Mason's Senior Bowl standouts

Richmond QB and 2018 Senior Bowl MVP Kyle Lauletta's first two completions went for an average of 51.5 yards, punctuated by a 75-yard strike to DJ Chark that came one play after Allen had thrown his second touchdown pass of the third quarter. Lauletta's strike stopped a 13-0 run by the North team and punctuated a day in which he posted a 149.3 passer rating (NFL calculation) on 8-of-12 passing for 198 yards with two touchdowns. But perhaps the most impressive play of his day came with 2:10 left in the third quarter, when he adeptly worked his way out of two potential sacks -- one from North Carolina State's B.J. Hill, and another from Ohio State's Jalyn Holmes. Eventually, Holmes brought him down for a 2-yard loss, but Lauletta's ability to keep the play alive.

Wyoming QB Josh Allen's best period of practice this week came in a red-zone period Thursday, so it was appropriate that his best throw of the game Saturday came in the red zone: a letter-perfect strike to Central Michigan TE Tyler Conklin to give the North team its first touchdown of the day. He fired another touchdown pass on the next possession, hitting Notre Dame TE Durham Smythe for a 27-yard score. Allen finished the day with a 150.0 passer rating (NFL calculation) on 9-of-13 passing for 158 yards, going him the highest NFL passer rating of any quarterback in the game.

When LSU wide receiver D.J. Chark gets past press coverage, it's trouble. He worked past South Carolina's JaMarcus King with 5:58 remaining in the first quarter, putting him in position to catch a perfect strike from Lauletta, who had executed a clean play-action fake from under center. Chark led all receivers with 160 yards on five receptions.

UTSA edge rusher Marcus Davenport came to Senior Bowl week with high expectations, and Saturday, he met them. After an up-and-down first two days of practice, he improved Thursday, posting a sack in a team period, and he then cranked it up Saturday by posting a half-sack on the third play of the game, beating Pitt's Brian O'Neill to bring down Baker Mayfield. Alabama's Da'Shawn Hand joined Davenport to split the sack. Davenport forced an incompletion on the next possession, then later capped his day by returning a Tanner Lee fumble — forced by Mississippi edge rusher Marquis Haynes — for a touchdown to extend the South's lead to 38-16 with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.

Appalachian State guard Colby Gossett was the power behind Penny's 34-yard first-quarter run, a dash that propelled the South into North territory and led to its first touchdown of the game. Penny successfully cleared Delaware defensive lineman Bilal Nichols out of the way, helping create a gaping hole through which Penny galloped for his longest run of the game.

Hawaii safety Trayvon Henderson's aggression and quick reads of plays as they developed allowed him to make some plays near the line of scrimmage against the run. He finished the game with a North-team-leading 10 total tackles.

In the first quarter, the North team got its ground game going by running behind holes cleared by UTEP guard Will Hernandez. Arguably the best offensive lineman in Mobile this week, Hernandez blasted open holes for Arizona State RB Kalen Ballage to post his two longest runs of the game -- 16- and 14-yard carries that set up the South's first points of the afternoon.

One of the best moves of the day came from North team defensive end Jalyn Holmes. The Ohio State product sacked Virginia QB Kurt Benkert late in the first half by working to the inside shoulder of Nevada's Austin Corbett. As Holmes knocked Corbett off-balance, he kept his speed to attack Benkert and get the first of his two sacks in the game.

Oklahoma edge rusher Ogbonnia Okoronkwo matched Holmes with a pair of sacks for the North team, posting one in the second quarter and one in the third. On the first sack, Okoronkwo beat Humboldt State's Alex Cappa to the outside to bring down Benkert. His second sack, which also saw him force a fumble that the South team recovered, forced a three-and-out that was followed by a quick drive that ended with the North's second touchdown in a two-and-a-half-minute span, allowing the North to close within 18-16 in the third quarter.

San Diego State running back Rashaad Penny was overshadowed at times by other running backs in the practices this week, but he seized control of the game by racking up 137 yards from scrimmage in the first half, including 73 on a catch-and-run up the left sideline from Kurt Benkert 2:25 into the second quarter. Penny led all rushers with 64 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt.

South Alabama safety Jeremy Reaves looked right at home Saturday -- which was appropriate, given that his college home stadium is Ladd-Peebles Stadium, where the Senior Bowl was played. Reaves intercepted one pass and led all South team defensive backs with eight total tackles.

Western Kentucky quarterback Mike White's college history includes experience in a pro-style offense at South Florida before he transferred to WKU, and that helped him this week when he was under center, as he looked more comfortable in his drops than most other quarterbacks. White started for the South, played the entire first quarter and diced up the North defense. When he left, the South led, 10-3. His biggest play came with 4:44 remaining in the first quarter, when he stepped up and hit LSU WR D.J. Chark for a 63-yard strike up the left sideline. That single pass accounted for nearly half of White's 128 yards on 8-of-11 passing.