Unless a football player plans to take up collegiate or semi-pro ball, their career of full-out tackle is pretty much over after they graduate from high school.

Merrill’s Pascal Paul earned one of those rare second chances when he was selected to represent the North squad in the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) All-Star game. The North squared off with the South in combined D1-3 and D4-7 games held Sat., July 17, at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium at UW-Oshkosh.

“I had a great time,” Paul said. “It was a good way to go out. I thought I played well. I did what I needed to do. The team played well, obviously.”

The North pulled out a 22-20 overtime victory over the South.

Paul rotated with the other quarterbacks, and completed 2-4 passes for 27 yards.

“I threw a TD,” he said. ‘That was exciting. We were already up 8-0 and theat put us ahead 14-nothing. It was just an exit route by the fullback (Reedsburg’s Shane Rockweiler), a 10-yard pass on first down.

“I got to play about a third of the game. They switched us off every series.”

The North was a huge underdog on paper with 8 All-State players versus 28 on the South.

“It did (motivate us),” Paul said. “But our whole got along. It was good to see. “

A part of the game that’s so important it can’t be called a sidelight is the fact that it’s also a fundraiser for Children’s Hospitals of Wisconsin.

‘We had three kids from the hospital there with their families,” Paul said. “They came to practice and they came to the game. It was good to see the kids there.”

Paul and his sponsors raised more than $2,500 for the game, an approximate amount donated in the name of nearly every one of the nearly 200 players selected.