High School Football:
Flame Bowl All-Star Game

Saturday, June 26, 1999

By Vincent Lewis
SJSports Staff Writer

Football is still alive even during the summer months when the 9th Annual Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey Flame Bowl All-Star Football game took place on Saturday at Rowan University. The Flame Bowl consisted of the Red Team, made up of players from Burlington and Cape-Atlantic Counties, while the Black Team was made up from players from Camden County, Colonial and Tri-County Conferences. After a slow start by the Red Team, 23 unanswered points was enough to defeat the Black Team 23-12.

The Epilepsy Foundation of New Jersey is an affiliate of the national Epilepsy Foundation which is a nonprofit charitable agency dedicated to helping to improve the quality of life for people affected by epilepsy and their loved ones. This foundation provides family support services to families who have children with developmental disabilities including autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, spina bifida and other neurological impairments. The participation from the fans shows that this is one event that is enjoyed by all for a good cause.

Both offenses had problems in the first quarter getting points on the board against the all-star field defenses. Head coach John Cutsavage (Pitman) watched his team get the first points of the game when Mitch Davis from Eastern give the Black Team a 6-0 lead in the second quarter. Deshane Wright from Penns Grove helped the Black Team increase the lead to 12-0 when he scored on a 3-yard run. The Red Team, coached by John Scott from Cherokee, finally got on the board with 3:06 remaining in the half. Bordentown's Ron Carthan scored on a 1-yard run and ended the scoring in the first half, down 12-7 after a Matt Prizzi (Lenape) extra point.

When the second half of the game began and the lights turned on at the stadium, the illumination revealed that the crowd stuck around to watch the Red Team take the lead. Eight minutes left in the third quarter, the Red Team intercepted the ball and started on the twenty-nine yard line. Carthan scored again for the Red Team on a 5-yard run. The extra point failed and the Red Team took the lead for the first time, 13-12. Cherokee's Chris Spina connected with Oakcrest's Mike Forest to give the Red Team a 20-12 lead. Holy Cross' Roman Galas was successful with the extra point. Prizzi capped off the scoring with a 26-yard field goal.

Photos by Forrest Robleto