Blue-Grey All-American Bowl: West 40, East 34

Mountain West Conference target Cooper Legas participated in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium.

Prior to the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl, the name Cooper Legas was well known. Primarily however, on the West Coast. The perception, specifically on the national level, has apparently changed.

The 6-foot-2 and 205-pound quarterback was unstoppable as West defeated East, 40-33, at Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium on Dec. 17 in game featuring the nation’s top prospects in the Class of 2019.

Legas was named Offensive MVP after scoring three times, two passing and the other running, as he rallied his team from a nearly three-touchdown deficit with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

His 9-yard touchdown run with less than minute left on the clock provided the game’s final margin of victory, and shortly thereafter, set off a wild celebration on the Cowboys’ famous star at midfield.

Beforehand in the fourth quarter, Legas threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mountain West Conference target Daelin Degraffenried and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Conference USA target Kameron Ransom.

Based on his effort, no surprise, colleges all over the country reached out to him. Still, Utah State seems to be the frontrunner for a potential commitment from Legas, based on the team’s longstanding interest.

Jesse Deglow scored on a 2-yard run, DuRon King scored on a 5-yard run and Darntrell Council scored on a 95-yard punt return as the East jumped out to a 34-14 lead with 12 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Indiana commit Matthew Bedford, UT-Martin commit Matthew Needham, SMU commit Chase Parker, Bowling Green commit Kellen Adler and East Tennessee State commit Max Howell did well on the East.

Mid-American Conference (MAC) targets Tristan Dillon and Brandon Odam spread the ball around for the East, mostly to Missouri Valley Football Conference targets Adrian Adams and Keegan Simmons.

Pitt commit Myles Talley, Louisiana-Lafayette commit Bobby Holmes, Conference USA target William Savala and Big Ten Conference target Kyler Fisher worked together to anchor the secondary of the East.

Missouri Valley Football Conference target Isiah Brown-Dietzman was the East’s Defensive MVP. Illinois State commit Matthew Wedig and Southeastern Louisiana commit Michael Henderson were considered.

Conference USA Taj Gregory on the West delivered on the advanced hype. Degraffenreid and Ransom were two of his favorite targets, naturally. Both of them were in the running for Offensive MVP.

Other offensive options for the West included Sacramento State commit Xavier Mason and New Mexico State commit Juwan Price, who scored on a 99-yard kickoff return to tie the score, 14-14, before half.

Not to be forgotten, Legas had help on the West, particularly so from SMU commit Ben Mason, Boise State commit Jason Golden and Montana State commit Lucas Child, among a number of others.

Also, Mountain West Conference targets Sonny Makasini, Zach Mendoza, Fred Prescott and Alex Paluck for the West blocked for Big Sky Conference target Talmage Brown and his fellow running backs.

North Dakota commit Haley Bucholz, Northern Colorado commit Cole Parrott, with Conference USA targets Carson Fugleberg, Kaghen Roach and Tavion Grant made plays for the West’s defense.