Saturday night’s 36th Annual East-West Charity All-Star Football Classic was sentimental to players for different reasons.

For recent St. Helena graduate Tony Montelli, the 12-0 West win was special because it was his first victory on the gridiron since the birth of his daughter Sofia on July 12.

“I was really hoping she’d be able to watch it,” Montelli said about his daughter, who wasn’t able to make it and was at home with her mom. “I can’t wait to tell her about it. I want her to be proud of her daddy.”

Montelli recovered the game’s lone fumble — a dropped ball by an East player — and returned it 15 yards in the third quarter.

For Napa alum Gabe Guastucci, the victory was sweet because it was at his home of Napa Memorial Stadium and his West squad was on the Indians’ side of the field. Guastucci was plagued with injuries for much of his senior year, so it was extra gratifying to get one more chance under the lights and “go out with a bang.”

“It was awesome,” he said. “I’m just happy I had the chance to play in an All-Star game.”

Guastucci nailed several key tackles and assisted fellow Indians Tommy Wilcoxson, Scott Johnson and Ryan Barragan with lots more.

“This was a great way to finish out my high school career,” Barragan said. “From the first day of practice, we jelled right away and became family. It was nice to get that first sack of the game.”

During West coach Richard Eaton’s post-game chat with his players, he said, “It’s been an honor and privilege to be here with you. This is your victory; take it with you.”

Both defenses kept the game scoreless until the fourth quarter, when Hogan’s Lamari Mack rushed for 19 yards to give the West a 6-0 lead with 11:15 left in the first quarter. St. Helena’s Jake Holguin set up for the PAT, but it was blocked to keep the score unchanged.

“Those kids love to play defense,” Eaton said. “This is one of the best defensive teams I’ve been around. The quality of these players speaks volumes of the teams they come from and who they’re coached by.”

About seven minutes later, West was on the East’s 40-yard line on third-and-25. John Swett quarterback Thomas Arguello connected with North Hills Christian’s Dallas Hamilton for 29 yards and a first down. A 1-yard run from LaVonte Green (Vallejo) and a 10-yarder from Max Schulz (St. Patrick/St. Vincent) gave West another first down, but a minus-2-yard rush set them back to the 22-yard line — just in time for Santrio Carson (John Swett) to strut his stuff.

Carson took a hand-off from Schulz and sprinted into the end zone for another West score. The team’s 2-point conversion failed, keeping the score at 12-0 with just 3:07 left in the game.

East picked up two first downs, but two back-to-back incomplete passes and a Johnson sack for minus-9 yards turned the ball over to West on downs. With 1:03 left on the clock, Gregory Ortega (North Hills Christian) rushed for 5 yards to his team’s 44-yard line, but they let the time run down.

The West struggled with consistency during the first half and Eaton admitted much of his concern came from trying to get all of his players into the game — every quarter. All played a snap after just a few minutes, with three different quarterbacks lining up behind center Matt Meyer (Justin-Siena). West also had 10 different players run the ball and four different receivers.

“Once we got a good rotation going, it worked better,” Eaton said. “Once we got the personnel down it was fine.”

The North Hills Christian coach added that he wasn’t surprised the score stayed at 0-0 for the first 37 minutes.

Guastucci felt it a little frustrating that the West couldn’t manage a score, especially since he was used to his Napa squad averaging more than 41 points a game in 2006. But once the West put up a couple of points, he was just happy to get a “W.”

Vintage’s Vince Pappas wasn’t on hand for Saturday’s matchup because of a broken ankle he sustained earlier this summer. Napa High outside linebacker Jeremiah Luke was on the sidelines because he tore his right pectoral muscle. Hoping to continue his playing career, he is seeing a specialist on Monday and is keeping his fingers crossed that surgery won’t be necessary.

A total of 22 high schools in the area were represented Saturday night. The West featured players from Napa, Vintage, Justin-Siena, St. Helena, Vallejo, Bethel, Hogan, North Hills Christian, John Swett, Benicia and St. Patrick/St. Vincent while players from Davis, Woodland, Pioneer-Woodland, Wood, Armijo, Dixon, Rodriguez-Cordelia, Winters, Fairfield, Rio Vista and Vanden were on the East.

The mid-summer game, co-sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Napa and the Vallejo Police Activities League, featured the top players from Napa, Solano and Yolo counties and benefits local charities in the area.