North quarterback Nick Laware, of Milton High, releases a pass ahead of the rush of South lineman D.J. Snide, of Bellows Falls, during Saturday’s North-South All-Star game at Castleton University.
North quarterback Nick Laware, of Milton High, releases a pass ahead of the rush of South lineman D.J. Snide, of Bellows Falls, during Saturday’s North-South All-Star game at Castleton University. Credit: Jon Oleander photograph

Castleton, Vt. — North quarterback Evan Sarault had a hot hand, but it was his cool head that really factored into his team’s 14-13 victory over the South in the North-South All-Star Game on Saturday at Castleton University’s Spartan Stadium.

Sarault, operating from the shotgun, dropped the snap. He calmly fielded the bounce up from the turf and fired as 26-yard touchdown pass to Alex Bond that pushed the North’s lead to 14-7 just 28 seconds before the half.

Sarault said there was no panic. He has dealt with bad snaps or dropped snaps before.

“It’s happened all year,” the North Country Union quarterback said.

The game began with fireworks as South quarterback Griff Stalcup heaved a 66-yard TD bomb to Woodstock’s Bill Wood. The Burr and Burton Academy quarterback went over the top and Wood beat the secondary, catching the ball in stride. BBA’s Carter Vickers kicked the point and the South had a 7-0 lead just 2:18 into the game.

Each team had just four practices, but Stalcup said it did not take long to form a connection with Wood.

“He’s pretty quick,” Stalcup said. “The first day of practice, the coaches told him to run as fast he could, and he caught it. He catches everything. There is not a defensive back in the state that can stop him.”

It was satisfying for Wood to just be back out on the field after missing Woodstock’s semifinal loss due to an injury.

Stalcup completed all three of his passes in that opening quarter for 82 yards and when the stanza was over, the South still had that lead.

The second quarter, though, belonged to Sarault. He had a 19-yard scoring strike to Bond and the 26-yard TD pass to Bond.

The touchdown pass to Bond at the end of the half capped an impressive 80-yard drive. That was Sarault’s finest stretch. He had five completions on that series.

Sarault had a big day, completing 11 of his 17 passes for 136 yards and the two touchdowns. Complementing that air show was a ground game led by Essex’s Liam Coulter with 40 yards on eight carries.

A big piece of Sarault’s work was a 40-yard completion to North Country teammate Mitchell Austin.

The South responded just 3:49 into the third quarter. Brattleboro’s Cheick Diakite scored from 11 yards out, but the point-after kick was wide and the North still had the lead, 14-13.

The South collected most of its real estate overland on that march with Diakite and Bellows Falls’ Jahyde Bullard ripping off substantial yardage.

Diakite led the South’s ground game with 65 yards on 12 carries. He and Bullard formed a potent 1-2 punch. Bullard had 62 yards on 13 carries.

Woodstock’s Dan Robinson had eight tackles for the South, six of them unassisted stops. Brattleboro’s Matt Gaboriault had six tackles.

The North leads the series 9-7 and has won the last three games.