Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Darrian Meads (pictured above) and Landon Johnson were named Co-MVPs the 2017 of the All-Etowah County Schools football team.
By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor
A pair of Eagles soared to new heights this year, and the postseason honors are starting to roll in.
Senior quarterback Landon Johnson and sophomore halfback Darrian Meads were named Co-MVPs the 2017 of the All-Etowah County Schools football team.
Johnson and Meads were important factors in Hokes Bluff’s 10-2 record and second straight Class 4A state quarterfinal appearance. Johnson finals stats included 1,429 yards and 17 touchdowns passing and 476 yards and another 10 TDs on the ground. He also had a standout season as the team’s punter in averaging neatly 40 yards on 41 kicks. Meads topped the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the second straight year, running for 2,036 yards and 27 touchdowns while averaging almost 157 yards per game.
Sardis High senior quarterback Logan Gaskin and Hokes Bluff sophomore defensive back Ashton Gulledge were selected as Offensive and Defensive MVP, respectively.
All-County – page 2B
Gaskin finished with just shy of 2,000 combined yards as he was 86 for 178 in passing for 1,277 yards and rushed 116 times for 610 yards and 15 scores. Gaskin helped the Lions win their first region title in six years, while Gulledge was the top tackler in The Messenger’s coverage area with 164 stops.
Glencoe senior receiver/linebacker Noah Huff made the first team in the Athlete category.
Rounding out first team offense were Southside senior Gavin Griffin at quarterback, Glencoe senior Cade Alred and Southside junior Kenneth Bothwell Jr. at running back; Hokes Bluff senior Braydon Hill, Sardis senior Chase Bright, Southside senior Tristan Ri-ggan and West End freshman Eli Pearce at receiver; Southside senior Gavin Orr and Hokes Bluff senior Peyton Moore at tight end; and Glencoe seniors Jake Trimm and Dawson Bass; Sardis seniors Anthony Coffee and Clay Jacobs; Hokes Bluff senior Hunter Coffey; Hokes Bluff juniors Jack Busch and Houston Edwards at offensive line; and Southside sophomore Nolan Johnson at kicker.
Joining Gulledge on the first team defense were Glencoe senior Bradley Scott, Gaston junior Lane Talbot, West End senior Matthew Hood, Sardis junior Brandon Noblitt, Hokes Bluff senior Levi Taliaferro and Southside senior Logan McGee at linebacker; Southside senior Tyler
Abernathy, Southside so-phomore Chance Moon, Glencoe senior Tyler Palomares, Gaston junior Christian Farley, West End senior DeWayne Miller, Hokes Bluff senior Jacob Ackerman, Sardis senior Brayden Lacey, Sardis junior Tristen Holcomb and Southside senior Nick Shirley at defensive line; Sardis senior Jake Ross, Southside junior Blake Habyan and Hokes Bluff junior Carson Eubanks at defensive back; and Sar-dis senior Dakota Daniel at punter.
Hokes Bluff’s Mike Robertson and Sardis’ Gene Hill were named Co-Coaches of the Year.
The Honorable Mention team included Zac Satterfield and Kameron Hawkins from Gaston; Elijah Trimm, Easton Foreman, Ethan Foreman and Andrew Massaro from Glencoe; Jackson Evans, Jackson Fielding and Jace Stewart from Hokes Bluff; Kale Walker, Drew Vaughn, Trent Presley, Mason Golden, Tre Dalrymple, T.J. Harbian and Javen Smith from Sardis; Preston Rich, Bo McConnell, John Mark Weaver, Luke Chappell, Caleb Jacobs and Dylan Brooks from Southside; and Payne Stancil and Nick Campbell from West End.