Scarlet vs. Gray: It's no-lose for OSU in charity game
LEXINGTON – Last year they lost a physical battle to a team of News Journal All-Star Basketball Classic alumni. This year they roughed up each other.
In the warm-up to Wednesday's 39th Classic, 11 former Ohio State football players, representing the Driven Foundation, squared off against each other in a Scarlet versus Gray game at Lexington High School. The two squads also featured local players added to the rosters via $500 donations to Catalyst Life Services.
The Gray jumped out to 16-0 and 19-2 leads and held on for a 59-54 victory.
"Last year it got physical and my Buckeye brothers were battling," said former OSU receiver Roy Hall, player-coach of the Scarlet and president/co-founder of Driven. "This year my brothers looked out for each other. This year it was more about the cause. We're competitors and we want to win, but tonight we had fun."
More: NJ All-Star Classic: courtside extras
More: North blasts South in All-Star Classic
More: Classic boxscore: North 132, South 105
More: 'I got you dad' Classic MVP gets family bragging rights
Hall's team tied the score at 53-all on a 3-point basket by former defensive end Thaddeus Gibson with 2:33 left in the game. The Gray team closed out the game on a 6-1 run to halt the Scarlet comeback.
"The competitive juices were flowing," Hall said.
Former defensive tackle Doug Worthington scored 19 points to pace the Gray and lead all scorers. Twice he pulled a youngster out of the stands to shoot free throws.
"I played basketball in high school," Worthington said, "but I was about 90 pounds lighter then. I really enjoy getting out there and playing with and keeping in touch with my teammates. Especially for something like this, I had a lot of fun."
Former safety Gary Berry scored eight points for the Gray team.
"Anytime we can be active and do something for charity, it's always a plus," said Berry, who danced to the music played during most of the game. "You gotta dance and have fun with the music blaring."
OSU's Donald Washington hit two 3-pointers and scored eight points for the Gray. Brad Humble, who just completed his 10th and final year as basketball coach at Temple Christian had 12 points for the Gray including a dunk.
"Anytime I can play basketball, I'm ready," Humble said.
Gibson (13 points) and Roy Hall (11 points) led the Scarlet. Jordan Hall scored seven points, while local attorney and former Lex all-star Andy Medwid had six.
Mark Delaney, a Classic alum and Mansfield Christian principal, hit a 3-pointer for the Scarlet.
"Last year it was like Richland County versus the Buckeyes," Delaney said. "Tonight it was Buckeyes on both teams and it made it a little more fun playing with some of them."
