At the 76th annual Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game July 20 at San Antonio’s Alamodome, the South’s scoring outburst began at an unexpected source.

Westlake linebacker Bryce Hager, a starter for the South squad, wrapped up the North’s Nathan Jeffrey of Caddo Mills in the end zone for the South’s first points. The safety trimmed the North’s lead to 7-2 late in the first quarter, and it triggered a wave of momentum that ended with a 36-23 victory for the South.

Lake Travis graduate Andy Erickson earned the game’s Offensive Most Valuable Player award after scoring three touchdowns, including two on kick returns. He also had an interception in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win.

For three quarters, the South struggled to move the ball against the North’s defense. The team posted 157 yards in the first half and was 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversion attempts. The South also committed three first-half turnovers.

The North took the early lead with 9:31 to go in the first on a 2-yard touchdown run by Jarman Johnson of Pilot Point that immediately followed an interception by defensive player of the game Jake Weddle of Frisco Liberty. The South countered with a long drive highlighted by a 24-yard reception by Marion Grice of Aldine Nimitz. The drive bogged down at the 1-yard line as the North defense held South quarterback Tyler Arndt of Cuero out of the end zone on back-to-back sneak attempts on third and fourth downs. On the following play, however, Hager knifed through the offensive line and pulled down Jeffrey for the safety.

Neither team could score again until Erickson returned a punt 72 yards for a touchdown with 38 seconds left in the first half. The North would recapture the lead in the third quarter, but a 96-yard kickoff return by Erickson closed the North’s lead to 17-16 at the start of the final period. The South offense would post 20 unanswered fourth-quarter points in the span of under five minutes before allowing a North touchdown in the final minute of play. Receiver Auston Shipley of Bastrop, which tied Westlake for the District 25-5A title last season, caught a 7-yard touchdown pass that gave the South a lead that it would not relinquish.

Hager, a 6-foot-1 inch, 215-pound all-state inside linebacker for the Chaps in 2009, will play for Baylor University this season.