Blue-Grey All-American Bowl: West 37, East 17

Pac-12 Conference target Cody White (left) and New Mexico State commit Aiden Armenta (right) were among the high-profile prospects to play in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl. Photo courtesy of Carson Lawson.

There was certainly no shortage of talented prospects in the Class of 2023 at the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl held at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium on Dec. 12. In the end, however, West took care of business against East, 37-17.

Up front, along the offensive line of scrimmage for the West, the battle was won down in trenches by Pac-12 Conference target Cody White and Big Sky Conference target Gabe Rhue, among a handful of others.

Western Athletic Conference (WAC) target Aaron Duran and Big Sky Conference target Nance Cabasag were also largely, though not solely responsible for the success of the West and its coach, NFL veteran Seneca Wallace.

New Mexico State commit Aiden Armenta was the primary beneficiary of the blocking. His name was certainly in the conversation for Offensive MVP honors after completing 11-of-15 attempts for 168 passing yards.

His counterpart on the other side was up to the task, as Pac-12 Conference Riply Luna of the East ended up with the award by game’s end. He threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to his brother Kolby Luna in the fourth quarter and scored on a 16-yard run in the first quarter, for good measure.

On defense for the East, the unquestioned leaders were Air Force commit Kaden Jones and Central Michigan commit Brent Hoppe. Missouri Valley Football Conference target Blake Osbahr was also difficult to deal with.

Conference USA target Patrick Burke was, most times, in complete control of the West offense. He had help from the likes of Mountain West Conference target Gabriel Buie and Big Sky Conference target Jordan Niesent.

Missouri Valley Conference target Jack Merkwan was among the West options for Conference USA target Grayson King. Same thing goes for Southland target Devin Matthews and Big Sky Conference target Tony McAdoo.

For the West, Big Sky Conference target Nathan Reynolds and Conference USA target Colt Mangino lived up the hype, with Southland Conference targets Carson Combs and Daltin Stockon making names for themselves.

Missouri Valley Football Conference target John Chapin of the East left a lasting impression on many observers, so did Southeast Missouri commit Cole Ruble and Missouri Valley Football Conference target Jaxin Patterson.

Big 12 Conference target Caden Tahbonemah, Conference USA target Josh Nwankpa, Sun Belt Conference target Peyton Polk and Southern Conference Jared Shelton also effectively got the job done for the East.

Ohio Valley Conference target Gavin Coppenhaver, Missouri Valley Football Conference target Ethan Bailey and Pac-12 target Cartez Williams turned some heads for the East and its coach, NFL veteran Ken Stills.