Fremd's Bobek has a ball in All-American Bowl

Playing football in front of big and enthusiastic crowds at Fremd was a common occurrence for Brian Bobek.

But those were minuscule gatherings compared to what the Ohio State-bound center experienced Saturday afternoon in the 11th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl at the Alamodome in San Antonio.

"It added to the fun of the game," Bobek said of the record 37,893 in attendance to see some of the country's top senior high school football stars. "When you take the field you think, 'Wow, there's a lot of people here.'

"Once you got into the game you didn't really notice it that much and you got used to it. It was like any other football game."

The 6-foot-2, 278-pound Bobek was on the field for every snap for the East team as it scored two touchdowns in the last 10 minutes to pull out a 13-10 victory.

"It was great going against guys of a higher caliber and seeing how they are," Bobek said. "The game was a lot of fun and winning makes it more fun.

"You could tell guys were playing a little harder than in practice and I know I was. It was a lot of fun to go against the best of the best and compare myself to them. I thought I did very well."

Bobek helped Alabama recruit Demetrius Hart become the first 100-yard rusher in the game's history. The East trailed 10-0 but scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 3-yard scoring run by Florida State recruit James Wilder with four minutes to play.

"Earlier in the game there were four or five times we had deep passes that were wide open and the ball was a step away from being caught for a 50- to 60-yard touchdown pass," Bobek said. "It was the same thing with the runs. We were a step away from having a huge hole for the running back to run through.

"Once we got in sync that's what allowed us to put some points on the board."