Jan. 23, 2010
2010 East-West Shrine Game Stats 
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka tossed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Penn State tight end Andrew Quarless with six seconds remaining, lifting the East to a 13-10 win over the West on Saturday in the annual showcase for college all-stars looking to make an impression on NFL scouts.
Kafka overcame a slow start to lead an 11-play, 55-yard drive on a day when his team's defense was dominant. The Wildcat QB finished with 150 yards passing and the TD and was selected the Offensive Most Valuable Player of the East-West Shrine Game.
"At Northwestern, we were notorious for close games," Kafka said. "I felt like I spent my whole career playing games right down to the wire."
It was just as sweet for Quarless, who helped Penn State rally over LSU in the Capital One Bowl in the same stadium on Jan. 1, to have consecutive comeback wins. He slipped behind the defense and allowed Kafka to loft a pass over the middle so he could make the leaping catch.
"In the huddle I told Kafka, 'Just throw it up and I'll make a play.' He threw a perfect pass," Quarless said. "It just feels good to go out with a bang."
Kafka, who has been invited to next month's NFL Combine in Indianapolis, closed his senior season with a school-record 532-yard passing performance against Auburn in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on New Year's Day.
A play before the winning TD pass, Kafka was smothered and surrounded by pass rushers but somehow managed to elude them for an 8-yard gain. He completed 18-of-27 passes for the game.
Max Hall of BYU tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Ryan Moya of UCLA moments before the East rallied.
Joshua Sheene of Ole Miss added field goals of 44 and 40 yards for the East. And Texas' Hunter Lawrence had a 47-yarder for the West.
Van Eskridge of East Carolina, who was chosen defensive MVP, intercepted a pass by Kansas' Todd Reesing that hung in the air far too long in the second quarter. Wisconsin's O'Brien Schofield intercepted Hall earlier in the game.
After an unspectacular first quarter, Hall came back strong in the fourth. He zipped a 41-yard pass to Eastern Washington's Nathan Overbay, the tight end cutting across the middle of a wide-open field. Two plays later, he connected with Moya to give the West a 10-6 lead with 6:59 left.
Then Kafka came back.
Finding tight seams in the defense he had missed earlier, the East's starting quarterback made quality throws on the final drive, but his best work was done on his feet.
He dropped back from the West's 10-yard line and didn't even have time to set his feet before the pass rush collapsed on him. He ducked his head, buckled his knees and prepared to be sacked before somehow slipping through the line for a run that set up the winning score and gave the East a second straight win.
"I was scratching and clawing to get out there so we could get one more play," Kafka said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)