Kemp shines in Alabama-Mississippi game
Demopolis High senior Demetrius Kemp heads toward the end zone after hauling in a pass for the Alabama High School Football All-Star Team Saturday in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Game.
Alabama’s high school football all-stars downed Mississippi’s best gridiron standouts Saturday with a 21-17 win in the annual December showcase. At the center of the win for the Alabama team was Demopolis High School receiver Demetrius Kemp.
“He went out and played,” Demopolis High coach Tom Causey said of Kemp’s performance. “He was playing with a bunch of really good players and playing against some really good players and I think he had a really good week preparing for the game and went out and played like he always does. Only having to play one way was probably some sort of a relief to him at some point.”
Kemp, who played safety and A-back for the Tigers the last two seasons, displayed his talent on the offensive side of the ball for the Alabama all-stars, hauling in three passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner.
“It was fun, being able to showcase my talent and show people that I am able, I have the ability to play with those guys and compete against them and make them have to try and give effort to compete against me,” Kemp said of the week-long experience that included two-a-day practices. “I knew I was going to start, but I didn’t know if we were going to pass a lot or run a lot. So I just went into the game with (the idea that), if I get the ball, I’m going to make something happen and, if not, I’m going to block and we’re going to win this game.”
Kemp found himself matched up opposite Meridian High’s C.J. Hampton for much of the contest. Hampton, a four-star recruit according to both Scout.com and Rivals.com, is an Ole Miss commit with offers from Alabama, Florida State, Auburn, Georgia, Stanford, LSU and a host of other top-flight programs.
Demopolis High senior Demetrius Kemp caught three passes for 72 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Alabama All-Stars to a 21-17 victory in the 27th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Game Saturday.
“I feel pretty good about it. I knew I had the ability to do it,” Kemp said of his 72-yard, two-touchdown day. “The guy that was guarding me most of the game was C.J. Hampton. He is one of the top names in Mississippi and around Alabama. He is a pretty big recruit. Being able to make plays with him guarding me is a pretty big deal to me.”
But as much as Kemp did for his Alabama squad, one of his greatest sources of pride is the way in which he represented Demopolis, a city with which, he said, most of his all-star teammates were unfamiliar.
“I always take pride in representing Demopolis and putting Demopolis on the map,” Kemp said.
“Demetrius is a high character guy and he went up there and represented Demopolis like he always does. He carried himself with class, worked extremely hard,” Causey said. “His coaches that got a chance to coach him in the all-star game, I got a chance to talk to them after the game, they said nothing but great things about him and who he is as a person. We’re proud of what he has accomplished so far and excited about what he is going to accomplish down the road.”
Kemp had 64 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, four forced fumbles, three blocked punts and two blocked extra points on the defensive side of the ball for the Tigers in 2013.
Offensively, he had 843 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns on only 60 touches. He also averaged more than 25 yards per kickoff return to go along with one return touchdown.
Kemp is currently committed to Wake Forest, but has also pocketed offers from Minnesota, Southern Mississippi and approximately two dozen other schools.