Clovis trio helps North claim 36-0 win

CLOVIS — The hardest thing for the Clovis trio in the Class 5A/6A North-South All-Star Game might have been figuring out how Clovis is considered the North.

The football turned out to be quite easy, as Fernando Acosta, Tyrell Clewis and Roper Stacy helped the North grab a 36-0 victory in Tuesday’s senior-only contest at Community Stadium in Albuquerque.

A few months ago, there was a small chance Clovis would have no representation at the annual game. Acosta was selected along with Micah Gray, but both had other commitments. Gray planned to start summer school at the University of New Mexico, while Acosta was set to join the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I was supposed to go in early for the military, but they set my date back,” said Acosta, who did his standard linebacker role plus kickoff and kick return duties. “When it went back to Aug. 21, I was pretty excited. I started working out, getting back into my football rhythm.”

Stacy and Clewis — who will be teammates again at Eastern New Mexico University — were chosen as replacements.

“It was one of the best times,” said Stacy, who played left tackle on offense. “I don’t know why people would pass it up.

“I thought when we first got there a lot of the players would stick to their own teams, but everybody got along with each other.”

Clewis, a defensive end, said a great part of the days leading up to the game was getting to meet nine future Greyhound teammates before they start practice in August.

“ It was a great experience,” Clewis said. “I got to meet a lot of friends. I met a lot of new brothers there. We had a really strong bond on defense, and the offense killed it.”

Clovis, which has historically been part of the South All-Star teams in the games, moved to the North when it went to District 2-6A with Santa Fe and four Albuquerque schools.

The North was coached by Ron McMath and his staff at West Mesa.