photo by: Nick Henthorn

West Virginia’s Damir Mowder (3) kisses the OVAC All-Star Football Game Championship Cup after Saturday’s 79th OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game at Wheeling Island Stadium. Mowder and Weir teammate Lucas McAllister connected for the game-winning touchdown and two-point conversion with no time left.

By NICK HENTHORN

Sports Editor

WHEELING — There were plenty of former teammates throughout the OVAC All-Star rosters this past week. And, while coaches, players and OVAC personnel often noted how special it was for players hailing from different schools to come together and form a bond, it was doubtlessly also a special week for those players who got to enjoy one more week of practice, and one more game, with their high school teammates.

For that reason alone, it would have been a special night for the Weir duo of quarterback Lucas McAllister and receiver Damir Mowder on Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium, where the 79th OVAC Rudy Mumley All-Star Football Game kicked off.

But what transpired Saturday — when a scrambling McAllister, with no time left on the clock, first tossed a pass over the middle to Mowder, then watched as he broke down the sideline for an 84-yard touchdown, and then fired a quick slant to Mowder for the game-winning two-point conversion — ratcheted the night to a whole new level of treasured memories.

“Well, we went with a play called Utah, because it goes deep, and it cuts across so that they can’t cover the whole field,” Cameron head coach Tim Brown, who led the West Virginia All-Stars to a 15-14 victory, said of the miraculous touchdown play. “And when you get an athlete like Damir out there, he’s got a shot, and then we got a couple good blocks, and, boom, he gets down the field. It was amazing.”

Mowder, though, was not the first read on the play- or the second.

“I was the third target,” Mowder said after the game. “My teammate, he saw me, and the rest is history.”

McAllister was involved in both of West Virginia’s touchdowns, pounding in a two-yard touchdown run earlier in the fourth quarter, as the Weir graduate was his team’s leading rusher as well as their lone quarterback on the All-Star roster.

“Well, he’s tougher than crap, and he’s smart,” Brown said. “I mean, he’s an amazing athlete, and he listened to everything we said, and he understood and he managed the game. You know, his coaches taught him to manage the game, and he did such a great job out there changing things up.”

And when it came down to the final play of the game, Mowder showed his own talent too.

“I’d seen him do it in practice,” Brown said of Mowder’s long catch-and-run. “And he believes in himself, and he believed he was going to do it, and so did we. And then he got a couple blocks from the other receivers because, you know, they want to win, and he’s just an amazing athlete. The first time I saw Damir, he was playing in an eighth grade basketball game, and he was dunking on people. And I was like, yeah, okay, I know this kid. He’s all right.”

And when it came to the all-or-nothing two-point conversion, was there anywhere else McAllister was going?

“Well, probably not,” Brown said.

“No doubt,” McAllister said. “You already knew who I was going to.”

Mowder had a defensive back on an island to McAllister’s left when lining up for two. A quick slant and strong catch through fine coverage reeled in the pass, and the game, for West Virginia.

“I thought I had the one-on-one matchup, had it all night, [McAllister] missed me on a couple but I knew I was the better player at the end of the day,” Mowder said.

It was the last of many connections between McAllister and Mowder. Mowder was Weir’s leading receiver this year with 593 yards and eight touchdowns, and McAllister throwing for over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“They’ve got that chemistry, and they believe in each other,” Brown said. “And, you know, that’s contagious. The whole offense starts believing that. […] Those kids are special and they believe in each other, and that was important.”

“It was a great moment, I loved it, I love that guy to death, man,” Mowder said of McAllister.

“That’s my guy, we had a connection all year and we were going to fight to the end,” McAllister said. “Damir is my dog, he’s always pushed me to work and we’ve always worked together really well. We have that connection.”

Even though Weir struggled this past year, the Red Riders went out as champions on Saturday- McAllister, Mowder, and Weir offensive lineman John Davis.

“It was a great moment. After having a 1-9 season, coming out here, showing what I’ve been working at all offseason, it was a surreal moment,” Mowder said.

“It was a great atmosphere. I love these guys, I’ve been battling against some of them since I was a freshman, it was a great week. We knew we were the better team coming out and we showed it.”

Mowder’s words were insured by his pair of game-changing catches just minutes before. Of all of Mowder’s catches- and McAllister’s passes- where did Saturday’s climactic receptions rank?

“Number one for sure,” Mowder said.

“That last one is memorable, we’re going to remember that forever,” McAllister said.