Reid, McPherson head All-Region team

By Christian Malone

December 14, 2008 01:55 am

— VALDOSTA — After another dominant year in region play, it should be no surprise why this year’s Region 1-AAAAA All-Region football team is filled with Lowndes Vikings.
Greg Reid, Lowndes’ do-it-all star, was a unanimous choice as the Region Player of the Year, and Vikings head coach Randy McPherson was chosen the Region Coach of the Year.
There were six Lowndes players chosen to the first team, and a total of 15 Vikings were honored on one of the squads, more than any other school.
Reid was chosen the region’s top player after rushing for 1,242 yards and 16 touchdowns as a running back, catching eight passes for a team-high 234 yards and two touchdowns, making 28 tackles and nine interceptions as a cornerback, being a dangerous return man, compiling 2,048 all-purpose yards and scoring 21 touchdowns. He was the only player to be named to the first team on both offense and defense.
McPherson was the region’s top coach after guiding the Vikings to a 12-1 record this season and an undefeated 7-0 region record. They beat each region team by at least a touchdown, and beat one team, Colquitt County, by 51 points. In seven years at Lowndes, McPherson’s record is 78-13.
The Region’s Offensive Player of the Year award went to Northside running back Xavier Bacon. Bacon rushed for a region-leading 1,677 yards and 23 touchdowns, while also catching 23 balls for 199 yards.
The Region’s Defensive Player of the Year also went to a Northside player. Abry Jones, the No. 1 defensive tackle in the nation, according to scout.com, sacked the quarterback 15 times and also had a number of hurries and tackles for loss. He has committed to Georgia.
Four other Lowndes players were named to the first team. Joining Reid on the first team offense was Ed Christian, a 6-foot-5, 280-pound junior right tackle who is already getting attention from Division I schools.
Joining Reid on the first-team defense were three other Vikings. Lowndes’ leading tackler was junior linebacker Michael Copeland, who made 102 tackles, six sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 15 hurries. Defensive end Telvin Smith, another junior, made 97 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss, two interceptions and three hurries. Safety/linebacker Gerald Demps, who has committed to Florida State, made 78 tackles, one sack and four tackles for loss, and also rushed for 451 yards and nine touchdowns.
Valdosta had four players make the first team. Jay Rome, a sophomore, easily led region tight ends with 29 catches for 413 yards and five touchdowns. Senior center Allen Scruggs earned his second berth on the first team after another strong year. Left tackle Antonio Foster, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound senior who has committed to Georgia Tech, was also among the region’s top linemen.
Valdosta senior linebacker Mike Gilliard made the first team defense after making a team-high 106 tackles, one sack and five tackles for loss. Gilliard, rated the No. 14 outside linebacker in the country by rivals.com, has committed to Georgia.
The first-team quarterback is Tift County’s Malcom Dixon, who passed for 1,500 yards and ran for another 500. Reid and Bacon are joined in the backfield by Coffee’s Melvin Loving, who rushed for 672 yards and 13 touchdowns in the regular season.
At wide receiver, Jared Davis of Tift repeated as a first-team selection after catching 32 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns. Demario Bennett of Coffee, who has committed to South Carolina, caught 29 passes for 412 yards and five touchdowns, and also threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more. Quin Roberson of Colquitt County led the region with 40 catches for 612 yards.
Eric Key of Colquitt was chosen the first-team athlete after catching 31 passes for 510 yards and nine touchdowns, while also running for two touchdowns and scoring another touchdown on a 99-yard kickoff return.
Joining Christian, Scruggs and Foster on the first-team offensive line are Northside center Donnie Werden and Tift’s John Torell.
Joining Jones and Smith on the defensive line are Jeffrey Whittaker of Warner Robins, who made 38 tackles, and Jamal Denson of Tift, who had 63 tackles and 6.5 sacks.
Gilliard and Copeland were joined at linebacker by Northside’s Eric Fields, a Clemson commitment, Coffee’s D’Juan Smith, who had 109 tackles and four sacks, and Tift teammates Josh Abbott and Shayon Green (a Purdue commitment).
Reid and Demps, one of the best defensive back pairings in the country, were joined in the secondary by Coffee’s D.J. Jackson and Northside’s K.J. Morton. Jackson made 61 tackles and two interceptions, while Morton has 11 career interceptions.
Jordan West of Tift, who made 9-of-12 field goals and 29-of-34 extra points, was the first-team kicker. David Clark of Warner Robins was the punter.
Lowndes also placed five players on the second team. Left guard Layne Grant and right guard Brady Brantley helped clear the paths for a Vikings rushing attack that gained 3,663 yards this season. Strong safety Marcus Solomon made 52 tackles and two interceptions. Tyler Hunter did a little bit of everything for Lowndes this year, playing quarterback (239 yards passing, 2 TD), running back (373 rushing yards, 5 TD) and cornerback (25 tackles). Punter Hayden Martin averaged 36.4 yards per punt.
Valdosta placed five players on the second team. VaShun Johnson was third in the region in rushing, with 795 yards and six touchdowns, and also made 27 tackles and two interceptions as a defensive back. Dontavius Sapp caught 19 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns as a receiver, and also made 35 tackles and one interception as the team’s strong safety. Defensive tackle Damian Doe made 65 tackles and two sacks. Middle linebacker Jermaine Holmes made 99 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Outside linebacker Ahmad Williams had 62 tackles.
The second-team quarterback was L’Shaun Smith of Coffee, who passed for 977 yards and 12 touchdowns, while rushing for 442 yards and three touchdowns. His backfield mates are Johnson, Garrick Davis of Houston County (771 yards rushing, 10 touchdowns) and Stevan Toomer of Tift (797 yards rushing).
Joining Sapp at receiver are Mike Faulk of Coffee (23 rec., 336 yards, 2 TD) and Nick Prostko of Tift (23 rec., 314 yards, 1 TD). Corey Davis of Coffee (4 touchdown catches, 34 tackles, seven sacks as a defensive end) was the tight end. Rashad Wynes of Warner Robins (13 rec., 403 yards, 5 TD) was the athlete.
The second-team offensive line was Grant, Brantley, Jamal Watson of Tift, R.J. Taylor of Coffee and Deron McIntee of Northside.
Doe was joined on the second-team defensive line by Houston’s Jacob Walker (five sacks), Coffee’s Ben Merritt (32 tackles, 2 sacks), Tift’s Tabias Walker and Warner Robins’ Derrick Stover (84 tackles). The second-team linebackers were Holmes, Williams, Darius Ivey of Northside and Darius Turner of Coffee (53 tackles, 1 TD).
The second-team secondary was Solomon, Hunter, Kenny Moore of Tift and Jalani Phillips of Houston (7 int.). Devin Pike of Northside was the kicker.
Lowndes left tackle Justin Browning, defensive end Chris Stinson, defensive tackles Ridge Spivey and Devin Simmons and free safety Michael Mitchell received honorable mention. So did Valdosta offensive lineman Willis Fussell and defensive tackle Parker Mathis.
The other honorable mention selections were: Northside tight end Evan Arthur, wide receiver Alan Davis and guard Sam Cherney; Tift receiver Blake Massey, defensive end Tommy Johnson and defensive backs Rickey Pierce and Micah McCant; Colquitt quarterback John Michael Harrison and defensive lineman Nyneson Jeudy; Coffee tackle Garrett Scott; and Houston wide receiver Craig Presley.

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