And together, Dowell, Banks and Sechrist helped power the North to a dramatic 44-36 District 4 All-Star win last Friday at Milton. All earned MVP honors as well. Dowell took home Game MVP; Banks North Offensive MVP and Sechrist North Defensive MVP.

Dowell totaled 301 yards and four touchdowns; Banks ran for 125 yards and a score, while Sechrist collected two sacks and forced a fumble. It was quite a high school curtain call.

“It’s a big honor, especially with Loyalsock guys ahead of me here,” Dowell said about winning MVP two years after Lancer grad Jaylen Andrews did. “It’s almost like a legacy now for Loyalsock guys to get it.”

All three players enhanced their scholastic legacies as the North erased a 14-point second quarter deficit before mounting a game-winning, 88-yard touchdown drive in the final 4 minutes, 59 seconds.

RALPH WILSON/For The Express Bloomsburg's Wyatt Brosious slips past Jersey Shore's Bo Sechrist during an All-Star football game on Friday at Milton.

Dowell was the lone quarterback on the roster and made the most of his final game at that position since he will play safety at Bloomsburg next fall. The Loyalsock graduate completed 11 of 14 passes for 173 yards and ran for 128 yards and four scores on just eight carries. That included the game-winning 4-yard score with :50.7 seconds remaining followed by his third 2-point conversion run.

“It was a cool experience,” Dowell said. “I was a little emotional the last time throwing it around but I’m even more excited for everything else I get to do on the other side of the ball.”

Dowell excelled at safety last fall, intercepting five passes. Still, he generated even more headlines offensively after moving from receiver to quarterback the previous year, throwing for 1,183 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The qualities which helped Dowell excel at quarterback shined through Friday as he combined accuracy with sprinter’s speed, gashing the South defense in all facets. That included on a 53-yard touchdown run which gave the North a 36-30 fourth quarter lead.

And that is where Banks turned the Bridge Rivalry into a bridge over troubled water. As Dowell took beat containment to the edge, Banks heard Dowell’s voice. He went into turbo mode from there, throwing a series of tremendous downfield blocks which allowed Dowell to go the whole way untouched.

“I just heard Danny behind me yelling, ‘Go Banks! Go Banks!'” Banks said. “I knew I had to go because I know he’s a lot faster than me, so I turned it on. It’s probably one of the best blocks I’ve ever had, honestly.”

Banks produced a lot of super blocks, tackles and runs during his high school career at Montoursville. Nothing changed Friday as he provided the jolt which would ignite an offensive eruption on the team’s first offensive play.

After Milton’s Monty Fisher caught a 67-yard touchdown on the game’s first play his future Lock Haven teammate was eager to answer. He immediately did so, exploding through a hole on the left side, bouncing off multiple would-be tacklers, breaking a few more and staying in bounds along the sideline before pulling away and completing a highlight-reel 74-yard touchdown.

“Honestly, it was a little unexpected, but it was amazing. I couldn’t believe my eyes,” Dowell said. “I thought he was going to get tackled five times on that play. He just made it happen.”

Banks did so again on the second play of the game-winning drive. After the South made a stop for no gain on the first play, Banks rammed through multiple defenders for a 14-yard burst which put the championship wheels in motion.

Banks ran for 1,316 yards and 19 touchdowns last fall, also topping 3,000 career yards. How he did so was especially impressive and Banks showed again Friday why Lock Haven was excited to add him to its roster.

Banks will play for the upstart Bald Eagles next fall. So, what looked like an end Friday might just the start of something else good.

“I’m really excited because Lock Haven is a school on the rise,” Banks said. “I’m looking forward to working and trying to help make it continue growing.”

Sechrist was a major reason the Jersey Shore program continued growing the last four years. A three-time all-state selection, Sechrist was the latest dominant linebacker in a pipeline of them there and also become a bulldozing fullback who ran for 1,490 yards and 24 touchdowns last fall.

The reigning Sun-Gazette Player of the Year is the protypical hard-nosed, relentless Jersey Shore player and he displayed those qualities again Friday. Sechrist was all over the field defensively and his forced fumble following a big hit at midfield in the second quarter started changing the game’s trajectory.

Sechrist also registered multiple quarterback hurries and played a large role in having Wyatt Brosious and Kaiden Maurer on the run all night. Throw in 74 offensive yards and a block which helped spring Dowell for the game-winning touchdown and Sechrist delivered one more complete performance in a high school career defined by them.

“I think I had two sacks total my whole high school career, so to match that in this game was pretty awesome,” Sechrist said. “It took a little while this week to get back into football shape but it was a great experience.”

Sechrist has decided not to play college football and will focus on his academics at Lycoming this fall. That made Friday’s game both especially special and memorable. Sechrist also won the North’s Coach’s Award. Sechrist made many friends outside Jersey Shore, especially evident as his teammates roared when he earned those multiple awards.

Still, it was those he played with since he was little which meant the most to Sechrist. He played with his older brother Tate and younger brother Zeke these last few years, but the other six Bulldogs there Friday became unofficial brothers.

Experiencing victory together one last time provided Sechrist a moment he will not soon forget.

“They were the first people I saw after the game and celebrated with,” Sechrist said. “It’s our last time on the field and to get a win with them means a lot because they’re some of my best friends.”

Dowell had a lot of help from his friends Friday with Loyalsock teammates Jalil Coates and Nahmir Thomas combining for five catches and 103 yards. Both made big plays on the last two touchdown drives, so Dowell experienced the best of times with his high school teammates again.

Now Dowell hopes the good times continue rolling as he starts writing his college football story.

“I love the coaching staff; love the teammates. It’s a great area,” Dowell said. “Right after my visit, when I got in the car afterwards, I told my parents, ‘This where I’m going; this is home. I’m so excited for it.”