SOUTH CHARLESTON — Local high school football stars are traveling south for this year’s all-star game.
The Par Mar Friday Night Rivals North-South All-Star Football Classic preparations started this week as the North Bears are led by North Marion High School Coach Daran Hays and will feature two Morgantown locals, T.T. Brooks and DeAndre Crudup, from University High School and Morgantown High School, respectively.
“I didn’t really expect it or anything. It’s just a blessing. I’m excited and happy that I got selected,” Brooks said.
“It is a huge honor and I couldn’t let this chance go,” Crudup said.
The two traveled down to the Kanawha Valley where they will stay and practice at West Virginia State University in Institute, as practice for the game started this week. While some players have remained in top-tier shape as they prepare for college play this fall, others are returning back to the fitness level that the sport demands. The team’s daily routine is headlined with two practice sessions each day in the blistering June heat.
“No more junk food, got to start drinking water again and got to get my body right again. Trying to get back into football shape,” Brooks said.
Having a team made up of rival schools and local competition would have someone expect some intensity, but for the Morgantown locals, it brings together good friends and great competition.
“It’s a great feeling, I get to play with guys like Hayden Moore (Bridgeport) and Devin Hill (Bridgeport) rather than playing against them,” Crudup said. “The best in the state competing and getting after it, but most of all fellowship and meeting new friends.”
For Brooks, the intense competition is a positive trait that brings the best out of him.
“During practices it does get a little competitive but that’s what I like. I’m a competitive type of guy and at the end of the day we’re going to be friends and we’re just going to have a blast out here,” he said.
When the two are not competing to be the best on the field, they are hard at work in their community. Brooks owns a local landscaping business spending most of his time with what he loves, being outside, but that’s not his only activity outside of football.
“I love music. If I’m not working I’m probably playing guitar, piano or something like that,” he said.
Crudup spends his free time with religion and his youth group. He says that his high responsibilities now will benefit him later in his life. The next chapter for Crudup is playing football at Glenville State this fall, where he plans to major in physical therapy.
Brooks plans to continue with his landscaping business and remain in shape for the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference All-Star game, where he will again play alongside Crudup, with the best of the best.
The North-South All-Star Football Classic is set to kick off at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday, June 19 at South Charleston High School’s Black Eagle Stadium, and will be televised live on WCHS-TV.
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