Dragosavich Sets Senior Bowl Record, South Edges North 17-16 in Mobile Thriller
1/26/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
MOBILE, Ala.--In the most thrilling Senior Bowl finish in history and the first to be decided on the game's final play, Florida's Andre Caldwell scored on a two-yard touchdown run as time expired and Georgia kicker Brandon Coutu kicked the extra point to give the South a 17-16 victory.
North Dakota State punter Mike Dragosavich punted three times for the North for an average of 58 yards per punt. His first attempt went only 37 yards, but his second traveled 68 and his third -- a 69-yarder set a Senior Bowl record topping the old mark of 65 yards held by Arden Czyzewski of Florida set in 1992. He also set the record for highest punt average with 58.0, shattering the old mark of 49.8 set by Georgia's Bobby Walden, who enjoyed a 14-year NFL career as a punter with the Vikings and Steelers, in the 1961 Senior Bowl.
Dragosavich and NDSU linebacker Joe Mays will participate in the second annual "Texas vs. The Nation® All-Star Challenge" scheduled to be played Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008, at the Sun Bowl facilities in El Paso. Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on CSTV.
Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge led the South on a 14-play, 86-yard drive in the game's final 2:48 to give the South its first win in four years.
Tulane's Matt Forte was the game's leading rusher with 59 yards and caught four passes for 38 yards, including a key 13-yard reception on the game's winning drive to win the overall Most Valuable Player award.
Other MVP's were Ainge for the South offense and LSU linebacker Ali Highsmith, who had four tackles for the South defense. Michigan's Chad Henne threw two TD passes to win MVP honors for the North offense and USC's Sedrick Ellis had two tackles, a sack and was credited with a North safety to earn the North's defensive MVP honors.
Under Armour, the game's title sponsor, also presented The Under Armour New Prototype Awards to linebacker Dan Connor of Penn State and Dominic Rodgers-Cromartie of Tennessee State. Notre Dame's Trevor Laws was the game's Most Outstanding Lineman and Irish teammate Tom Zbikowski won the Long Distance Play of the Game with a 38-yard kickoff return.
The game was played before a sellout crowd, the 14th straight in Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
