A-J players contribute to victory in all-star football game

Five Anna-Jonesboro High School football players helped lead Southern Illinois to a 21-18 win over Western Kentucky in the annual all-star high school football game played at McAndrew Stadium on the campus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale Friday, June 19.

“I thought our kids played very well,” said A-J head football coach Brett Detering, who was one of the Southern Illinois coaches.

Detering noted that A-J’s Sully Edwards contributed a quarterback sack and had a crucial catch on a third-down conversion play.

A-J running backs Ryan Mays and Rik Hicks contributed to a winning effort.

Mays had a big first-down carry and Hicks made several runs for good yardage.

Linemen Mitchell Holshouser and Adam Kelley played on an offensive line which led the way for a pair of touchdowns.

The Southern Illinois players, who were named to the local conferences as well as the Southern Illinois Coaches Association All-South squad, practiced all last week before participating.

“You get a chance to coach players you’ve coached against all year,” Detering said. “They were hard workers. It says a lot for Southern Illinois football and why they’re successful.

“Overall I was very pleased, not with just our kids, but the others as well,” Detering said.

This was the second consecutive year the Southern Illinois all-stars have won the game.