Daphne senior running back Nick Clark came into the North-South All-Star Game at Hancock Whitney Stadium without any substantial college offers.

That might change after Friday night.

Clark rushed for a pair of touchdowns, played a key role on his team’s final defensive stand and was named team MVP in the South’s 31-28 victory.

“He’s a dawg,” said South head coach Kirk Johnson of Montgomery Catholic. “I don’t know what people are looking at when they watch film because we were like, ‘Uh, he’s really good.’”

Clark finished with 102 yards on 14 carries to lead the South’s rush heavy attack. He scored on runs of 42 yards in the first quarter and 29 in the third quarter.

“Man, it’s a blessing,” Clark said. “When everyone counted me out, I counted myself back in. Everyone had faith in me, and I had faith in my teammates, and we did what we had to do to get out of here with a win.”

With the game tied 28-28 midway through the fourth quarter, Vigor’s Brandon Purifoy intercepted a pass from Hewitt-Trussville’s Peyton Floyd, who went the distance at quarterback for the North team. It was Purifoy’s second interception of the game.

The South moved 61 yards in 13 plays to take the lead. The drive started with a pass interference penalty on the North. After that Clark, Foley’s Kolton Nero and Davidson’s DJ Butler and Catholic QB Caleb McCreary took over on the ground, moving the ball into field goal position. The longest gain of the drive was Butler’s 15-yard run on a third-and-2.

Charles Henderson’s Nick Peerson kicked a 33-yard field goal with 1:23 left to give his team the lead for good. Nero finished with 42 yards on eight carries. Butler had 41 on seven carries.

“We had some great running backs,” South offensive coordinator Zach Golson of Mary G. Montgomery said. “Some 7A, Region 1 guys that pounded the ball – DJ Butler, Kolton Nero and obviously Nick Clark. They were special tonight.”

The North moved the ball to the South 35 on its final possession, getting a 15-yard run from Madison Academy’s Ken Cherry and a 17-yard pass from Floyd to Oxford’s Camare Hampton. However, the South defense came up big from that point, stopping Floyd for a three-yard gain on first down and small losses on second and third down. On fourth down, Clark pressured Floyd into an incompletion with less than a minute left.

The South ran out the clock.

“A little surprise,” Clark said with a smile. “I used to play back in the old days. Anything the team needed, I had to do.”

South Alabama commit Da’Marion “Fluff” Bothwell of Oneonta, playing on his future homefield, was MVP for the North squad. He scored two of his team’s touchdowns out of the Wildcat on runs of 5 and 3 yards.

OTHER STANDOUTS

SOUTH

B.T. Washington’s EJ Hall had a pair of touchdowns, one on a 28-yard reverse and another on a 9-yard pass from McCreary.

UMS-Wright’s Joe Lott had an interception and a fumble recovery.

NORTH

Athens’ Jay’Shon Ridgle caught a 16-yard TD pass from Floyd.

Ramsay’s Demarcus Wynn recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

Gordo’s Ethan Wilder also had an interception.

INJURY UPDATE

The South played the second half with only five offensive linemen after injuries to Carver’s Kalari Gordon and Saraland’s Brandon Autery. Gordon injured a leg but remained on the sideline for the rest of the game. Autery was taken off the field on a stretcher and transported to USA Health University Hospital. No further updates are available yet.

This post will be updated