HERSHEY -- The Big 33 is an extraordinary final high-school hurrah. And for its participants, it can be an eye-opening glimpse into the future.

Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium, Lebanon's James Capello made the most of his football right of passage during the 52nd edition of the country's most storied senior all-star game. Lebanon's star quarterback competed for a Pennsylvania squad that fell to Ohio, 38-31.

Also on the Pennsylvania squad was William Penn's Malik Generett, a University of Connecticut-bound wide receiver.

Pennsylvania still leads its all-time series with Ohio, 11-10.

West Catholic's Curtis Drake, who's headed to Penn State as a flanker, was named MVP of the Pennsylvania squad. Running often out of the spread offense, Drake set a Big 33 record with 284 total yards Saturday.

Pennsylvania had erased a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and tied the game at 31 with 2:21 remaining on a one-yard sneak from Drake. But Ohio won it with 20 seconds left when lineman Adam Replogle scored on a 1-yard plunge from out of the backfield.

"Here everybody on the field is a Division I or I-AA athlete," said Lebanon head coach Gerry Yonchiuk. "This year (2008) we saw like six Division I recruits total, and some of them were our guys. The difference is speed here with the defensive linemen. Guys are extremely fast, and some of them are future NFL players."

Capello appeared at quarterback on three of Pennsylvania's 14 offensive series. He finished the

Advertisement
game 0-for-3 passing with one interception.

"It's certainly a lot different than high school," said Capello, "but nothing I can't handle. I got to see some different things."

"It shows him how much faster the game is," said Yonchiuk. "When he's at Iowa State, he's going to see that kind of speed. It's going to prepare him for the Big 12."

With the score deadlocked at 17, Pennsylvania was about to take its second lead of the game after driving to the Ohio 1-yard line. But Drake fumbled away the snap, and on the next play Ohio hit the Keystone State with a Big 33-record 99-yard pass play that gave the Buckeyes a 24-17 advantage.

Pennsylvania had taken a 7-0 lead just 1:08 into the contest, after driving the opening kickoff 40 yards for a score. But the opening 12 minutes of play ended tied at seven.

With all 43 Super Bowls featuring at least one Big 33 alum, the contest bills itself as 'The Super Bowl of High School Football."