WHEELING – You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who was involved with Saturday night’s 71st annual Rudy Mumley OVAC All-Star Game who won’t rave about the experience.

For 33 Ohio players, however, the experience was there and many called it “the time of their lives,” but in the immediate moments following the contest, that seemed like simply a consolation prize.

People are sometimes greedy. They want every positive they can take from a certain event. Whether it’s a trip to the beach, an amusement park or playing in a football game, people want to take as much from it as possible.

None of the Ohio players we talked to wanted to trade the experience of meeting so many new guys and making life-long friends. But, they all wanted to win, too. Because of a suffocating West Virginia defense and some big plays in the passing game by Trey Streets, Justin Loughrie and Cole Day, it was the West Virginia players who got to complete the OVAC experience with a 26-6 victory at sultry Wheeling Island Stadium.

The part that makes it tough for many of the Ohio players is the fact that the Mumley game marks the final time they’ll play the the sport. Such is the case for St. Clairsville’s Jake Stewart, who was visibly upset as he stood outside the Buckeyes’ lockerroom, basically by himself.

“The week was a blast and I met some of the best guys I’ve ever known,” Stewart said. “If I had seen some of these guys just on the street before this, I never would have expected to talk to them, but we built a brotherhood.”

Many of the Ohio players exchanged hugs and posed for pictures together as families made their annual swarm to the playing field after the game. In today’s age of social media, it’s a safe bet that each player’s Twitter and Instagram account gained several new followers. As the all-stars went in different directions Saturday night, the ability to stay in touch is much easier.

“We always had a blast in everything we did together,” Stewart, a multiple-time all-Ohio selection, continued. “I’ll never forget this week.”

Stewart is also one of the guys who won’t play the sport anymore. Originally, the former Red Devil has signed to attend Division II power Shepherd. Since signing day in February, though, a change of plans has led Stewart to pursue a career in the United States Marines.

“It really sucks (not to get to play anymore),” Stewart said. “I am going to miss the game very much. Not going to Shepherd was the toughest decision of my life, but I think I made the right decision for me.”

While Stewart won’t play anymore, some guys have made late decisions to pursue football at the collegiate level and playing in the OVAC Game helped to fuel their desire even further.

Such is the case for Harrison Central’s Brandon Mitchell. A two-time, first-team, all-Ohioan, Mitchell had come to grips with the decision that his athletic career was finished. However, thinking about how big of a part of his life sports had played for so many years, Mitchell has since decided to play football at Walsh University, a Division II school in North Canton.

“I wanted to go to Akron and figured I’d be done with sports, but I just couldn’t picture myself not playing anymore,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been playing something since I was a little kid and just wanted to keep playing. I report in August and I am excited about it.”

When Mitchell goes to Walsh, he’ll have at least one person there that he knows. Travis Stenson – another former Huskies’ all-Ohioan – also has decided to pursue his degree and play for the Cavaliers.

“I am really excited to be playing side-by-side with Travis again,” Mitchell continued.

THE AFOREMENTIONED West Virginia defense had a host of standouts as it limited Ohio to just a pair of field goals despite being put in a few tough spots after turnovers in Ohio territory.

The win and defensive performance was especially sweet for Linsly School product Von Wooding. The hard-nosed linebacker, who is headed for Oberlin College, shifted to defensive end – a position he’s never played – and made the transition look easy.

He was a constant member of the Ohio backfield, while making upwards of 10 tackles.

“The week leading up to (Saturday) was a blast and winning makes it even more special,” Wooding said. “I am at a loss for words, actually. I moved to end the second day of camp (at Bethany), so I just picked up the position in three days.”

Wooding actually resides in Flushing and knew many of the Ohio players from his years in youth sports. He actually got his football start in Cadiz in the pee wee leagues.

“It was pleasure to go out by playing against a lot of the guys that I started with. It was cool getting to play against the guys from Harrison Central and Union Local,” Wooding said. “Plus, I know a lot of the other guys from wrestling and stuff, so it was a cool experience.”

With the high school chapter of his career now officially closed, Wooding is now full steam ahead to get ready for life at Oberlin, which begins on Aug. 12.

“I am in the best shape of my life and I am ready to go up there and do the same stuff I did here,” Wooding said. “This game was helpful to get ready. I’ve been training for months, but this allowed me to put the pads on and really get back into the swing of things against some top-notch competition.”

SETH’S SCOOPS

UNFORTUNATELY, for the second straight season, the game was marred by a couple of near donnybrooks. Obviously, competitive nature takes over during games, but there’s no place for that kind of behavior in an all-star game. Kudos to the officiating crew for taking control early. As soon as a second incident occurred, a player from each team was ejected. Hopefully, the ejections send a clear message to future all-star selections that acting afool won’t be tolerated.

ON THE other side of the coin, both teams deserve to be commended for their showing of sportsmanship when West Virginia’s Kam Davis was injured. As Davis was being loaded onto a stretcher, both teams went out onto the field and let Davis know they were thinking of him. It’s a shame to see anyone get hurt in the game, but Davis was expected to attend Youngstown State University to play football.

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com