Holton Ahlers Named Team MVP in a 55-24 Shrine Bowl Victory
Six future ECU football players took part in Saturday’s 55-24 North Carolina Shrine Bowl win over South Carolina in Gibbs Stadium on the campus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina led by D.H. Conley quarterback Holton Ahlers who took home team MVP honors for the North Carolina squad.
It was the most any North Carolina team has ever scored in the history of the bowl which dates back to 1937 and the third straight victory for the North Carolina squad. South Carolina leads the all time series at 44-33-4.
Ahlers threw for 156 yards on 11 of 18 passing and a pair of touchdowns to go along with a touchdown run and one interception when his arm was hit on the follow through which altered the pass. Ahlers ran 12 times for 32 yards and one touchdown.
Ricky Person was the North Carolina team’s offensive MVP. Person ran 15 times for 180 yards and scored a 72-yard touchdown on the last play of the game. All told Person had three touchdowns and three catches for 23 yards. Devin Carter caught two passes for 30 yards and a score.
The North Carolina team took a 28-12 lead into the locker room at halftime. Ahlers found Person and Devin Carter out of Clayton for touchdowns in the win. Both of them are headed to N.C. State.
All told, the Pirates placed six players in this year’s Shrine Bowl, all of whom were in-state players including Ahlers, offensive tackle Donovan Noel from Raleigh Millbrook who saw some playing time at guard, Jaren Rainey and Nolan Johnson out of Southwest Guilford, Jireh Wilson from Northside High in Jacksonville who was a late scratch and future ECU defensive lineman Chandler Medeiros from South Iredell.
Medeiros made a big tackle and then on the next play he batting down a pass to halt a drive in the third quarter when the game was still within reach for South Carolina.. That helped the North Carolina squad maintain momentum and they cruised the rest of the way.
Holton Ahlers goes in depth with PirateIllustrated.com after Saturday's Shrine Bowl win for PI Premium.
Video highlights courtesy of Rivals.com.
