Most players listed as wide receivers in the program would be surprised to throw a pair of touchdown passes in a game.

For Christian Smith of Lackawanna, it was just more of the same.

"I played quarterback in high school," Smith, who will attend Alfred University, said. "So I'm used to throwing passes."

Smith's pair of TD tosses, as well as a rushing score, propelled the South to a 28-20 win over the North in the 36th annual Kensington Lions Club/AD-PRO Sports all-star game Wednesday night at Depew High School.

Smith threw both touchdown passes to wideout Anthony Emmanuele from Depew, who was named the South team's offensive MVP.

The South held a commanding 20-0 lead early in the second half, but a rule which requires a team up by nine or more points to kick off to the losing team kept giving the ball back to the North, which closed the gap to seven by the fourth quarter.

"We were playing with that the whole time; we made sure we were counting," North coach Bill Atlas said. "It's a fun rule."

The South leads the all-time series in the all-star game, 21-15, and has won two straight.

It wasn't until the second quarter that either team got on the board. The South took over at its own 38-yard line, and opened the drive with an 18-yard run off the right side by Bilal Clay. After three straight Steve Kenny runs, Smith threw a pass to a wide-open Emmanuele for a 29-yard TD pass. A high snap on the point-after attempt left the score at 6-0.

The South struck again with time expiring at the end of the first half. A 33-yard pass from Tyler Stoldt to Cameren Tucker put the South in scoring range, and Kenny brought it down to the goal line before Bilal Clay punched it in. Stoldt hit Dakota Peel in the end zone for the two-point conversion, and the South led, 14-0, at the break.

The South kicked off again in the second half because of the kickoff rule. It got the ball right back when Travis Pitzonka, who took it back to the 13 yard line. Pitzonka was named the South's defensive MVP for his efforts.

Early in the third quarter, Smith took a pitch from quarterback Markell Ingram and hit a streaking Emmanuele (the South's offensive MVP) for a score. The point after was blocked by Joe Montesanti, and the South held a commanding 20-0 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, the North's Nick Hall took the kickoff 74 yards to the South 20-yard line, and two plays later Kevin Hall hit Shamari Cheney, the North's offensive MVP, on a pretty pass to give the North its first points.

Still down by 13, the North received the kickoff and drove down the field into field goal range, but a muffed snap on the kick left the South in possession at its own 5-yard line.

When the South put the football on the ground, and North took over in scoring position. After a short Hall run, Nick Fisher split the uprights on a 27-yard field goal.

Again the South kicked off because of its 20-10 lead. Two dead-ball unsportsmanlike conduct calls against the South sent the ball all the way down to the 15-yard line. But the North couldn't punch it in and Fisher was sent on again, this time hitting a 28-yarder.

The South capitalized on a Shane Smith interception of Kevin Hall to put the game out of reach. In a drive that including a successful fourth-down conversion, the South extended its lead to 28-13 with 5:44 to go in the game on a 10-yard run by Smith. Stoldt ran it in on the fake extra point.

Joe Licata tossed up a 34-yard bomb to hit Cheney in stride in the end zone, cutting the deficit to 28-20 with the successful point after. The kick failed.

Following the game, a ceremony honored the game MVPs, including North defensive MVP Dan Montesanti and offensive line MVPs Dalton Maska of the North and Mike Kasprzak of the South.

skilb@buffnews.comnull