All-American Bowl 2024: Koi Perich becomes Minnesota's first MVP
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Koi Perich left the Alamodome with a sliver of Minnesota high school football history on Saturday.
Perich, who is signed with Minnesota, had an interception, a hand in a blocked punt, a pass breakup in the endzone and multiple tackles on his way to the All-American Bowl MVP trophy — the first from the state to achieve the honor.
After early fireworks, the Perich helped propel the West Team to a 31-28 win over the East Team, as many of the nation's top prospect joined forces one last final high school football game in the 24th annual All-American Bowl at the Alamodome.
Fittingly, in a game that featured eight college commitments and five of the nation's top 15 prospects, the game ball of the afternoon went to the Lincoln (Minnesota) 4-star safety, who practically covered every inch between the hashes.
"It is a great way to end my high school career," Perich said. "I am excited for college next year, I just can not believe it is over."
Perich had perhaps the game's top play — a diving two-handed interception at the goal line in the first half.
"I have to thank my teammates for making my job easy today," Perich said. "I saw the quarterback look off his receiver to the opposite side, so I knew he was going to come back towards me, and I just went and made a play on it.
"Being able to be with everyone for the week made everything so much easier today."
Here are three takeaways from the game:
FIREWORKS STARTED EARLY
East Team got the ball first and went straight down the field for the opening score of the game when Basha (Arizona) quarterback Demond Williams (Arizona commit) connected with Ohio State commit and the No. 1 prospect Jeremiah Smith for a 25-yard touchdown.
The West, however, did not waste much time as Auburn commit Walker White found a streaking Nathaniel Frazier (Georgia) down the left sideline for the 50-yard touchdown reception.
White knew he had a receiver open on a slant rout on the outside and his running back too on a wheel route.
"Coach (Phillip) Hawkins, our head coach, told me that it would be a touchdown if we would just run it to the boundary," White said. "That is exactly what we did, we got Nate in there who can fly. I just threw it up for him and he made a great play. It was our first touchdown of the game and it was electric."
Facing a 21-10 deficit at the break, the East All-Americans continued to fight throughout and cut into the West's lead.
In the second half, Williams, the Chandler, Arizona product rallied the troops and tossed two touchdown passes to Clemson commit TJ Moore (Tampa Catholic) to give the East a fighting chance.
With the West defensive line in his face all day, Williams found some room out of the pocket, scrambling with his feet finding pay dirt to cap the scoring at 31-28.
WEST TEAM DEFENSE WAS THE DIFFERENCE
It was clear that a week of practice gave the West Team enough time to gel as a unit and wreak havoc.
With the game notched at seven apiece, the West Team defensive unit took over after Perich's highlight reel interception.
The West converted a field goal to go up 10-7. Then, Georgia commit Kameryn Fountain burst into the backfield for a strip sack fumble on the East quarterback Marcos Davila in the endzone as Jericho Johnson recovered the loose ball for the touchdown.
"It was spending a lot of time together in the hotel with each other as we found out we have a lot more similarities than we do differences, we are all about the same," Justin Scott, a Miami commit and the nation's No. 7 overall recruit, said. "We have been just kicking it all week and really building that bond with one another."
It was the teamwork and the unity on the defensive side and the ability to consistently wreak pressure on the East's quarterbacks throughout.
Added White: "A punt block, an interception, pass breakups, sacks, fumbles. That is exactly what you want with your defense to be able to create opportunities to get the offense back on the field."
DANIEL HILL SHINES BEHIND STRONG LINE PLAY
Not only did the West dominate the defensive line, its offensive line also set a tone in the second quarter, paving the way to two rushing touchdowns for Hill, who announced his commitment to Alabama during the game.
The Meridian, Mississippi native cashed in his first TD after the West special teams blocked a punt and recovered it inside the redzone. Later on, he powered his way through the teeth of the defense to give his team a 24-7 lead.
"Again, scoring against some of the best players in the country is very humbling experience. " Hill said. "It is a great reward for all the hard work and effort that I put in."
-- Ryan Childers | ryanchilders0455@gmail.com | @sblivetx
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