Here’s what happened in the Bernard Blackwell All-Star Game in Gulfport

The North dominated the South in the 71st Bernard Blackwell Football Classic at Milner Stadium in Gulfport on Saturday, capitalizing off turnovers and riding the momentum on their way to a 28-7 win.

The North overtook the South in a span of just over three minutes late in the second quarter, scoring 20 points during that time, and putting the game out of reach on a soggy field and a steady drizzle.

Down 20-0 at halftime, the South opened the second half with a successful onside kick recovered by Picayune’s Cameron Thomas at the North 37 yard line. The South’s offense appeared poised for a comeback as they picked up three first downs to the North 14 yard line. North Pike’s Alijah Martin connected with Rhyen Brisco of Hattiesburg in the end zone to put the South on the scoreboard.

The South proved unsuccessful on another onside kick, but the defense came out and held the North to only four yards after three snaps, forcing a punt.

Once again, the South moved the ball well, starting at their own 33 yard line, they picked up three first downs, including two fourth down conversions. But this time Philadelphia’s Ashton Morgan led the South down field. His second pass of the possession went off the fingertips of his receiver and into the hands of the North’s Alphonso Ray of Yazoo County to end the drive with just under three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

That turnover proved lethal, as the North responded with a 17-play drive that resulted in another touchdown, and more importantly, consumed more than nine minutes of game clock. The North went for two points and converted the game’s final score.

“Turnovers were the story of the day,” said South coach Tony Vance (Hattiesburg High). “But we both played on the same field, same conditions, so I’m not going to use that as an excuse. They did a better job of taking care of the ball than we did. We had some opportunities to cash in and we didn’t. The blocked punt was a huge momentum shift for them, and of course the touchdown before half didn’t help our cause.”

The first score came on a blocked punt returned for a touchdown with 3:10 remaining in the second quarter. On the first snap on the ensuing possession, Nanih Waiya’s Shia Moore picked off the South’s pass and returned it for a score and a 14-0 lead for the North.

The South fumbled the ball on the first play on their next possession, but on the North’s first snap, Hazlehurst’s Jaquan Copeland picked off the North in the end zone.

The South advanced the ball to their own 48 yard line, but from there they went backwards, first on a penalty back to their own 45, then on an intentional grounding which resulted in a punt from their own 27 yard line.

The biggest play of the game for the South was the recovery of the second half onside kick. With the resulting touchdown and the subsequent defensive stop and their longest drive of the game that followed, the South was chipping at momentum.

“Going into the second half, we had to get the ball. We had to put some points on the board,” Picayune’s Thomas said of his recovery of the onside kick. “Coach said, ‘Cam, Brisco, go get the ball,’ so I did my job.

“This is a very good experience,” added Thomas, who is committed to continue his football career at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. “It’s not varsity; it’s more like college. Everybody’s good.”