A six-month break didn’t stop Merced’s Perales from ‘doing damage’ in all-star game

David Perales may have saved his best game for an all-star game.

The former Merced High star stood out on a field that had some of the best talent in the Central Valley as Perales finished with three sacks and returned a fumble for a touchdown to help lead the North to a 33-19 win over the South in the 32nd annual North/South Rotary All-Star Football Game Saturday night at Veterans Stadium on the campus of Golden Valley High School.

“I don’t how I did it,” Perales said. “After six months off from football, I was dying in the first quarter. I was tired. I took three series off and I was good again. I was able to get a couple sacks in the second half. It was fun though.”

It didn’t take long for Perales to make an impact.

On the first play of the game, Mendota quarterback Junior Cardenas fumbled the snap and Perales raced in, scooped the ball up and ran 25 yards for the score.

His first touchdown in high school ever.

“I got a good get-off and I saw the ball,” Perales said. “I just took it. I don’t remember anything after that.”

Perales then recorded his first sack of the game on the South’s next possession to help force a punt. The North pressured the South quarterbacks all night, recording seven sacks.

“That man did damage,” said Turlock defensive lineman Mustafa Noel-Johnson about Perales. “He let the man in front of him know he came to play tonight. Up front we’re the nasty guys. We’re not the biggest and we’re not the strongest. We do have speed. (The South) had some big boys but speed kills. You saw that tonight.”

Noel-Johnson and Ripon’s Bryce Kinsey both finished with two sacks.

Meanwhile, the North offense hurt the South with the deep ball in the second quarter with two long touchdown passes to take a lead into the half.

Velasquez hooked up with Ceres’ Connor Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown pass to give the North a 14-12 lead midway throught he second quarter.

The Ceres duo of Chris Lubinsky and Marcellus Boykins extended the North lead to 20-12 at the half with a 28-yard touchdown pass.

“We caught them a couple times,” said Turlock coach James Peterson, who coached the North. “I wasn’t expecting us to be able to get them over the top like that with their speed.”

Velasquez had the advantage of running his own offense in an all-star game with Bulldogs coaching staff leading the North. He said he felt a little hesitant in last week’s Lions All-Star game because he wasn’t sure exactly how much freedom he had in the offense. Velasquez was right at home on Saturday, throwing for three touchdowns to three different receivers.

“Of course there’s an advantage running your own offense,” Velasquez said. “Last week, I was unsure what I could do with the coaches. I didn’t know what was OK. This week I knew exactly what I could do.”

Velasquez and Noel-Johnson might have been the only two people on the North that knew they were running a fake on a field goal attempt late in the third quarter. The South had been rushing hard and were called for an offside penalty after blocking a 30-yard field-goal attempt.

The North lined up up for another field goal on the next play, but Velasquez took the snap, rolled out right and then found Noel-Johnson for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

“That was all Danny,” Peterson said. “We saw how they were rushing like crazy on the field goal. I told him if he can sneak one, go ahead. He must have told Mustafa to run that corner route.”

Velasquez’s final touchdown also came on an audible. With the South selling out to try to stop the run late in the game, Valasquez found Buhach Colony’s Pardeep Dhillon for a 56-yard touchdown to give the North a 33-19 lead with less than 2 minutes left in the game.

“They were putting eight men in the box every play,” Velasquez said. “I knew it would open up.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2017 at 12:37 AM with the headline "A six-month break didn’t stop Merced’s Perales from ‘doing damage’ in all-star game."