HILLSBORO — In Saturday’s Les Schwab Oregon Bowl, featuring the state’s top recently-graduated high school football players, the North squad came alive offensively in the second half to defeat the South team, 21-14. The North scored 15 points in the fourth quarter after being held to just six points in the first three periods to earn the come-from-behind victory.

A pair of Gresham-area athletes made major contributions to the North’s triumph on the offensive side of the ball. Former Gresham running back Devauntae Hoffman performed as well as anyone out of the backfield, especially in the opening half. Hoffman’s last run of the half was a 29-yard jaunt down the left sideline that gave the North a chance for a Hail Mary with one second left.

Wide receiver Demontrial Spinks, a former Reynolds standout, had the biggest play of the game for the North with the clock ticking down in the third quarter. With the ball on his own 20-yard line, Spinks caught a pass on the right hashmark for first-down yardage and then turned it into a lot more. He made three South defenders miss with a few jukes to get out into the open field before finally being wrestled to the ground by his facemask at the South 29-yard line.

The catch went for 51 yards and the penalty moved the ball into the red zone.

At the time of Spinks’ catch, the South led 7-6. His huge reception gave proved to be the turning point in the game. The North punched it in for a touchdown a couple plays after Spinks’ grab-and-run, then converted a two-point conversion to take a 14-7 lead.

Look for extended bowl game coverage in the Tuesday, June 25, print edition.