North fails to convert

WALTHAM -- The game was there for the taking. Bobby Russo, just seconds away from being named his team's Offensive MVP, broke outside, and in front of him lay an opening he could drive a truck through. He was inches from converting a 2-point conversion that would give the North a 1-point advantage with 41.1 seconds left.

"I thought I was in," said the Dracut High quarterback.

Mansfield's Tom Gilson had other ideas. He recovered in time to meet the airborne Russo with a crunching tackle at the goal line, sending the North quarterback out of bounds and preserving a 14-13 win for the South in the 29th annual Shriners Classic last night at Bentley College.

With the North down, 14-7, Russo engineered a fourth-quarter drive. A 27-yard completion to Stephen O'Neil of Cambridge put the North at the South's 15-yard line. Russo followed with a short pass to Corey Gatewood of Belmont Hill, who shook his defender and scrambled in for the touchdown.

Then came Russo's near miss.

"He made a good defensive play," said Russo, who finished with 99 passing yards and two touchdowns. "I told my team, you know, with two minutes left I'm taking my team down to score, and that's what I did."

Russo had split series with Burlington's Dan Walsh and Arlington Catholic's Matt DeOliveira, but North coach Harry Marchetti let him run the two-minute offense.

The North opened the scoring with 7:14 remaining in the second quarter when Russo found Bedford's Woody Carter with a pinpoint 32-yard strike for a 7-0 lead. The South, with Braintree's Addison Lynch at quarterback, evened the score with 17.8 seconds left in the half. Barnstable's Zach Wilson (69 rushing yards) took the handoff from his future Bryant teammate and punched it in from a yard out.

Lynch, who was named Offensive MVP for the South, was surprised at the intensity of the game.

"I thought it was going to be laid-back, but then it was full throttle," he said. "It's just like playing football again. It don't take long to get back, it's like riding a bike."

The South took the lead on its opening drive in the second half. Natick's Anthony Smalls took a handoff from Lynch and plunged in from the 2 with 6:36 left in the third quarter for the winner.

Late in the third, Russo was hit hard by Stoughton's Mudo Ohimor while in the act of throwing, and Rich Harris of West Bridgewater intercepted.

"I told the kids, 'You know and I know, defense is going to be what wins this game,' " said South coach Jim Kelliher.

In a game loaded with talent, Kelliher said it was the hardest pregame speech he's had to think of in a while.

"I'm standing here ready to give the speech and I'm saying to myself, 'This is what it's probably like with a coach at the pro level,' " he said. "I'm looking around and all the kids are huge, and they're all also unbelievable athletes. It's just such a great time."

The North's Walter Fallas of Everett and the South's Corey Eason of Mansfield were named Defensive MVPs.