The Boys Put On a Show at Hero Scholarship All-Star Game

SPRINGFIELD–It was a little hard to tell if it was April 1 or a month earlier, by the way the Blue and Red teams—and their coaches—went at it Friday night at Cardinal O’Hara, in the second-annual .

Each shot was contested. Every loose ball was vigorously chased. No one got a break. You’d think it was a Central League or Del-Val League game between area archrivals. That’s how intense these teams went at each other.

What it led to was a highly entertaining, very competitive game featuring some of Delaware County’s best high school seniors, and a 77-74 Red team victory over the Blue.

Penn Wood’s Darian Barnes received the MVP for the Red team, scoring 15 points, while Haverford School’s Andrew Acker, who’s headed to MIT, was the Blue team MVP with a game-high 19 points.

Even the coaches got into the intensity of the game. Blue coach Kevin McCormick, Springfield’s head coach, was coaching his team up as if they were playing in a league game.

“I lost my voice, I’m out of coaching shape,” McCormick said with a laugh. “This was a great event, and a very, very worthwhile event for a great cause. Bob Adams [the event organizer and Collingdale police chief] runs a first-class operation, and I know a lot of police officers. I know the dedication they commit, so that’s why there were a lot of people giving up their time to be a part of this.”

Tony Bacon, winning coach of the Red team, was a late substitute. The Glen Mills coach said it’s just something you can’t help—“the coach in you comes out, you want to win,” Bacon said. “The kids were having a great time, and when they asked me to coach, how could I say no to a cause like this. It was absolutely a great time."

It was a Barnes’ free throw with 0:17 to play that spelled the difference, with Archbishop Carroll’s Jay Donovan adding on a pair of insurance free throws to add some cushion. The Blue team tried desperately to get the ball into the hands of Penncrest’s Ian Campbell, but staunch defense in the game’s final seconds prevented any tying shot from getting off.

“This was good to come out and compete,” said Barnes, who is being recruited by St. Joseph’s, Mount St. Mary’s and Robert Morris. “We were down there for a time and we had to come back and win. This was my first MVP award.”

The same went for Acker, a 6-foot-7 presence who dominated the boards.

“This was my final high school game and it was a good way to go out,” Acker said. “This is for a great cause and it was an intense game. You want to win. Plus, being from the Inter-AC League, I don’t play against guys from the other leagues like this. It was a great experience, and for a great cause.”

To get a list of the roster for both the teams and to read more about the all-star scholarship game, click .

Were you at the game? How do you think the teams played?