North holds off South

ALBUQUERQUE — Four Clovis High players ended their prep football careers Friday night, but not quite the way they’d hoped.

The North All-Stars dominated most of the way and handed the South a 27-14 setback in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association’s Class 4A-5A clash at University Stadium on the campus of the University of New Mexico.

Derrick Phillips and Diondre Hunter saw action on both sides of the ball for the South, Phillips playing mostly cornerback and some running back while Hunter split time between outside linebacker and wide receiver.

Meantime, Nathan Carver played guard on offense and Michael Howard saw action at end on defense.

“All of our kids played well,” Clovis assistant coach Darren Kelley said on Saturday. “They all had a fun week. I wish they could’ve won, but they all did a good job and represented us well.”

Everyone except Carver was used on special teams as well, Kelley said.

Phillips carried the ball once on offense and Hunter caught a pass. Hunter was also involved in probably the most exciting play of the night.

Facing third-and-goal on the North 5 in the first half, Hobbs quarterback Alberto Caballero went to his right and pitched the ball to Hunter, who was immediately swarmed by North defenders. As he was about to go down, he flipped a lateral to Mayfield’s Matt Sandoval, who headed the other direction and found Artesia’s Cody Hockett open in the end zone for a touchdown.

The North held the South to nine first downs — none until the middle of the second quarter — and posted a 364-167 advantage in total yardage.

It was a rare win for the North, which had lost 11 of the last 15 games and now trails the all-time series 41-20-4.