“I told him I would play anywhere,” said Cabrillo alum and Conquistadore quarterback C.J. Simmons. “We have a good QB under center in Timmy Ochoa (Lompoc) so that position is taken care of.”

Simmons will play at running back in tonight's Kiwanis All-Star Football Game, being played at La Playa Stadium at 7:30 p.m. in Santa Barbara.

It will be the Northern Santa Barbara County All-Stars, led by Cabrillo head coach Don Cross, against the South, coached by John Hazelton of Carpenteria.

For Simmons, this will be his last football game.

He will be attending Menlo College in Atherton to play basketball.

“I'm excited to be back in football for another two weeks,” Simmons claimed. “Just getting back with guys you've played against for four years that have always been your rival. Getting together and playing just once as a team, it's an honor.”

The North Stars have been practicing at Huyck Stadium in Lompoc for the last two weeks, getting ready for the game.

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“They've pulled together very well,” Cross said Wednesday afternoon about his North squad.

“They've arraigned their schedules and we've had close to the maximum every day.”

“This is our eighth practice and we've had 27 to 28 guys every time,” he continued. “They've done a great job communicating with me if they had to miss. They've done a good job.”

The game, which features graduated seniors from Santa Barbara County, was in doubt for most of the summer. The late decision to play the game made it tough on the coaches to field a squad. Several players will play in positions not familiar to them.

Like Simmons, Patrick Cusack from St. Joseph High is playing out of position for the game. A challenge that he has truly accepted.

“I think it's so fun, it's kind of something different,” Cusack said. “During the season I played receiver and now I'm a running back. I enjoy it.”

“That's my number one priority,” said Cusack, talking about the first time he will be able to fully put his shoulder pad into an opponent. “ I'm really excited for that one.”

“I love football,” Cusack explained, “and coming back to play one more game is great.”

“Especially for guys who aren't gonna play anymore,” he continued. “This is their last game, this is the game to give it all.”

After giving his all tonight, Cusack will attend the University Of Colorado in Boulder and try to walk on the football team. Bringing together former opponents is not always an easy thing, but Cross was pleased with how the team quickly gelled.

“This particular group did very well,” he explained. “They got together early and began joking around. I didn't see any problems.

“At first you kind of look around and see these guys,” Cusack said, “and it's like, oh man, we had a close game or he did that to me, but it seemed like after five minutes everything was just gone.

“We started to get close as a team and just started to bond together,” he continued, “becoming one.”

“It was funny the first day,” added Simmons, “but we clicked with an instant respect. I didn't see any tension.”

Getting the players on the same page was one thing, but getting down to business after months without football was not easy.

“Well, that's the chore of an all-star game for both sides,” said Cross. “We've just tried to keep things as simple as possible.

“We haven't put in too many plays,” he continued.

“You are only allowed three formations, so it's not like we're trying to stuff too much down their throat.

“For us the hard part was getting to know the players we don't know and finding out what they are

good at,” Cross explained. “So we try to identify real quick where they fit in to what we want to try and do in the game. A lot of guys are out of position from where you saw them for the last four years.”

Another adjustment was with conditioning.

“It's been hard,” said Simmons. “Basketball shape yes, football shape no.”

“It was a little rough,” added Cusack. “We started off in pads, so I got a couple headaches here and there, but after about three days I think everybody got used to it.”

Most of the all-stars played both offensive and defensive positions during their high school careers, but Cross understands that with a long football lay-off, conditioning would be a question.

“We're trying to play guys one way as much as possible,” he said.

The South team will feature a team of large players and will have the size advantage.

“Shotwell will play well on the defensive end,” said Cross about Troy Shotwell, a 6 foot-3 inch, 210 pounder from Dos Pueblos High. Joining Shotwell on the d-line will be Scott Winnewisser (6-5, 215, Bishop Diego), Matt Smitley (6-3, 290, Santa Ynez) and Ben Pena (6-3, 287, Santa Barbara). Robert Murillo, a linebacker from Carpenteria led his team last season with 11 tackles a game.

“Conner Rehage is a very good quarterback,” Cross said.

Rehage threw for over 1,200 yards for Dos Pueblos last season. His favorite target from Dos Pueblos, George Silva, will be joined by Craig Kohler (Bishop Diego), Tysen Prowell (San Marcos) and Justin Anderson (Santa Ynez). J.P. Jimenez was the leading rusher for Carpenteria with 330 yards and seven touchdowns. Tucker Stein (Bishop Diego) and Andrew Campos (Carpenteria) should see plenty of action as well.

Ochoa threw for over 850 yards and had five touchdowns for Lompoc last season. His teammate Lukas Carpio caught 23 passes for 463 yards. Daniel Carpio was effective on the ground and through the air, with a 4.3 rushing average and 16 receptions. The leading rusher on the North should be Righetti's Kyle Leon. The Warrior workhorse rushed for 841 yards with an average of 5.6. Big plays could come when Ochoa hands off to speedster Simmons in the backfield or bruiser Chris Etheridge and the reliable Frank Tovar from Pioneer Valley. The Panthers are well represented with their first ever senior class participating for the first time.

Both teams will be fired up and playing with a purpose.

“There are some big kids, some good athletes,” said Simmons, “but I think we're faster than they are. They're bigger than us, so maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

“It's for pride and they're trying to represent their schools,” said Cross. “We tapped on the fact that we have won the majority of the last few all-star games and we want to continue that tradition.”

“And as coaches too,” he continued, “we don't want to be the ones to lose it.”

“It's all about the kids really,” Cross added, “just trying to get them another chance to play. It's total fun for us.”

July 27, 2007