Dec. 21—Lee County defensive back Anthony Battle was one of the 36 players chosen to represent the eastern half of North Carolina in the NCCA East-West All-Star Football Game held Sunday at Jamieson Stadium in Greensboro.
Battle, a 5’7″, 145-pound senior who played varsity football for the Yellow Jackets in each of the past two seasons, was joined on the team by his head coach, Steve Burdeau. Burdeau was one of six coaches selected to coach the East squad.
Battle was chosen for the game despite missing two games during the 2023 season, in a year where the Yellow Jackets struggled with injuries throughout. Nevertheless, he made 43 tackles in eight games and grabbed three interceptions. In 2022, he had six picks to go along with 34 tackles.
The East-West Game is one of the oldest showcase events for high school football in the nation, having started in 1949. The game is always held at Jamieson Stadium, the home field of former Grimsley head football coach Bob Jamieson, who helped organize the event and was its director until 1986. The game pits the best high school players in the East with the best of the West.
Battle, Burdeau and the rest of the East team, which included two other Sandhills Athletic Conference standouts in Scotland’s Zay Jones and Richmond’s Jacoby Martin, defeated the West 35-7.
In the game, the East broke free from a 7-7 tie after one quarter when D.H. Conley’s Isaiah Crumpler scored on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Northern Nash’s Randall King with 8:09 left in the second.
The East tacked on a trio of rushing touchdowns in the second half for its second straight win in the series after winning the matchup in July. The game was moved to December in an effort to attract more high-level players.
Triton’s Javon Cowan, who had 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns, was selected the game’s offensive MVP….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/battle-burdeau-part-big-east-191700097.html
Author : The Sanford Herald, N.C.
Publish date : 2023-12-21 19:17:00
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