Staff Reports
CENTERVILLE — Sidney’s Darryl McNeal went out a winner in his final high school football game.
McNeal, a recent Sidney High School graduate, was a defensive back on the winning squad as the North defeated the South 31-28 in the 33rd annual Miami Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star game, which was played Friday night at Centerville High School.
McNeal turned in a monster game for the North, getting in on at least eight tackles, while also finishing with one tackle for loss, two passes broken up, one punt return and one kickoff return. His pass break up late in the game with the North clinging to a three-point lead help seal the game for his team.
McNeal set the tone for his night on his first defensive series of the game, nailing a South running back 10 yards in the backfield on a screen play, breaking up a pass and returning the ensuing punt for 5 yards.
The North jumped out to a quick lead in the contest, taking a 17-0 lead. The South would answer with a touchdown before halftime, cutting the lead to 17-7 at the end of the half. The South squad would score first in the second half, cutting the North’s lead to 17-14.
The score would stay that way through the rest of the third quarter, setting up a shootout in the final 12 minutes to close the game.
Early in the fourth quarter, the North scored to take a 24-14 lead, only to see the South immediately answer with a touchdowns of its own to trim the lead to 24-21. After the North scored to extend the lead to 31-21, the South would again answer, cutting the lead to 31-28.
The South would have an opportunity to tie the game or take the lead late, but McNeal and the North were able to keep the high-powered South offense — which had several future Division I college players on its roster — off the scoredboard in the closing minutes to preserve the victory.
McNeal was a four-year letterwinner and three-year All-Greater Western Ohio Conference North Division selection for the Yellowjackets during his high school career. He was named second-team All-GWOC North as a sophomore wide receiver, then was named to the first team as a wide receiver his junior and senior seasons.
Last fall, he helped lead Sidney to a 6-4 record, its first winning season in more than a decade.
McNeal also was a standout in basketball and track during his career at Sidney, earning All-GWOC North honorable mention as a senior basketball player and competing in the sprints and long jump for the Yellowjacket track and field team.
McNeal will play college football for Cincinnati Christian University this fall. It will be the school’s first year fielding a football program.
Before the game, a number of scholarships were awarded. At halftime, several coaches were inducted into MVFCA Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2014, former Piqua and Lehman coach Chuck Asher and Piqua coaching legend George Wertz were inducted into the Hall, followed by the late Doug Swartz of Covington in 2015 as an assistant coach.
To contact sports editor Ken Barhorst, send an email to [email protected]
