Local quartet lends hand to West victory

Scheper, Farwell and even Haleen were on the field on the offensive line for the next three downs, on the last of which Duarte running back Chris Harris broke the plane for a 14-0 East lead with 6:00 left before the half.

The East capitalized on a West turnover early in the third quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 on a 10-yard touchdown run by Isaac Tucker of West Covina at the 9:00 mark.

The West went back up, 21-7, on a 44-yard touchdown pass from South Pasadena’s Jonathan Troast to Cogburn, but Tucker then set up the East to strike back quickly when he returned a kickoff to the West 5-yard line.

Haleen, a 2007 All-Pacific League pick, made a touchdown-saving tackle for a one-yard loss on third down, but the East would get into the end zone anyway on fourth down and four courtesy of a run by South Hills’ Brandon Parham.

Clinging to a one-touchdown lead going into the fourth quarter, the West went up, 27-14, on the third touchdown catch of the game by Cogburn, a 60-yard hookup with Troast.

Troast then found Alex Valdez of Schurr with a 58-yard touchdown strike with 1:45 in the game.

“We didn’t have that many offensive linemen, we only had about five or six,” said Farwell, a 2007 All-Pacific League selection. “We just bonded together during practices and we had a great scheme and we executed it right.”

Haleen, Farwell and Morgan all plan to continue playing football next season at Glendale Community College.

But for Scheper, a three-year starter and 2007 All-Mission League lineman at St. Francis, Friday’s game was the last go-round.

“It’s hard not to have fun out there,” Scheper said of his last football game before moving on to play rugby at Notre Dame University next year. “It’s just an unbelievable experience and I couldn’t think of a better way to cap off my football career.

“[The fact that it’s over has] definitely set in. I’ve got a new challenge, but I’m also sad I’m leaving the game I love behind.”

Morgan, along with Scheper, had a huge hand in leading the East squad to a victory in the Valley Youth Conference East-West All-Star game June 15, a game that had recently been dominated by the West.

Morgan didn’t play much on Friday, entering the game for several defensive sequences at free safety, in part because his practice time for the Hall of Fame game was limited by his involvement in the Valley Youth Conference game.

“It was definitely fun,” said Morgan, a 2007 All-Mission League pick. “The wins feel great.”

A trio of Glendale players, Zane Archer, Mario Cruz and Arshak Abramyan were selected to the team, but dropped out due to transportation issues pertaining to practice attendance.

Clay Sierra of Crescenta Valley was on the West roster as of game time but was a late scratch.