BY TRAVIS CRAM l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Mother Nature was on the West All-Stars’ team Friday night at Lowrey Field.

After taking a three-point lead with just over seven minutes to play, the West forced a turnover before turning the ball back over to the East and the impending weather cut the Division II Six-Man All-Star Game about a minute and a half short as the West won 25-22.

It was not the biggest offensive show.

Defensive plays seemed to dominate the game but big plays slowly began to emerge — especially when they were needed the most.

After being shut out in the third quarter by the East, which took a 22-19 lead, West coach Jeremy Holt from Silverton got a little angry.

“We were upset with ourselves that we allowed them to shut us down in the third quarter,” Holt said. “So we changed some things up and put (Jonathan) Stiles at tailback instead of fullback and beefed up the line a little bit.”

The moves worked. Stiles scored on a 2-yard run after a big play by him on a reception from Klondike’s Dustin Ferguson allowed the West to get downfield.

“He’s a terrific kid,” Holt said of Stiles, who earned the game’s offensive MVP honors, racking up 41 yards on the ground and 113 yards receiving. “There’s a reason we felt comfortable in putting the ball in his hands.”

The West got off to a fast start, with one of its big plays coming on a fourth-and-14 on its initial possession. Jayton’s Caleb Harrison hit Rance Meadows of Dawson for a 42-yard touchdown and a 6-0 lead.

The West tacked on two more scores before halftime to make it 19-14.

Hunter Hamontree of Leverett’s Chapel was the workhorse for the East. He finally got his squad on the board on the East’s third possession, on what might have been the play of the game.

Hamontree hit Jason Hughes downfield for a 38-yard pass and Hughes had the presence of mind to lateral back to Zach Smith who was trailing behind him at the West’s 5-yard line. Smith carried it in to help his team gain an 8-6 lead before the West struck again on Stiles’ 38-yard touchdown reception.

Late in the fourth quarter, just as the East began to march downfield against the windy conditions, Caleb Ballesteros was stripped on third down near the West’s 31-yard line. Silverton’s True Burson jumped on the ball to give the West possession with 4:16 to go.

Hamontree did not even get to finish the game in the same jersey after having the back of his original No. 6 shirt ripped off. He wore No. 50 the rest of the way.

He finished 7-of-9 for 134 yards and two touchdowns.

“Our defense was huge tonight,” Holt said. “We struggled a little bit offensively there after a while and it was big for our defense to pick up the slack like they did. Couldn’t be any more proud of these guys than I am right now.”

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TEXAS SIX-MAN COACHES ASSOCIATION
DIVISION II ALL-STAR GAME
at Lowrey Field
WEST 25, EAST 22
East 8 6 8 0 — 22
West 12 7 0 6 — 25
First Quarter
WEST—Rance Meadows 32 pass from Caleb Harrison (kick failed); 7:30
EAST—Jason Hughes 37 pass from Hunter Hamontree, Zach Smith scores on lateral (Hamontree kick); 4:48
WEST—Stiles 38 pass from Harrison (kick failed); 3:22
Second Quarter
EAST—Jason Hughes 24 pass from Hamontree (conversion failed); 2:45
WEST—Jon Longoria 6 run (Cade Holt pass from Nick Hess); 2:20
Third Quarter
EAST—Jeremy Eaton 1 run (Hamontree kick); 3:29
Fourth Quarter
WEST—Stiles 3 run (kick failed); 7:22
TEAM STATISTICS
EAST WEST
First downs 9 10
Rushes-yards 24-43 27-61
Passing yards 154 195
Comp.-att.-int. 8-19-0 12-15-1
Punts-avg. 2-20 0-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-0
Penalties-yards 6-40 5-50
INDIVIDUAL STATS
RUSHING — West, Jon Longoria 13-43, Jonathan Stiles 10-41, Caleb Harrison 3-(-9), Dustin Ferguson 1-(-14); East, Jason Hughes 6-27, Jeremy Eaton 7-12, Zach Smith 1-5, Hunter Hamontree 8-1, Caleb Ballestros 1-1, Taylor Poteet 1-(-3).
PASSING —West, Harrison 7-9-1 143, Ferguson 4-5-0 44, Phillip Lascano 1-1-0 6; East, Hamontree 7-9-0 134; Eaton 1-3-0 10, Hughes 0-5-0 0, Poteet 0-1-0 0.
RECEIVING — West, Stiles 5-113, Meadows 2-32, Longoria 1-2, Cade Holt 2-8; East, Hughes 4-108, Tate Clark 1-20, Victor Lewis 1-23, Smith 1-10, Eaton 1-4