After two weeks of shuttling back and forth between the South and North practices, it is time to make a prediction.

As you might remember, I did win the staff pick 'em contest during the regular season.

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts about the game as well.

Keys to victory for the North

On offense: The offense is loaded with speed burners (Ronnie Hillman, Greg Portis, Tubotein Taylor, etc.). I would utilize their speed whenever possible, especially Hillman. He is a different level of fast that I haven't seen. If the offense is stuck in a key third down spot, I would look for Scotty Williams or Colton Grandbouche to make a play. The North ground attack needs to keep an eye on Chris Robinson and Nik Abele.

On defense: Coach John Barnes loves the defensive line and linebackers, but a lot of the success will depend on the defensive backs. Robert Cruz (Magnolia) has performed well in practice as has Derek Orman (Western), but the South is loaded at receiver (J.B. Green, Graham Tenney, Dylan Denso, Gavin Escobar and Nicalaus Powell-Calhoun). Look for safeties Dane Poole and Kyle Dravis to play a big role in pass defense.

Keys to victory for the South

Offense: Spread the love ... and the ball. Test the North secondary. The offense is also going to need a solid effort from the offensive line. The North's D-Line is full of athletes, who will not take a play off, guys like Mike Areklian, Dontaie Ferguson and Sean Avila. The South's O-Line (Abele, Jeff Quigley, Steve Watts, Matt Peleti, etc) is huge and will need to be up to the task.

Defense: Contain the speed. Need big games from Chris Robinson (Tustin) and Nik Abele (Irvine) on the D-Line.

My pick: South, 24-21.

Offensive player of the game: Preston King (Tesoro)

Defensive player of the game: Christian Maldonado (Mater Dei)

There you have it. Check back later Friday night for my recap of the game.

Related:

• Fryer picks the North to win …
• North, South all-stars ready to battle
• O.C. 30 best football all-stars
• Football poll: Pick your offensive player of the game
• Football poll: Pick your defensive player of the game
• North insider: Anaheim boys Cruz, Portis reunite
• North practice insider: offense makes plays
• South insider: Tustin's Chris Robinson ready for Friday
• South insider: Nik Abele is just scary
• Checking out the North All-Star team
• Checking in on the North all-stars (Thursday's practice)
• Football: Checking in on the South all-stars (Wed practice)
• Band of football brothers heading to West Point
• Barnes at ease in job at Tesoro

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