Logan Klitsch, East all-stars, pull it all together to win Big School game

HARRISBURG — Chris Gicking was well aware of Logan Klitsch’s arm strength and mobility months ago; that popped out on film right away when he began studying the East quarterbacks for Sunday’s PSFCA Big School all-star game.

What made the East quarterback coach even happier is the way he saw the Klitsch and his quarterback partner, Judd Novak of Manheim Central, take over practice when the team got together for the first time a few weeks ago.

“They took the lead right from practice one,” said Gicking, the head coach at Marple Newtown. “You could see what kind of leaders they were.”

That carried over from the practice field to Bishop McDevitt’s Rocco Ortenzio Stadium, where Klitsch and Novak led the East to a resounding 37-0 victory in the second annual Big School game.

It was evident the East squad was together as one, in no small part because of the way Klitsch went about his all-star experience.

“He was amazing,” said Exeter’s Kyle Helm, who went the whole way at center for the East.

Helm had never played with or against Klitsch before but they quickly became teammates.

“The first day he came up to me, got to know me,” said Helm. “He looked to build chemistry right away, and it worked out very well.”

Klitsch took the East on scoring drives on each of his three first-half possessions, leading to a 31-0 halftime advantage. He and Novak, whom he has worked out with the past several years, alternated possessions, and each did well. Novak threw a pair of touchdown passes. Klitsch completed of 8-of-13 passes for 144 yards and a TD pass.

Klitsch was named East MVP, much to his surprise.

“I didn’t even know there was an MVP (for this game),” he admitted. “I thought (Judd) was gonna get it, he played great today.”

Klitsch, leader that he is, gave props to everyone: His offensive line, his defense, his coaching staff. He was correct on all accounts, of course; the East dominated every facet of the game.

The defensive front, led by Nolan Brennan of Garnet Valley, Ibrahim Diawara of Boys Latin and Julien LaVenture of Upper Darby, were dominant and set the tone on the first series. They pressured Pine-Richland’s Cole Boyd into an interception three plays into the game, and then another on the third play of the West’s second possession.

“The first day, everyone came out swinging,” said Helm, who faced those defensive tigers in practice. “They showed out today.”

The East took over at the West 37 and 32, respectively, on its first two possessions and cashed in on each. Klitsch completed all three of his passes on the first drive, which ended on a 9-yard run by North Penn’s Khalani Eaton.

Novak threw a touchdown on his first play a few minutes later, hooking up with Coatesville’s Tommy Ortega from 32 yards out.

Daniel Boone’s Nate Millard — who set his defense up by driving his first three kickoffs deep into the end zone — gave the East a 17-0 lead with a field goal in the opening minute of the second quarter. It was from 28 yards out, a relative chip shot for Millard.

Klitsch’s best play came late in the first half when he scrambled out of the pocket to avoid a sack, rolled to his right, then threw back across his body to find Rohjhii Atkinson of Imhotep Charter for a 16-yard score. That made it 30-0 ninety seconds before halftime.

Klitsch, who threw for 2,405 yards and was Berks’ top-rated passer as a senior, was blessed in high school to have a receiver as gifted as Aanjay Feliciano. He had an embarrassment of riches at his disposal Sunday with the fast and elusive East receiving group.

“They were all great,” Klitsch said. “I can’t really name just one, they were all really good. (I knew) anybody I throw to, they were probably going to catch it if its in their radius — and keep going.”

Klitsch, a Class 4A All-State pick, will play this fall at Dartmouth. Millard, a Class 5A All-State pick, will play at Kutztown University. Helm, a Class 5A All-State pick, will play at Albright. Each relished the chance to play in Sunday’s game.

“Oh my gosh, it was way more than I expected it to be,” said Klitsch. “The first practice, I was a little bit nervous to get out there and compete against some of these guys, because I didn’t know them. We were a family (after) the first 10 minutes. We all bonded.”

“The energy at practice, the energy in the locker room was crazy,” said Millard. “Even in the game, everyone on the sideline was having fun .

“I (read about) all these guys, (saw them) all over Twitter, but it was cool to play with them and actually see them up close.”