By Don Ketchum

With a little help from Spider Man, the Class 2A-5A South defeated the North 35-7 in the Arizona Football Coaches Association All-Star Game on Friday night (June 24) at Surprise Stadium.

South head coach Roy Lopez of Tempe Marcos de Niza was bitten on the left cheek by a spider and his eye nearly was swollen shut. But he got out of the hospital for the game and returned afterward to receiver further treatment.

He temporarily was feeling no pain after his team methodically dismantled the North.

Phoenix Horizon’s Ryan Stanford, the only quarterback listed on the roster, completed 15 of 22 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns, earning the game’s Most Valuable Player award.

The South took a 7-0 lead with 7:16 left in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Anthem Boulder Creek running back Mikey Contreras. Stanford set up the touchdown with a 40-yard pass to Phoenix Shadow Mountain’s Ian Juede to the 1-yard line.

Juede had a big night, catching seven passes for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Stanford, who will play in college at North Dakota State, threw his second scoring pass of the night, to Chandler Valley Christian’s Drew Bond, a 3-yarder with 3:49 left in the first period.

The North got its only touchdown when Round Valley’s Rulon Udall returned an interception 50 yards with less than a minute to go in the first half.

Contreras made a diving catch for a 17-yard score with 28.9 seconds left in the second.

Marcos de Niza’s Martwon Weaver returned a punt 70 yards for a TD with 53 seconds left in the third, and Stanford found Juede behind the North secondary for a 45-yard TD with 5:26 left in the game.

“Everything came together,’’ said Stanford, who put about 20 pounds (to 197) on his 6-foot-3 frame to get ready for college ball.

“That was some of the best line play I’ve had and the receivers were really good,’’ he said.

The game was dedicated to Shem Casey, Stanford’s teammate and the son of Horizon coach Steve Casey. The younger Casey passed away late in the school year.

“We had him in our prayers. We won it for him,’’ Stanford said.

Lopez said he expected to get some antibiotics for his bite.

His team ran a lot of play-action for Stanford to hold the North defense enough to allow the receivers to get the extra step and get open.

“Our assistant coaches did a great job preparing these guys in such a short time, only about two days,’’ Lopez said. “We did a great job in all parts of the game.’’