Beal said, exuberantly. “I see him on the field every day, so I knew he had that.”
Led by the Aleppo Shriners, the proceeds from the annual high school all-star game benefitted the Shriners Hospital, which was recognized for its commendable work during a touching halftime ceremony.
“It was an honor to be here,” Wetterwald said. “To play for the kids in burn care, with prosthetic legs, for those less fortunate… It was great to put on a show.”
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“It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before,” Lynch said of playing for Shriners Hospital. “There’s people who want to play [football] but can’t. It feels amazing to be out here and represent them.”
Lynch earned North All-Star Offensive MVP honors after completing 7 of 11 passes for 144 yards.
“It’s been a while since we played, but as a player, I felt prepared,” Lynch said. “We’ve known each other for maybe two weeks, but we had a great connection.”
The late-game dramatics followed up stellar play from Hanover receiver Joe Curran of the South All-Stars. The Union College-bound wideout gave the South a 14-6 lead after catching touchdowns on two straight drives in the second and third quarter. He earned South Offensive MVP honors after he finished the game with five catches for 81 yards.