CARMEL - If Saturday was any indication, J.D. Buckingham will have a bright future as a Ball State University football player.
The freshman-to-be had a big day at the Indiana Football Coaches Association North-South All-Star game, recording four sacks in helping lead the South to a 28-10 victory over the North in the annual high school All-Star game.
"I felt like we were a very good team," said Buckingham, who attended Center Grove High School. "They allowed me to make plays by clogging off gaps. I had a lot of fun."
The 6-foot-2, 245 pound defensive end was a force in Saturday's game, constantly applying pressure on North quarterbacks Jason Doerffler and Jacob Kiger.
"It was just like playing backyard football," he said. "It was my last high school game so I really enjoyed it. I was real hyped about everything. It was a good week of practice. All the puzzles fit today."
He was not the only future Ball State football player in the game. Running back MiQuale Lewis and offensive lineman Travis Arnold, both from R. Nelson Snider High School in Fort Wayne, suited up for the North on the offensive side of the ball. Dane Cook, a safety from Delta High School, also played for the North.
Cook had seven tackles -¡- three solos and four assists - to lead the North defense. He also had one tackle for loss on the South's Daniel Carter, who's headed to the University of St. Francis in fall. "We worked real hard this week," Cook said. "It's disappointing losing, but I met a lot of people. It's been a real fun week."
Lewis, who averaged nearly 10 yards per carry in high school, only had 22 yards on four carries for the game. He missed two days of practice this week because of freshman orientation at Ball State. Lewis also caught one pass for two yards.
"I missed two days of practice because of orientation so it cut back on my playing time," Lewis said. "We had a rotation of three running backs. It was hard to catch a rhythm."
Quarterback Ben Chappel was named the most valuable player of the game. Chappel, who will play at Indiana University, was 9-of-13 for 258 yards and three touchdowns. One of those touchdown passes, a 93-yard strike to Stephen Geller, was an All-Star game record. They also connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass. Geller ended up with 199 receiving yards on five catches.
Kiger, who had a sparkling 58-yard touchdown run to give the North a brief 10-7 lead, was named the North Player of the Game. Kiger will play college football at St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind.
The four recruits from Ball State who played in the game - Buckingham, Lewis, Cook and Arnold - had a lot to talk about as they will all be on campus this week for football-related matters.
"[Cook] was basically in my room every day," Lewis said. "I talked to J.D. sometimes during lunch and at the baseball game and at Camp Riley.
"We are enemies right here but when we get back in Muncie on Monday we will all be teammates again."
Cook said he hopes the experience of playing with his future teammates leads to greater things.
"We were kind of giving each other a hard time," he said. "[Buckingham] had a heck of a game and hopefully we can work together in the next couple of years and put it together."
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