Saint Stephen’s QB Fred Billy earns FACA All-Star invite

Fred Billy’s high school football career isn’t quite over.

After Saturday’s storybook ending to a four-year career that featured 115 career touchdowns and back-to-back Sunshine State Athletic Conference championships, Billy has one last game to leave a mark.

Billy was invited to participate in the Florida Athletic Coaches Association’s 63rd North/South All-Star Classic, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 16 at at The Villages High School.

Along with Palmetto offensive lineman Eriq Porter, the two are the lone Manatee County players to receive invites to the game.

Falcons head coach Tod Creneti said Billy was selected as a wide receiver and likely will play the slot in a text message with the Bradenton Herald.

The tentative schedule for the 2017 FACA game begins Dec. 13 for selected players. Practices take place daily for three days leading into Saturday’s game.

Billy played quarterback and defensive back this season, but under center is where he truly shined. Limited to playing two quarters for most of the season with Saint Stephen’s blowing teams out, Billy amassed 1,329 rushing yards on 87 carries with 20 touchdowns. He also completed 66.7 percent of his passes with a 140.6 quarterback rating.

Playing as a slot receiver will be a new challenge for Billy, but his speed and shiftiness are solid and that was evident throughout this season, especially during Saturday’s 49-21 title win over Windermere Prep with NFL legend Ray Lewis in attendance.

Lewis gave kudos to Billy’s performance after the game, which was a historic one for Saint Stephen’s – no team had won two SSAC titles in the conference’s history prior to Saturday.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Saint Stephen’s QB Fred Billy earns FACA All-Star invite."