CHICO, CA (MPG) - Five class of 2023 football athletes represented the area in the 46th Annual Lions All-Star Game at Pleasant Valley High School in Chico on Saturday, June 17.

Six athletes were selected back in February by the Lions committee and they were Johnny Williams and Santos Sanchez from Biggs, Raul Romero from Live Oak and Jimmie Kelly, Angel Castaneda, Andrew Engelmann from Gridley.

Along with the six athletes representing the area, the coaching staffs of Gridley High School and Biggs High School primarily coached the Division II/III South roster led by former Bulldogs head coach Matt Kemmis.

Kemmis resigned from the head coaching job in December 2022, but was offered coaching the Lions game a few days before his official resignation.

Kemmis expressed to the Herald that when he took the Gridley job in fall of 2017, he wanted to bring a section title to the school and get an opportunity to coach in the Lions game.

Although he didn’t bring a section title home for Gridley, Kemmis was still appreciative of the love and support he received from the community of Gridley through his six seasons as head coach.

Although six athletes were originally named to the Lions roster in February, Romero was the lone athlete that didn’t accept the invitation to play in the game.

Kemmis told the Herald the practice and preparation for the Lions game began on Monday, June 12 where the athletes practiced and stayed at California State University - Chico, until the morning of June 16.

The fun nature of all-star games in general is the collection of the best players for every team and that includes former rivals who are now teammates.

Along with Gridley and Biggs on the South roster, it also included players from Marysville, Yuba City and former Northern Section power Sutter Union High School.

“It was never personal, but now that we all get to play with one another it’s great,” Engelmann said.

Williams added that everyone put in the hard work and it was an honor to be selected and recognized by the committee for getting the opportunity to play in the game.

“It was awesome to watch the kids bond together as one unit this past week,” Kemmis told the Herald.

For the actual game itself, the North won the Division II/III game 22-0.

The South defensively had a strong showing as they forced the only turnover of the game in the opening possession of the game.

Offensively the South struggled to get any major push and rush attack going as both teams consistently were punting back and forth to one another.

The North squad put in a couple long drives that eventually gave them the opportunity to score and take the game overall.

Williams told the Herald he is planning to attend Yuba College pursuing a business degree as Engelmann will be attending and playing at Butte College while his major of choice is mechanical engineering.

For Kemmis, his time in the Northern Section comes to an official close as he hit the road this past Monday to move to Southern California onto his next journey. He went 35-25 in his six seasons as the top dog for Gridley, which included three playoff appearances.