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Game Recaps : 1980s


1980


NORTH 57, SOUTH 3

MVP: Marc Wilson, Brigham Young
NORTH COACH: Bud Grant, Vikings
SOUTH COACH: Ray Perkins, Giants
TOP PLAYERS: Joe Cribbs, Mark Malone, Marc Wilson, Art Monk

The 1980's started with the game's most lopsided contest ever, as the North squad blew out the South, 57-3. BYU quarterback Mark Wilson earned MVP honors with an 11-19, 128-yard, three-touchdown passing performance - two of the TDs went to San Jose State's Jewerl Thomas. Arizona State quarterback Mark Malone threw for another North score as it scored 21 points in the second quarter to put the game out of reach.

1981


NORTH 23, SOUTH 10

MVP: Neil Lomax, Portland State
NORTH COACH: Bill Walsh, 49ers
SOUTH COACH: Red Miller, Broncos
TOP PLAYERS: Neil Lomax, Stump Mitchell, E.J. Junior, James Brooks, Rickey Jackson

The Bill Walsh-led North squad made it two in a row and its sixth win in eight years as Portland State's Neil Lomax, who entered the contest the holder of over 90 NCAA passing and total offense marks, led the North to a 23-10 win. On a cold, windy day at Ladd Stadium, Lomax threw for 167 yards to lead the North back from a second-quarter deficit.

Oklahoma's David Overstreet ran in a touchdown from 11 yards to give the North a 13-7 halftime lead and it never looked back.

1982


SOUTH 27, NORTH 10

MVP: John Fourcade, Ole Miss / Steve Clark, Utah
NORTH COACH: Marv Levy, Chiefs
SOUTH COACH: Chuck Noll, Steelers
TOP PLAYERS: Jim McMahon, Morten Andersen

Ole Miss quarterback John Fourcade, who took Offensive MVP honors, led the South to a 27-10 victoiry. Two short touchdown runs by Fourcade put the South up 14-0 in the second quarter.

Other scoring highlights included an 84-yard interception return by Alabama's Bennie Perrin in the third quarter, a Senior Bowl record 55-yard field goal by SMU's Eddie Garcia, and the lone fourth quarter score came on a 24-yard North field goal by future NFL great Morten Andersen of Michigan State.

1983


NORTH 14, SOUTH 6

MVP: Dan Marino, Pitt / Terry Kinard, Clemson
NORTH COACH: Frank Kush, Colts
SOUTH COACH: Bum Phillips, Saints
TOP PLAYERS: Dan Marino, Bart Oates, Jeremiah Castille, Albert Lewis

Two second half touchdown passes by Pittsburgh's heralded quarterback Dan Marino gave the North a 14-6 win. Marino, the NFL's future all-time passing leader, turned in a 178-yard passing performance to earn the game's Offensive MVP award.

Other game stars included North Carolina running back Kelvin Bryant, who gained 77 yards, Alabama defensive lineman Mike Pitts and Clemson defensive back Terry Kinard, who earned the game's Defensive MVP award.

1984


SOUTH 21, NORTH 20

MVP: Walter Lewis, Alabama / Doug Smith, Auburn
NORTH COACH: Kay Stephenson, Bills
SOUTH COACH: Don Coryell, Chargers
TOP PLAYERS: Bill Maas, Carl Banks, Al Del Greco, Louis Lipps, Wilber Marshall

Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis built a 21-7 lead for the South and it survived a second-half North rally for a breathtaking 21-20 win.

Leading 7-0, Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall gave the South a 14-0 first-quarter lead when he returned an interception 42 yards for a score. The North defense shut out the South in the second half and its offense responded with two more scores. However, Ole Miss' Andre Townsend made the game's biggest play when he blocked a North extra point attempt that would have tied the game in the fourth quarter.

1985


SOUTH 23, NORTH 7

MVP: Paul Ott Carruth, Alabama
NORTH COACH: Jim Hanifan, Cardinals
SOUTH COACH: Forrest Gregg, Packers
TOP PLAYERS: Lomas Brown, Kevin Butler, Jay Novacek

The South made it two in a row with a 17-point fourth quarter rally to down the North 23-7. Bolstered by three field goals from Georgia's Kevin Butler and an MVP performance by Alabama running back Paul Ott Carruth, the South erased a 7-6 deficit in the final stanza for the victory.

1986


NORTH 31, SOUTH 17

MVP: Napoleon McCallum, Navy
NORTH COACH: Dan Reeves, Broncos
SOUTH COACH: Leeman Bennett, Bucs
TOP PLAYERS: Dalton Hilliard, Bo Jackson, Tim Green, Will Wolford, Mark Rypien, Pat Swilling, Reuben Mayes, John Offerdahl

Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson brought his talents to Mobile for a star-studded 1986 contest, but the North scored a 31-17 win behind the running of Navy's Napoleon McCallum.

The North led 7-3 at the half on the strength of a TD pass from Washington State's Mark Rypien to McCallum as well as three brilliant defensive plays by Western Michigan linebacker John Offerdahl, who stopped Jackson on one fourth down attempt in the first quarter and twice more during a classic goal line stand in the second period.

A wild fourth period saw three TD's and a field goal - two TD passes by Rypien and a brilliant 32-yard touchdown catch by Louisville's Ernest Givins - but the South could never get closer than 11 points and the North had its victory.

1987


SOUTH 42, NORTH 38

MVP: Don Smith, Mississippi State
NORTH COACH: John Robinson, Rams
SOUTH COACH: Don Shula, Dolphins
TOP PLAYERS: Jim Harbaugh, Christian Okoye, Cornelius Bennett

A 42-38 South victory set several records, including most points ever scored (80), and featured numerous big plays and outstanding individual performances.

Azusa Pacific's "Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye scored a Senior Bowl record four touchdowns for the South, but didn't even win the MVP Award as that honor went to Mississippi State's Don Smith, who racked up 131 yards of total offense and a touchdown.

The North was led by the outstanding play of two first-round quarterbacks - Jim Harbaugh of Michigan and Oregon's Chris Miller - as they helped stake the North to a 24-14 halftime lead. Two Okoye TD runs and another North score made it 31-28 in favor of the North after three quarters, but the South got two more Okoye scores to lead, 42-31.

The North scored with 20 seconds remaining, recovered the onside kick and nearly pulled off a miracle comeback as Miller's pass in the end zone fell just short of the intended receiver on the game's final play.

1988


NORTH 21, SOUTH 7

MVP: Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma St.
NORTH COACH: Chuck Knox, Seahawks
SOUTH COACH: Jim Mora, Saints
TOP PLAYERS: Thurman Thomas, Sterling Sharpe, Chris Chandler, Randall McDaniel, Dermontti Dawson, Ickey Woods

Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas shredded the South defense for 104 yards to earn MVP honors and led the North to a 21-7 win, witnessed by another sellout crowd in Ladd Stadium.

The North jumped out to a 21-0 lead on TD passes by Washington's Chris Chandler and Syracuse's Don McPherson, and a one-yard run by UNLV's Ickey Woods. South Carolina's Sterling Sharpe scored the South's lone TD on the day with a 60-yard TD reception with 1:56 left in the game.

1989


SOUTH 13, NORTH 12

MVP: Cleveland Gary, Miami
NORTH COACH: Dan Reeves, Broncos
SOUTH COACH: John Robinson, Rams
TOP PLAYERS: Derrick Thomas, Eric Metcalf, Dave Meggett, Daryl Johnston, Carnell Lake

The running and pass catching talents of Miami's Cleveland Gary led the South to a thrilling 13-12 victory, as he gained 96 yards on the ground and 42 through the air to win overall MVP honors.

Trailing 12-6 entering the final quarter, Gary and Tulane quarterback Terrance Jones led the South on its winning TD drive, marching 73 yards on 16 plays, capped off by a three-yard scoring toss from Jones to Auburn tight end Walter Reeves. The South then turned back two North drives in the final seven minutes to seal the win.

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