Spreading it around

It was a matter of perfect timing for the West.
With a team composed of seniors from Missouri and Iowa, it just so happened the squad’s coach, starting quarterback and top three receivers all came from systems that run the pass-happy spread offense. A week’s worth of practice was enough the put them all on the same page and give the West a 20-12 victory over the East, made up of players from Illinois, in the Do or Die All-Star Bowl IV.
Under the direction of Clark County head coach Matt Smith, Paris quarterback Joe Gilliam played catch with Keokuk receivers James Hurt, Logan Granera Trevor Galbreath and Palmyra’s Brock Reed most of the night.
“We really debated [as a coaching staff] on whether we should just be simple and get in the ‘I’ and just keep it easy or whether we should roll the dice,” said Smith. “We decided, ‘Let’s make it fun.’ We tried to put in as much as we could in a week…For the most part the kids executed well and worked hard together and came together.”
After a scoreless first quarter, Gilliam put the West on the board with a 15-yard toss to Hurt, capping a long drive that began after the East was stopped on fourth down inside the red zone.
The West defense would make the score stand up, taking a 7-0 lead into halftime despite being put into a tough situations following a pair of fumbles by the offense near midfield. They would also come up with another fourth-down stop at their own 12-yard line with just under six minutes left in the half.
“I told them at halftime, I said ‘With all the talk about the spread offense and points, how fitting would it be if we could get through four quarters and put a goose egg up on the board,’” said Smith, whose defense allowed just 259 yards of total offense. “I couldn’t have asked the defense to play any better. We thought coming in they were a little undersized against the big lineman (the East) had on their roster and all those powerful backs. That should have been area they had a strong advantage, but we never broke.”
With the defense coming up with another stop after a Gilliam interception to open the second half, the Coyote signal caller would redeem himself with a 47-yard completion to Hurt to put his team up 14-0.
“The system, terminology-wise, we clicked at the very beginning,” said Gilliam, who finished with three touchdowns and nearly 300 yards passing. “Routes, timing, getting in the zone, everything – it was kind of rough at first but as the night went on we came together just fine.”
Hurt would finish with four catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns and earn Offensive MVP honors for the West. He nearly added a third score to his tally on the final play of the first half when Gilliam lofted a pass toward the pylon from 40 yards out. Hurt went up over his defender and briefly had the ball in his hands, but couldn’t hold on to it as he made contact with the ground.
The East would finally get on the scoreboard late in the third quarter following a long drive when Routt quarterback Joe Zeller hooked up with Virginia’s Brock Thompson on a 26-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-6 after a failed conversion.
On their ensuing drive, the West looked to be ready to move the margin back to two scores, but were stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1. After failing to move the ball on their first play, the East got a shot in the arm when Quincy’s Lamor Hickman broke through the line and raced up the right sideline for a 99-yard score to cut the lead to 14-12.
Wasting little time, Gilliam stole any momentum the East might have gained and returned the margin to eight when he hooked up with Grenera two plays later on a 41-yard strike.
One final turnover on downs by the West defense gave the offense possession with just over five minutes remaining.
Macon’s Greg Kindle was named the West’s Defensive MVP. Keokuk’s Cole Lockwood led the West defense with six tackles, while North Shelby’s Curt Hubbard and Hannibal’s Michael Failor each had five. Failor also had a sack.
With 2:13 left in regulation, play was prematurely halted by a lightning strike in the area.
Regardless of how the game ended, players enjoyed the experience of meeting counterparts they had only seen on television. 
“It was a great experience getting to know everybody I’ve never really talked to in the past. It’s been a lot of fun,” said Hannibal’s Jason Horstmeyer. “Tonight was great. It’s been a great experience and I’d love to do it again. Hopefully sometime in the future I’ll be back in football again.”
This was the second year the game had been played in the East/West format, with the West winning both contests. The first two years the game was played in a North/South format, with two squads splitting those contests.