NEW WILMINGTON — David Bauer sprinted to his left, stopped dead in his tracks as an unsuspecting defender whooshed by him, and then galloped forward, twisting and turning his way for a 14-yard gain.

It had shades of Barry Sanders. It looked a little bit like a Warrick Dunn run.

"I wish," Bauer said, laughing.

At only 5-foot-10, 155-pounds, Bauer doesn't look the part of the running back workhorse. But that's just what the Slippery Rock High School graduate was Saturday at the West Penn All-Star Football Classic, gaining a team-leading 66 yards on eight carries for the South team, which fell to the North team 14-7 atWilmington HighSchool.

Bauer showed his worth and versatility to the Rockets and coach Clyde Conti this past season. The senior led the team in rushing, all-purpose yards, points scored and tackles and was second in receiving.

He was named first-team all-conference on defense and was the league MVP.

He was also the North's MVPon Saturday.

"I really like that I-look," Bauer said. "I've run the Wing-T so long, I sort of forgot about it."

Running out of the I formation in the same backfield with Donald Cleckly of New Castle, Bauer helped the South drive 58 yards on 10 plays, capped by his 6-yard scoring run, to tie the score at 7 just before the half.

Cleckley added 54 yards on six carries.

"Boy, I wish I had that on my team," said South and Moniteau coach Steve Wilson. "When those two guys get running north and south, they can scoot."

SlipperyRock's Ben Collins directed the drive.

In fact, all four SlipperyRock representatives in the game had big days.

Collins broke up two passes and could have been credited with a third in the end zone in the third quarter.

North quarterback P.J. O'Connor lofted a pass to the back left corner of the end zone to Sharon's Delon Bournes, who leaped in the air for the ball, grabbed it, but lost the handle as he came to the ground withCollins covering.

Despite losing the football, the officials ruled it a touchdown to put the North up 14-7 with 2:20 remaining in the third period.

"I thought (Collins) knocked the ball free," Bauer said. "But, what are you going to do."

Mike Regal came up with a sack to stall a Northdrive and David Hewitt blocked a punt.

For Regal, doing well was nice. Playing again with his teammates was better.

"It was indescribable," Regal said. "I was getting ready Monday for practice and my heart was just pounds. It was like, 'Whoa!'

"To play with these guys again — it was awesome."

Regal and Bauer will both head to Westminster College to play football next season.

It was also special for Wilson, who got to coach some of his graduating players — MattSchandelmeier, Garth Kohlmeyer, Ryan Protzman, Ryan Flick and Clay Campbell — one more time.

He also got to coach players he usually is plotting to stop in the Karns City contingent of Steve Black, Chad Bell, JustinMacurak, Chad Turner and Korey Kusick.

"It was kind of special, because you think you are done with them, then you get another opportunity,"Wilson said. "It was nice to coach the kids fromSlipperyRock and Karns City.

"It was nice to see the camaraderie between our guys and the guys from Karns City. These guys were rivals, but now they are hanging out at each other's houses."

Bournes was the MVP for the North team. In addition to his touchdown reception, he also picked off two passes as the South struggled through the air, completing just 1-of-8 passes with three interceptions.

The South was also victimized by penalties, getting whistled for seven infractions totaling 40 yards.

North 14, South 7

South 0 7 0 0—7North 0 7 7 0—14S H8 First Downs 1134-157 Rushes-Yards 28-11717 Passing Yards 1361-8-3 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 5-14-1174 Total Yards 2530-0 Fumbles/Lost 2-07-40 Penalties-Yards 1-5

Second QuarterN — Dustin Berger 35 pass fromCorey Shaffer (Micah Wiley kick), 8:21S — David Bauer 6 run (Frank Reino kick), :37

Third QuarterN — Delon Bournes 8 pass from P.J. O'Connor (Wiley kick) 2:20

Individual Statistics

Passing: South, P.J. Horne 1-3-17-2, Ben Collins 0-1-0-0, Garth Kohlmeyer 0-1-0-0, Josh Crum 0-2-0-1, Matt Schandelmeier 0-1-0-0. North, Corey Shaffer 3-6-94-1, P.J. O'Connor 2-7-42-0, Preston Bridges 0-1-0-0

Rushing: South, David Bauer 8-66, Donald Cleckley 6-54, Steve Black 2-11, MattSchandelmeier 3-7, Josh Crum 3-(-4), Scott Lewis 2-5, Garth Kohlmeyer 1-3, Matt Germanski 1-1, Rey Colon 3-10, Ryan Protzman 3-9, P.J. Horne 1-(-9), FrankReino 1-4. North, Micah Wiley 10-59, Preston Bridges 5-28, Todd Miller 1-0, James Zuschlag 9-34, Corey Shaffer 1-10, P.J. O'Connor 2-(-14)

Receiving: South, Garth Kohlmeyer 1-17. North, Jeff Bishop 1-27, Dustin Berger 1-35, Justin Jackson 1-32, Terrell Davis 1-34, Delon Bournes 1-8