Shay Shines In Senior Bowl

January 23, 1999 / 7:25 PM EST / AP

Brian Shay, the best player in Division II, showed Saturday he can hold his own against the best players in Division I.

Shay, a running back from Emporia, Kan., State, rushed for 76 yards, went 27 yards on a fake punt and recovered a fumble while leading the South to a 31-21 victory in the 50th annual Senior Bowl.

Shay outran Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams this year for college football's career rushing title with 6,958 yards. But he went unnoticed all week as the big-name Division I running backs stole all the attention.

As fans and media showered attention on the likes of LSU's Kevin Faulk and Notre Dame's Autry Denson, Shay went about his business proving he belonged with college football's elite.

He made his presence known early on special teams, recovering a fumble by South teammate Troy Edwards of Louisiana Tech on a first-quarter kickoff.

It was his play on fourth-and-3 at the North's 36 that did the most for the South. Leading 17-13 in the fourth quarter, the South sent its punting team onto the field. Shay took the snap and ran straight through the middle for 27 yards and a first down.

That eventually led to Faulk's 1-yard TD run to give the South a 24-13 lead with 10:16 to play.

Meanwhile, three other quarterbacks used the game to steal some of the attention Syracuse's Donovan McNabb had gotten all week.

McNabb had been the most impressive quarterback in practice, but come game time it was Ohio State's Joe Germaine, UCLA's Cade McNown and Miami's Scott Covington who did the most damage.

Germaine scored both of the North's touchdowns, running for one, throwing for one and completing a 2-point conversion pass.

McNown, selected the game's most valuable player, was 10-of-12 for 114 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the South. He was 6-for-6 for 69 yards on the South's second-quarter scoring drive that ended with a 4-yard TD pass to Florida's Terry Jackson.

Covington, the South MVP, was 7-of-11 for 78 yards and one touchdown. He moved the South 35 yards all through the air in five plays and threw a 7-yard scoring strike to Edwards right before the half.

McNabb, meanwhile, was 7-of-15 for 100 yards and led the North on two scoring drives that ended in field goals of 23 and 28-yards by Martin Gramatica of Kansas State.

Boston College's Mike Cloud was the North's MVP, rushing for 117 yards on 12 carries.