HIGH POINT — Denzel Keyes could have been the hero.
As time expired in the 2013 North Carolina Coaches Association East-West football game, the ball was headed straight for the Kinston High School wide receiver.
But he was beat out by a defender 9 inches shorter than him on the final play of the All-Star game Wednesday night as the West escaped with a 14-7 victory at A.J. Simeon Stadium, the first time the game was played there.
West defensive back Tyriek Able of Greensboro Ben L. Smith High School stayed ahead of Keyes to grab what became a game-ending interception in the end zone. East quarterback Vincent Jefferies Jr. of Garner High School launched a pass from the 44-yard line intended for Keyes as time expired, but Able reached up and grabbed the ball after positioning himself directly in front of Keyes for the catch.
“I had tried my best,” said Keyes, who will play football at North Carolina A&T this fall. “He had led me a little bit too much. It was all or nothing and we came up with nothing.”
A penalty nullified a touchdown on the previous play, which could have led to a tie with 19 seconds left. But Jefferies’ pass to Jalen McDaniel of Jack Britt High School was ruled incomplete, which put the East back on the 44 for a second and 26.
The East-West All-Star teams only had one week to practice together, and the East’s loss Wednesday night showed the vitality of communication on the field.
The East struggled throughout the game to connect on passing plays, limiting them to rushes detectable by the West defense. When the East’s offense started clicking, it was a big penalty and poor timing that finished off the 65th annual contest.
“We only had a week and we’re not used to playing with each other,” said Keyes, who had 18 receiving yards on two catches for the game. “That played a big part in it. We just weren’t communicating as a team.”
As in most all-star games of its ilk, the East and West teams focused primarily on running plays for a majority of the game, which left Keyes scarce opportunities to grab the ball. East gained 82 yards rushing the ball, but the West’s almost doubled their output with 160 yards.
The West was more cohesive after a scoreless first quarter. But after five possession changes in less than four minutes opened the second frame, the East broke the drought with the game’s first touchdown.
Quarterback Julius Murphy of Goldsboro High School handed off to Josh Joyner of Wilson Hunt deep in the red zone at the 3. It was fourth and goal as Joyner ran along the left side to tap the end zone with about seven minutes left in the second quarter.
The play came after the only East interception of the game, picked off by Able.
The West, which had a pair of interceptions, managed to score in both remaining quarters, with both touchdowns by tailback David Burgess of Morganton Freedom. He scored in the third on a 19-yard run, breaking through the defensive line up the left. After a couple of bad West kicks, Burgess was set up for the two-point conversion but couldn’t get through, leaving the East with a 7-6 lead.
On a fourth quarter first down, Burgess exploded down the sideline off a Garrett Young pass for a deciding 79-yard touchdown. Tailback Desean Jackson of Hendersonville rushed in for the two-point conversion, putting the West up by a touchdown with five minutes remaining in the game.
Those were the final points scored.
“We started connecting in some spots, but the bottom line is they beat us upfront tonight,” said East head coach Randy Raper of Northern Nash High School. “The kids did (adapt) and they did it every well. Some of them got a little frustrated. It all goes back to ‘upfront,’ and that’s the bottom line.”
The West tallied 311 total offensive yards compared to the East’s 116.
Jefferies completed 10 of 20 passes and was cheerless as he walked off the field after the last two plays. He called the pass to Keyes a “prayer ball.”
Able, the corner responsible for the heartbreak, said he knew where the final pass was going.
“I just knew they were going to (Keyes),” Able said. “I just read the ball good and got a good jump on it.”
Keyes seemed to be in disbelief as he crumbled to his knees, holding his head at the corner of the end zone after the game.
“You gotta wake up,” he said. “You gotta wake up and get out there and get better. It was a great experience. I got to play against top competition in North Carolina, and thank God for this opportunity.”
He will play football this fall at A&T alongside his older brother Angelo; when football season ends, he will play basketball for the Aggies. Keyes was already working out on the gridiron, which is why the two-sport athlete chose the football All-Star game over basketball, to which he had also been extended an invitation.
As Keyes exited the field, Raper shook his hand and told him, “Son I’m proud of you. I’d take 100 of you.”
The West leads the All-Star series 38-26-1. The longest East winning streak stands at four from 1993-96. More than 7,000 student-athletes have been all-stars, a group that now includes Keyes.
Jessika Morgan can be reached at 252-559-1078 or at Jessika.Morgan@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter at @JessikaMorgan.