ESPN

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- With about five minutes remaining in Friday’s Shriners All-Star football game at Gillette Stadium, Tyllor MacDonald knew his team need a big play. The North squad was trailing the South, 14-10, and driving into North territory.

That’s when the Lynn English standout laid a wicked hit on North Attleborough’s Dan Johnson, prying the ball free. MacDonald capped the play by falling on the loose ball and gaining possession for the North.

North quarterback Cal Carroll of Methuen took care of the rest, leading the team on a 13-play drive to victory that he capped with a 1-yard touchdown run to the North a 17-14 victory.

“As saw [Johnson] coming across the middle and I hit him as hard as I could,” MacDonald said of his game-changing play. “I just knew that I had to. I had to pick my team up.”

With the ball back in his hands, Carroll led North downfield, completing two key pass attempts for 37 yards on the drive. The Rangers’ signal-caller found Everett’s Matt Costello, ESPN Boston’s inaugural Mr. Football Award winner, for a 22-yard connection on third and 16. Two plays later, Carroll hit BB&N’s Peter Savarese with a 15-yard pass to give North a first down and goal at the South 5-yard line.

Carroll then punched in the game-winning score with 1:33 remaining.

“I think once we connected on that third and long, I think we really felt like we were going to pull through in the red zone,” Carroll said.

Trae Weathers provided the counterpunch to North’s aerial attack, which was quarterbacked by both Carroll and Dracut’s Matt Silva. The bruising Revere running back was named the North’s Offensive MVP following his 12-carry, 70-yard performance, forming part of a talented backfield alongside Gloucester’s Jordan Shairs.

“We saw the ISO was working,” Weathers said. “We were just trying to pound it in. It’d been working all game, so we just stuck with it.”

Not to be overlooked was North’s defense, which racked up five sacks including three consecutive sacks of Holliston’s Sean Mayo to negate South’s final drive of the game, sealing the win.

The Dexter School’s Jake Giovanucci capped the performance with two sacks in the final minute. Billerica’s Justin Hood, Lynn Classical’s Daniel Omorgie and Gloucester’s Chris Unis collected sacks for North.

“We really came together as a unit the last two weeks in practice,” Giovanucci said. “We had a lot of really skilled guys. It’s tough to block four skilled pass rushers. Someone might get the sack, but the other guys were taking up blockers.”

South opened scoring with Mayo connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Attleboro’s Nate Robitaille with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter.

Carroll came back to tie the game with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tewksbury’s Anthony Acari with 9:25 to play in the second. Costello added the extra point to tie the game, 7-7.

North would take the lead into the locker room at halftime following James Brao’s 24-yard field goal with 5:01 remaining.

South reclaimed the lead four minutes into the third quarter with Scituate’s Tyler Park connecting with Cohasset’s Jack Carrier on a 15-yard touchdown pass.

The North-South game of the 33rd Annual Shriners Football Classic kicks off this June 17 at 7 p.m., and for the second year in a row the contest will be held at Gillette Stadium. Below are the rosters for both squads participating in the game:

NORTH
Ryan Adams, Northeast, DE
James Aloisio, Masconoment, OT
Eric Apgar, Acton-Boxborough, RB
Anthony Arcari, Tewksbury, RB
Manny Asprilla, Everett, WR
Derek Bent, Shawsheen, TE
Brian Bourque, Reading, DB
James Brao, Hamilton-Wenham, LB
Cal Carroll, Methuen, QB
Brendan Casey, Boston Latin, DT
Thomas Chub, Masconomet, OL
Mitchell Colley, Arlington, LB
Sean Connolly, Tewksbury, FS
Tyler Coppola, St. John's Prep, RB
Matt Costello, Everett, WR
Anthony Courtouis, Lowell, WR
Jeff Covitz, Reading, OL
Nate Cyr, St. John's Prep, OL
Ned Deane, Andover, LB
Ryan Delisle, St. John's Prep, TE
Jake Giovanucci, Dexter, DE
Mike Grassa, BB&N, DB
Will Guinee, Malden Catholic, OL
Mike Harper, Methuen, LB
Zach Hayes, Chelmsford, S
Justin Hood, Billerica, DE
Brian Hurley, Wilmington
Zach Ingalls, Westford, DB
George Kallas, Beverly, OT
Ben Koopman, Marblehead, C
Chris Malonis, Dracut, WR
Tyllor MacDonald, Lynn English, DB
Tom Meade, Malden Catholic, LB
Trae Musumarra, Central Catholic, LB
Zach Nardone, Bishop Fenwick, DT
Paul Nwokeji, Thayer Academy, OL
John O'Connell, Northeast, DL
Daniel Omorgie, Lynn Classical, DE
Xavier Peralta, Central Catholic, DB
Ony Ramos, Lawrence, DB
Peter Savarese, BB&N, RB
Jordan Shairs, Gloucester, RB
Matt Silva, Dracut, QB
Bradley Skeffington, Salem, DB
Zach Smerlas, Lincoln-Sudbury, DL
Brian Strachan, St. Sebastian's, WR
Dave Summiel, Shawsheen, DT
Chris Unis, Gloucester, DE
Trae Weathers, Revere, RB
Sean Whittaker, Methuen, OL
Peter Yasi, Swampscott, DE

SOUTH
Matt Allen, Pembroke, SE
Ryan Barrett, Holliston, TE
Rob Barrus, Weymouth, LB
Adam Boari, King Philip, OL
Blaise Branch, Cardinal Spellman, RB
Lance Burlingame, New Bedford, OL
Jack Carrier, Cohasset, SE
Dylan Colarusso, Weymouth, RB
Joe Colton, Xaverian, DB
Tom Condon, Whitman-Hanson, OL
David Conroy, Walpole, SE
Nate Crary, Dennis-Yarmouth, DL
Seth DeMello, Somerset, RB
Mike Devin, Bridgewater-Raynham, OL
Mike Driscoll, Rockland, FB
Connor Fraser, Abington, DL
Jake Golden, Hingham, OL
Mitchell Graziano, Silver Lake, DB
William Greene, Oliver Ames, DE
Ernest Guy, Foxborough, OL
Joseph Hak, East Bridgewater, OL
Matt Hallisey, Duxbury, SE
Brian Harrington, Rockland, DE
Jordan Henderson, Barnstable, WR
D.J. Jamieson, West Bridgewater, RB
Randall Jette, Martha's Vineyard, DB
Dan Johnson, North Attleboro, SE
Andrew Kestenbaum, Dartmouth, OL
Matt Lockwood, Seekonk, RB
Albert Louis-Jean, Brockton, SE
Denis Maguire, Duxbury, LB
Jamel Marshall, Mansfield, RB
Zach Martin, Mashpee, RB
Alec May, King Philip, TE
Sean Mayo, Holliston, QB
Paul McCarthy, North Attleboro, DB
Kyle McGuire, Mansfield, OL
Dave McSweeney, Medway, OL
Obum Obukwelu, BC High, OL
Trevon Offley, Brockton, RB
Jon Page, Bourne, RB
Tyler Park, Scituate, QB
Liam Porter, Natick, OL
Ethan Rayner, Holliston, OL
Nate Robitaille, Attleboro, DB
Andrew Siden, Natick, TE
Kevin Stanton, Cardinal Spellman, LB
Jeff Synan, Plymouth North, OL
Chris Tamasi, Xaverian, LB
Ryan Vaughn, Norwell, OL

BILLERICA, Mass. -- "Right on the money, attababy Nicky!" repeats Billerica's long-time head coach to his Golden Boy, with each practice throw from his gifted right arm into outstretched hands.

On Peter Flynn's watch, the Indians have built a storied history of quarterbacks, from Gil Ynostroza to Craig Flynn, Tim Darcey to Justin Connors, all the way back to Mike Mastrullo, the 1993 Gatorade Player of the Year national runner-up (the winner that year? Peyton Manning).

Yet these days, Flynn can't sing enough praises about his current signal-caller, going so far as calling him the best athlete -- period -- to walk through the halls since Tom Glavine.

And with good reason. If one is not sold on the hype surrounding Nick LaSpada, the reigning state Gatorade Player of the Year -- and first sophomore to win it in state history -- one only needs to look at the suitors. Starting this past Sept. 1, the first day juniors are allowed to receive mail from colleges, the letters poured in from all over -- Notre Dame, Alabama, Illinois, Minnesota, Penn State, Oregon, Wisconsin, Boston College, you name it.

"It'd be easier to tell you who hasn't," chuckled Flynn, who had another 20 letters sitting in his office to give him after practice. Heck, Flynn says Oregon head coach Chip Kelly emailed him recently to tell him he thinks LaSpada will be one of the most sought-after recruits nationwide in the Class of 2012.

Nearly every throw from the arm of LaSpada is placed perfectly into the hands of his targeted receiver, no matter the route -- fade, comeback, slant, post -- and Flynn loves what he sees. In this particular drill, LaSpada tossed a 35-yard fade perfectly in stride to senior co-captain Ryan Donohoe, in his first action in a week thanks to a right achilles heel injury, only to watch it slip off the hands of his top returning receiver.

Donohoe shook his fist and cursed to himself softly.

"Was that Ryan?" Flynn turned to LaSpada. "Lie to me and say it wasn't."

He then yelled across to Donohoe, "Ryan! They lied to me, said it wasn't you!"

LaSpada's teammates speak highly of the energy their hot-wired general brings to the huddle, and the perfectly-placed balls he delivers. So what about when there's a drop?

"You feel bad when you do it, because there's not too many times where it's not a perfect pass already," Donohoe says. "So when you drop that pass, you come back to the huddle, and Nicky doesn't say anything to you -- I mean, he might give you a look every once in a while, and you're like, 'Hey, I'll catch it next time for you'."

It'd been a trying offseason in 2010 for LaSpada. When we last saw him, he was grimacing in pain on the sideline in the first quarter of a Division 1 playoff loss to Everett, with a torn ACL and meniscus and partially torn MCL in his right knee. He underwent a grueling, six-month rehabilitation following surgery on January 29; he dons the brace out there, but shows no gait with his stride. Without the knee brace, he looks almost brand new.

"His work ethic is second to none," Flynn said. "The agony he went through those first few weeks in his rehabilitation, and you wouldn't have even known it. He's so tough, he's so hard-working, he's blue-collar all the way. Definite blue-collar kid, all the way."

The most exciting thing to watch last year was his playmaking ability once the play broke down. LaSpada could dart and weave with the best of them, and somehow found the open man downfield to keep drives alive. But as Donohoe notes, this is how it's been since the days of young.

"Pop Warner? Oh man, it was like a man playing with boys," Donohoe recalls, laughing. "You'd come watch a game, and you would think 'Who's the kid that they've kept back three years in a row?' But that was Nick, playing with kids his age, even older than him.

"He played anything. He'd play center, he'd play linebacker, receiver, long snapper..."

Interrupted senior defensive end Justin Hood, "Mr. Everything."

The talent was always evident, but the progress he's made from year one to year three in his head has the Indians thinking highly again.

"Freshman year, they'd be throwing out Cover-3, Cover-4, and in Pop Warner you don't really learn that kind of stuff," LaSpada said. "From freshman year to junior year, you get all your reads, pre-snap and post-snap, everything's just alot faster and alot quicker. You make the reads alot quicker."

Last night, LaSpada celebrated his 17th birthday with a trip to The 99 in town with Flynn and assistant Dan Mackay. The conversation barely strayed from football -- "Once I'm out there, I can't wait to roll," LaSpada smiles. "I've been held up the last six or seven months."

And out in the practice field yesterday afternoon, behind the high school, that jacked-up fervor continued with the Indians' daily ritual at the end of warmups. One by one, the captains went down the line, pointed to a player in line, called them by name and bellowed "Whaddaya say?" The customary response is the player's best war cry.

All the while, Flynn walked through the lines, showering his boys with encouragement, complete with his own quirky twists.

"Visualize those swarming defensive tackles, visualize those great Billerica hits," he repeated.

Or...

"Attitude, that green and white attitude...you're here 'cause you love the game of football, 'cause you wanna be here...nobody outworks a Billerica kid! Nobody out-hustles a Billerica kid!"

Or...

"You're not part-time achievers, you're full-time achievers...whaddaya gonna do to get better today, boys! This is not the Riviera!"

And on and on the prose went, all afternoon.

Hey, when you've got a gifted arm in your arsenal, it's tough holding back.

BILLERICA AT A GLANCE
2009: 10-2 (8-1 MVC), lost to Everett in Division 1 playoff
Coach: Peter Flynn (21st season, 140-80)
Players to watch: Nick LaSpada, Jr., QB, 6-2, 180 lbs (98 of 156, 1,483 yards, 21 touchdowns, five interceptions; 131 carries, 1,059 yards, eight touchdowns); Justin Hood, Sr., DE/OT, 6-4, 230 lbs; Ryan Donohoe, Sr., WR/FS, 6-2, 180 lbs; P.J. Metzler, Sr., OT/DT, 6-3, 325 lbs; Brandon Coello, Sr., FS/WR, 6-2, 190 lbs; Justin Fritz, Jr., LB/SB, 5-11, 175 lbs; Brian Thompson, Jr., LB, 5-11, 195 lbs; Matt Robinson, Jr., LB, 6-1, 210 lbs.
Strengths: Speed, athleticism.
Weaknesses: Kicking game.
Outlook: In a word: LaSpada. The reigning Gatorade Player of the Year and the Indians' all-everything quarterback is entering his junior season with a boatload of hype, but a heightened sense of humility. This year, the Indians are hoping to give him more support, especially given Donohoe's 4.5 speed and soft hands. Super-back Fritz, who will usually trail LaSpada in the backfield in Flynn's spread look, is one player expected to step up and make an impact. Defensively, the Indians will stick with 50 and 4-3 fronts, while Hood is expected to be an impact player once again. The senior is considered one of the MVC's quickest pass rushers off the edge.