Tracy Press

Three Bulldog and two Wolf Pack football players will take part in the prestigious Lions All-Star game in June.

Five local football players are on the roster for the 35th annual Lions All-Star Football Classic, scheduled for 7 p.m. June 21 at University of the Pacific’s Stagg Memorial Stadium.

The committee of coaches sorted through nominations and selected no more than three players from each school. Tracy High coach Mark Stroup and his staff were chosen to lead this year’s North All-Star team.

Tracy High running back Tim Celestine, quarterback Justin Evans and lineman Stephen Perriera, all seniors, are on the team.

West running back Tyler Kenton and lineman Scott Carillo, also seniors, will represent their school.

Both teams went 4-1 in their respective leagues in 2007 and earned spots in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. West lost in the playoffs to Lincoln, the only team that beat Tracy in San Joaquin Athletic Association play, and Tracy lost in the first round to St. Mary’s, the only team that beat West in the Tri-City Athletic League.

Stroup was selected for the coach’s job after he led the Bulldogs to a 7-4 overall record and a spot in the playoffs after finishing 1-9 two years ago.

The players chosen from the Tracy team are only a few of those Stroup nominated.

"All of them had outstanding seasons," he said. "They were really the nucleus of our team."

Celestine led the SJAA in rushing — 1,211 yards total and 110.1 yards per game — and scoring — 24 touchdowns and 154 total points.

Evans was also among the league’s top five scorers and was No. 2 in passing with 1,435 total yards and 130.5 yards per game.

West’s Kenton topped the Tri-City Athletic League in rushing, tallying 939 total yards and 93.6 yards per game. He was also fourth in the TCAL in scoring with 11 touchdowns or 66 total points.

Tracy’s Perriera and West’s Carillo will play in the trenches, among the 11 players selected for the North team’s offensive and defensive lines.

Stroup will bring his regular coaching staff to the sideline — Chuck Selna, Jake Boyd, Jeremy Silcox, Mike Speer, Matt Shrout, Oscar Gutierrez and Lyndell Hawkins.

The All-Stars come from about 70 teams in towns covered by the Lions Club District 4-A1, which extends through the San Joaquin Valley and foothills. Former Tracy coach Wayne Schneider helped start the program 36 years ago and convinced the Tracy Breakfast Lions to support it, and the Tracy club made it a district project.

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