[07/18/03] Andrew Patten and Tyler DeRossette are trying something new this week as they prepare for the 54th Bernard Blackwell All-Star Football Classic. Paul Gorney is just trying to have fun before he hangs up his shoulder pads for good.

Patten and DeRossette, a pair of Warren Central linebackers, and Gorney, an offensive lineman for Vicksburg High, will play for the North in tonight’s Mississippi all-star game at Madison Central. The game begins at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $5.

For the two WC players, it’s a chance to play together one last time before heading their separate ways. DeRossette has signed with Northeast Mississippi Community College, while Patten has signed with Hinds.

At WC, the duo terrorized opposing offenses for the past two seasons. Patten led Warren County in tackles in 2002 with 141, while DeRossette was second on the team and seventh in the county with 107. In 2001, DeRossette had 144 tackles and Patten had 140.

When they line up tonight, however, their playmaking opportunities will come from a different spot. Both Patten and DeRossette will play at defensive end rather than linebacker.

“To me, it’s funner,” DeRossette said. “You aren’t going to make as many tackles, unless they run to your side, but you can hit people harder.”

Both players welcomed the opportunity to change positions for one game, and they agreed the adjustment wasn’t difficult to make.

“In the defense that we just came from, we used to stunt a lot so it wasn’t hard to get used to,” Patten said, adding that lining up on the opposite end of the line from DeRossette would be a nice way to finish his high school career.

“We both get to play rush end, just like we played middle linebacker, so that’s pretty cool,” Patten said.

While Patten and DeRossette prepare to play on the next level, Gorney will be playing his last game of organized football.

The 300-pound center, a two-time Vicksburg Post All-County selection who helped VHS amass nearly 9,000 yards of total offense the past two seasons, didn’t receive any college scholarship offers and is giving up the game. He plans to attend Mississippi State, where he will try to walk on as a baseball player.

Gorney, a standout baseball player for the Gators, hit .417 with three home runs, eight doubles and 36 RBIs as an all-county first baseman this spring.

“It’s been an exciting part of my life for six years,” Gorney said of his football career. “I’ve had fun playing with all these guys that I’ve played with.”

Playing on the same team with DeRossette and Patten after being rivals for so long was a little unusual, Gorney said, but he pointed out that they weren’t the only new teammates he had been trying to beat for years.

“It’s fine,” Gorney said. “It’s a chance to play with some other guys I’ve been rivals with for six years, and we all want to win. I think we all have the same thing on our minds.”

If you go

7:30 p.m. – Bernard Blackwell All-Star Classic at Madison Central.

Admission: $5