St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 174

PARADE'S ALL-AMERICA fn) fn) 0 0 HE 1992 PARADE ALL-America high school football Player of the Year is big, fast and one of the top passers in the nation. His name is Ron Powlus, quarterback for Berwick High School in Pennsylvania. He also punts. Powlus topped the list of the 56 PARADE all-Amer-icans selected from across the nation by college coaches, scouts and recruiters. Close behind him in the voting were the kicker Scott for charities.

Recently, he raised more than $1000 for a cancer drive." Powlus' credentials were tough to match, but Scott Bentley came close. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete made PARADE'S team last year and again this season as a kicker. This year, he took on quarterbacking and kick-returning duties as well. "He's an unselfish player," said his coach, Tony Manfredi. Bent-ley's field-goal total has reached 1337 points.

He set a Colorado school career record of 35 field goals and kicked seven from 50 yards or more, with his longest being 58. His punting average is 45 yards a kick. Heading to a small town in Oklahoma, we found James Allen, a 6-foot, 190-pound running back. According to Tom Downing, his coach at Wynnewood, Allen played a major role in the team's cur Bentley of Aurora, the running back James Allen of Wynnewood, the wide receiver Andre Cooper of Neptune Beach, and two linemen Travis Kirschke of Anaheim, and Name School City Ht. Wt.

Quarterbacks (8) Ron Powlus Berwick Berwick, Pa. 6'4" 210 Thad Busby Pace Pace, Fla. 6'3" 205 Akili Smith Lincoln Prep San Diego, Calif. 6'3" 195 Rahsetnu Jenkins Mehlville St. Louis, Mo.

6'0" 175 Scott Frost Wood River Wood River, Neb. 6'3" 210 Jake Plummer Capital Boise, Idaho 6'3" 175 StaisBoseman Mornlngside Inglewood, Calif. 6'4" 190 Charles Peterson Laurens District Laurens, S.C. 6'4" 200 Running Backs (11) James Allen Wynnewood Wynnewood, Okla. 6'0" 190 Kevin Franklin Catholic Baton Rouge, La.

5'10" 175 Tavian Banks Bettendorf Bettendorf, Iowa 5'11 .180 Mike Mitchell BrophyPrep Phoenix, Ariz. 61" 205 Randy Kinder East Lansing East Lansing, Mich. 6T 195 MarcRenaud Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach, Fla. 5'11" 175 Chris Dickerson Glen Mills Concordville, Pa. 6'2" 220 Royce Roberson Central East Chicago, Ind.

6'2" 208 Dion Marion Killeen Killeen.Tex. 5'11" 190 Robert Farmer Bolingbrook Bolingbrook, III. 6T 215 Carl McCullough Cretin-Derham Hall St. Paul, Minn. 6'3" 208 Receivers (8) Andre Cooper Fletcher Neptune Beach, Fla.

6'3 180 Bryan Jennings Jefferson Forest Forest, Va. 6'4" 220 Will Blackwell Skyline Oakland, Calif. 6'0" 180 Jamaal Wallace Willamette Eugene, Ore. 5'9" 165 Marquis Mosely Bloomington Bloomington, III. 6T 180 Joe Jurevicius Lake Catholic Mentor, Ohio 6'5" 210 Antonio Carrion Dorsey Los Angeles, Calif 5'9" -160 Fred McClendon Nimitz Houston, Tex.

6'4" 240 Linemen (15) Travis Kirschke Esperanza Anaheim, Calif. 6'5" 252 Regan Upshaw Pittsburg Pittsburg, Calif. 6'4" 225 Colby McCullough Archbishop Shaw Marrero, La. 6'4" 242 DonStruebing Springdale Springdale, Ark. 6'3 268 Kevin Long Summerville Summerville, S.C.

6'6" 235 Frank Middleton West Brook Beaumont, Tex. 6'4" 275 Germaine Gray Eisenhower Rialto, Calif. 6'6" 260 Chris Kurpeikis Central Catholic Pittsburgh, Pa. 67 290 Will Friend Neshoba Central Philadelphia, Miss. 6'3" 270 Willie Anderson Vigor Prichard, Ala.

67" 305 Nebraska Baker Matawan Regional Aberdeen, N.J. 67" 250 Billy Beron Archbishop Rummel Metairie, La. 6'5" 260 Paul Miller Simeon Vocational Chicago, III. 6'4" 305 Donnie Embra Alief Elsik Alief, Tex. 6'3" 240 Jesse McCovery Theodore Theodore, Ala.

6'3" 260 Linebackers (6) D.J.Johnson Craigmont Memphis, Tenn. 6'2 237 Trevor Pryce Lake Howell Winter Park, Fla. 6'6" 243 DuLayne Morgan Elizabeth Elizabeth, N.J. 6'5" 220 James Farrior Matoaca 6'3" 210 AdamSalina Berlin Berlin, Conn. 6'3" 245 Reggie Gamett Buchtel Akron, Ohio 6'3" 220 Defensive Backs (6) Bryant Westbrook ElCamino Oceanside, Calif.

61" 207 Derrick Steagall Newnan Newnan, Ga. 6'2" 195 Sammy Knight Rubidoux Riverside, Calif. 6T 200 Jammi German Fort Myers Fort Myers, Fla. 6'2" 180 Jamel Williams Merrillville Merrillville, Ind. 6'2" 195 TonyBlevins Rockhurst Kansas City, Mo.

6T 170 Kickers (2) Scott Bentley Overland Aurora, Colo. 6T 175 Brett Conway Parkview Ulbum, Ga. 6'3" 175 Regan Upshaw of Pittsburg, Calif. This year, California led PARADE'S all-America selections, with nine. Florida followed, with five; and Texas had four.

The lineman Willie Anderson of Prichard, is the biggest, at 6 feet 7 and 305 pounds. Antonio Carrion of Los Angeles, a wide receiver, is the smallest, at 5 feet 9 and 160 pounds. Ron Powlus, who is 6 feet 4 and weighs 210, has led the Ber- i rent 28-0 streak. "Allen has 1895 yards and 27 touchdowns," said Downing. "He has also got 5790 yards for his career, and in one game this year he gained 326 yards." Joe Reynolds, the coach at Fletcher High, said the wide receiver Andre Cooper had gained 1060 yards in receptions this season and scored 14 touchdowns 13 on passes and one on an 83-yard punt return.

"He has run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds, and he is an excellent u. 6 Hayer of the Yean Ron Powlus ted his straight championship fo vacnn. seasons. lib a gut a million-dollar release and a quick over punt-returner," said Coach Reynolds. Travis Kirschke "is a great kid, humble, but very violent on the field," said his coach at Esperanza High, Gary Meek.

The Los Angeles Times touted Kirschke as the best lineman ever to come out of Orange County, Calif. Meek added, "He was dominating in all the games he ever played at Esperanza." Another top vote-getter was Regan Upshaw, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound lineman who can run the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds. "He's big, strong and fast," said Here Par-di, his coach at Pittsburg High. Upshaw was credited with 65 tackles, three blocked passes and seven sacks this year. SI hand delivery which is patterned after Dan Marino's," said George Curry, his coach.

"He's fast. He runs the 40 in 4.7 seconds." At the end of the regular season, Powlus' team remained undefeated, and he broke the Pennsylvania school career record for passing yardage. This season, he passed for 2605 yards and 27 touchdowns. And Powlus punts as well as he passes, averaging 39 yards a kick. Curry listed two more strengths of our 1992 Player of the Year: "He's been an honor student all the way through high school.

He's a senior with a 94 average. In addition, he spends time raising funds BY HASKELL COHEN AND MICHAEL O'SHEA PAGE 18 DECEMBER 27, 1992 PARADE MAGAZINE.