Matthew Featherston did not have any scholarship offers before he arrived in Shreveport, but shortly after the All-American Bowl Game, he had over forty before he signed with Texas A&M University!
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ALL-AMERICAN BOWL GIVES GREAT UN-NOTICED PLAYERS A SECOND CHANCE!
SHREVEPORT, Louisiana - The recent High School All-American Bowl Game Classic at Independence Bowl Stadium was the perfect opportunity for a player like Wide Receiver Darrin Allen of New Orleans St Augustine, Louisiana; DE Matthew Featherston of Poughkeepsie, New York; LB Gerald Singleton of Palestine, Texas; Super Athlete Frankie Gaston of Shreveport Southwood; super athlete Chad Beverage of Shreveport Airline; and Marc Keppner of Houston Cy-Creek, Texas.
None of these players had a scholarship offer before the game!
January 28, 2005 |
By Brian Vernellis
And
Max Emfinger
SHREVEPORT, Louisiana - The recent High School All-American Bowl Game Classic at Independence Bowl Stadium was the perfect opportunity for a player like Super Athlete Frankie Gaston of Shreveport Southwood; Wide Receiver Darrin Allen of New Orleans St Augustine, Louisiana; defensive end Matthew Featherston of Poughkeepsie, New York; linebacker Gerald Singleton of Palestine, Texas; Super Athlete Chad Beverage of Shreveport Airline; and Marc Keppner of Houston Cy-Creek, Texas.
Allen played baseball until this year so he never made a recruiting list; Keppner led a West offensive line that rushed for 265-yards on a loaded East Defense; Singleton ran a 4.47 on Saturday; and Featherston recorded three quarterback sacks for the West.
Gatson was The Shreveport Times Offensive MVP this past season, yet he wasn't getting any recruiting recognition from colleges during his senior season. Recruiting analyst and game organizer Max Emfinger attributes it to one thing.
"Gatson wasn't on many recruiting lists," Emfinger said. "If you're not on the recruiting list to start your senior season, then you're not going to get on the list, period. I try real hard to know all of the top players in the country, but I didn't even have him or Beverage rated until they made the Louisiana 5A All-State Team. Gatson had over 2,700-yards of total offense for the season and Beverage was just as impressive, getting two interceptions from his free safety position against West Monroe in the Quarter-Finals."
Gatson (5-foot-10, 190, 4.3) was one of several players that impressed Emfinger in the game. The West defeated the East, 44-21.
"It means a great opportunity for me to play against some of the best in the country and showcase my skills," Gatson said.
"I'm thankful that I had this opportunity and hopefully some colleges liked what they saw in me and I'll be getting some calls in the next few days."
On the West team, Emfinger thought highly of quarterback Clint Bricker (Austin, Texas, 6-2, 205, 4.5), running back Don Brooks (Waller, Texas, 6-1, 208, 4.3), wide receiver Ricky Price (Houston, Texas, 6-0, 185, 4.38); linebacker Gerald Singleton (6-2, 208, 4.47) of Palestine, Texas; offensive tackle Marc Keppner (Houston Cy-Falls, Texas, 6-4, 307, 5.2); and offensive tackle David Allison (6-6, 305, 5.2) of Humble, Texas.
The West defenders who played exceptional were defensive end Matthew Featherston (6-2, 230, 4.5) of Poughkeepsie, New York; defensive tackle Vincent Williams (6-6, 290, 4.7) of Dallas Carter, TX; strong safety Trokon Tompo (6-1, 195, 4.5) of Euless-Trinity, TX; defensive end Chris Oguoyo (6-1, 235, 4.71) of Pflugerville Connally; free safety Duffy Otteson (5-10, 185, 4.47) of Tonopah, NV; and free safety Kendall Magana (5-10, 180, 4.45) of Arlington Lamar, TX who came in on Monday night.
Brooks has already committed to UTEP and he is a phenom on film while Price was already committed to Missouri, but visited Oklahoma State over the weekend and de-committed to Missouri and committed to the Cowboys. Price still may take a trip to Notre Dame and possible one to Oklahoma.
Emfinger said that Texas A&M, Ohio University, Syracuse, and Michigan scouts were very impressed with Featherston and are going to start recruiting him from this game. Featherston recorded three quarterback sacks in the game after being knocked out in the first quarter and then coming back into the game in the second quarter. Williams has already committed to Texas A&M and he had two quarterback sacks in the game.
Off of the East team, Shreveport Evangel quarterback Billy Barefield (5-11, 170, 4.31); Shreveport Airline free safety/linebacker Chad Beverage (6-1, 235, 4.5); quarterback Tony Pastore (6-3, 205, 4.8) of Canton Sequoyah, GA; linebacker Robert Russell (6-0, 222, 4.55) of New Orleans Landry, LA; and Mamou, Louisiana wide receiver LaTerryal Savoy (6-3, 205, 4.5), who has committed to Michigan, also attracted Emfinger's eye.
"Barefield is a mid-term graduate and he has already signed with Memphis as a quarterback and he can play quarterback for them. He is small, but very elusive and he throws real well on the run, Emfinger said."
"He's also very athletic and they like his ability to run."
"I saw him in three 7-on-7 tournaments and he was the quarterback. He's got a super arm and very good mechanics. I think he'll play at quarterback, but they could have him at another position."
"Pastore showed great leadership skills and great poise for the East," said Emfinger. He threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Savoy who was streaking down the left sideline. Pastore hit Savoy with a great over-the-shoulder catch on the dead-run for the score.
Other East Team players who got Emfinger's eye included running back Maurice Jeffries (5-9, 195, 4.5) of Thornton Harvey, Illinois; wide receiver Darrin Allen (6-1, 185, 4.4) of New Orleans St Augustine; wide receiver Dohnovan Simpson (6-0, 170, 4.45) and offensive guard Frank Gil (6-3, 290, 5.2) of Tampa Jefferson, FL; linebacker Stacy Jones (6-2, 237, 4.6) of Columbus, MS; linebacker Isaiah Thomas (6-2, 270, 4.73) of Bruce, MS; wide receiver Patrick Honeycutt (5-10, 165, 4.44) of Hoover Spain Park, AL; offensive tackle William Criswell (6-7, 285, 5.2) of Booneville, MS; linebacker Dylan Conner (6-0, 205, 4.6) of Hayden, AL; and linebacker Matt Kreamer (6-1, 220, 4.5) and center Joel Bogan (6-2, 255, 4.8) of Shreveport Evangel, LA. Quarterback Josh Cotton (6-3, 190, 4.7) of Mercersburg Buchanan, PA has got a lot of potential.
"I was especially impressed with the East defensive linemen, including DE Alonzo Horton (6-4, 225, 4.5) of New Orleans Abramson; DE Jarryl Jefferson (6-2, 220, 4.6) of New Orleans St Aug; DT Kerry Raymond (6-2, 285, 4.8) of Reserve East St John, LA; DT Blake Varino (6-2, 300, 5.1) of Tampa Jefferson, FL; DE Justin Waller (6-3, 230, 4.7) of Denham Springs, LA; and DE Colton Sanders (5-11, 220, 4.6) of Shreveport Evangel.
Both tight ends for the East looked good all week in practice. Selvish Capers (6-5, 248, 4.63) of New Orleans St Aug and Sean Gibbs (6-3, 236, 4.65) of Vicksburg, MS made some big catches in both the practices and in the game. Capers has committed to West Virginia and Gibbs who was hampered all week by a slight hamstring pull, has offers from all three major Mississippi schools.
Other West Team players that caught Emfinger's eye were quarterback Clayton Tunney (6-3, 190, 4.7) of Carlsbad La Costa Canyon, California; running back Carl Taylor (6-2, 190, 4.46) of Dallas Carter; running back Brandon Barnett (5-10, 185, 4.4) of Texarkana, Arkansas; slot receiver Tim Jackson (5-10, 177, 4.46) of Bettendorf, Iowa; center Robby Hamilton (6-3, 265, 4.79) of Fort Bend Hightower, Texas; and tight end Daniel Bynum (6-5, 230, 4.76) of Pflugerville Connally, Texas.
The East had four outstanding seconday players in cornerback Elston Forte (6-1, 190, 4.4) of Little Rock Mills, AR; free safety Patrick Trahan (6-3, 218, 4.3) of New Orleans St Aug; strong safety Kevin Thornton (6-0, 190, 4.5) of Little Rock Central, AR; cornerback Wes Winston (5-11, 190, 4.4) of Shreveport Evangel; and free safety Beverage. Forte has committed to Arkansas and Trahan has committed to Auburn.
Two East players who were under the weather for most of the week of practice were Renell Thomas (5-9, 185, 4.3) of New Orleans St Augustine and offensive tackle Glenn Gibson (6-9, 300, 4.9) of Haughton. Thomas had a bout of the flu as did Gibson who was running a 103 temperature on Monday.
Chris Eidd (6-3, 336, 5.4) of Euless-Trinity got a staff infection on his arm on Monday and he had to get the infection cut out on Tuesday. All three players played in the game.
There was some fierce hitting in the game as exhibited on the very first play from scrimmage and the hitting was so intense, there were five different players that were knocked-out with concussions in the game. Linebacker Alex Odiari (6-1, 225, 4.52) of Lewisville Hebron, Texas and cornerback Mark Fisher (5-11, 180, 4.41) of Dallas Lincoln got concussions in the first half and did not play in the second half.
Both Players of the Game, Price and Featherston were knocked out in the first quarter, but came back to win Offensive and Defensive Player of the Game Honors.
Massive offensive tackle Lee Grimes (6-7 320, 5.0) of Brownwood, Texas re-injured a previous ankle injury in the second quarter and did not play in the second half. Grimes, who has already committed to Texas A&M was the most impressive offensive lineman in the All-Star game and at 320 pounds, he recorded a 5.0 in the forty on Saturday on the Independence Bowl Stadium grass turf.
Kyle Van Sant (6-2, 303, 5.2) of Houston Cy-Falls, Texas passed a kidney stone on Sunday and had to go home, leaving only one center for the West in Hamilton.
Emfinger said that he was especially impressed with four of the Texas linebackers for the West, including Gerald Singleton (6-2, 208, 4.47) of Palestine; Logan Hunt (6-1, 200, 4.5) of Granbury; Chase Kennemer (6-0, 210, 4.5) of Arlington Lamar; and Joe Bell (6-1, 205, 4.5) of Houston Cy-Falls. "All four of these linebackers ran a 4.5 on grass at our Combine on Saturday and they were impressive in the game," said Emfinger.
A small crowd watched the game, but it was who was in the crowd that's most important for the players.
College scouts from Louisiana Tech, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Southern Mississippi, Texas A&M, Tulane, Cincinnati and Michigan watched with interest in finding a missing jewel. "There were others who called after the game and all throughout the weekend," said Emfinger.
Emfinger said that the game had a few glitches in putting it together for the first time, mainly without any National or Local sponsors, but nothing that we couldn't overcome. There were a lot of miracles that took place in the last 30 days," said Emfinger "and even more miracles this week."
Emfinger expressed his graditude to all of the people who helped him with his First Annual Event, including Executive Directors Dave Kreamer and Doc Waterfallen of Shreveport; Ken Antee of the Shreveport Sports Authority; Ronnie Hammond of the Independence Bowl Stadium; Kim Johnson of The Isle of Capri Inn; HS Trask Company; and Mark Patterson of Riddell Sports.
"A VERY SPECIAL THANKS goes to my beautiful and very patient wife GINGER of 34 years, who let me do this event without a major sponsor," Emfinger said. "I also want to Thank GINGER for washing 100 game pants in cold water and letting them hang-dry in our home. For about two days, you could not see the insides of our house, because those 100 pants were hang-drying on all of our furniture and all over the floor."
"My main goal was to get some super players, who I had seen on film or in a game, but who had been flying under the recruiting radar screen, some exposure and a few offers and I'm so excited about all of the college coaches who have been calling. We had some unbelievable offers in the last few days. Most every player will get multiple offers. I have told many of them that you only need to get one offer to get your education paid for in college. Drew Brees, Barry Sanders, and Kliff Kingsbury only had one offer and they all went to New York for the Heisman Trophy Ceremony."
Emfinger was very happy with the game and he said that they will consider coming back to Shreveport at the Independence Bowl Stadium next year, but he also said that he would keep all of his options open. He also said that the game will be televised on National Television next year.
"Plans for next years game are already underway," said Emfinger.
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