By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

The 2015 football season is officially in the books. It seems like August was not that long ago, yet here we are, with another season in the rearview mirror. There were nine teams in the county across the AHSAA, the AISA and the ACSC that saw postseason action, and five that won at least one playoff game. We’ve looked at the Player of the Year and the Coaches of the Year, and now it’s time to pay respects to the other top performers in the county.

There were a ton of deserving players across the county, and we’ve got two full teams of offense and defense, as well as honorable mentions for offense and defense to provide as complete of a picture as possible of the talent that was evident across the county this season. There are myriad different ways to pick these teams, and emphasis can sometimes be placed too heavily in one area. We’ve picked teams based on a number of factors including stats, quality of opponents, number of games played and how impactful players were over the course of the season, among others. So, without further ado, let’s take a look.

 

First Team Offense

Quarterback: Zac Oden, junior, Montevallo. 146-259, 2388 yards. 199 passing yards per game, 56 percent completion percentage. 29 touchdowns, 6 interceptions. Led Montevallo to first home playoff win in 20 years.

Running Back: Jamarius Mayfield, senior, Shelby County. 155 carries, 1,714 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns. 11 yards per carry. 10 receptions, 117 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown. Player of the Year.

Running Back: Kyle Harrell, senior, Calera. 145 carries, 1,464 yards, 18 touchdowns. 10.1 yards per carry. Committed to West Point.

Running Back: Carlos Stephens, senior, Thompson. 145 carries, 1,115 yards, 10 touchdowns. 7.7 yards per carry.

Offensive Line: Ben Haskins, senior, Chelsea. Three-year starter, anchor of Chelsea line that had three separate rushers gain more than 700 yards.

Offensive Line: John Will Graham, senior, Evangel. 6’4, 240-pound lineman who anchored Evangel’s offense that averaged 54 points per game.

Offensive Line: Daniel Johnson, senior, Briarwood. Two-year starter and Briarwood’s best blocker.

Offensive Line: Justice Hammond, senior, Oak Mountain. First Team All-State selection in 2014, anchored line in senior year.

Offensive Line: Mackenan Thompson, junior, Calera. Allowed zero sacks on the season and accumulated 31 pancake blocks.

Wide Receiver: Ahmad Edwards, sophomore, Montevallo. Could have made First Team as both an offensive and a defensive player. 45 receptions, 877 yards, 16 touchdowns on offense, scored every 2.8 times he touched the ball. Also had 94 tackles, nine interceptions and six tackles for loss as a safety.

Wide Receiver: Luke Dyson, senior, Briarwood. 45 receptions, 618 yards. 51.5 receiving yards per game in Briarwood’s pass-happy offense

Athlete: Micah Murphy, junior, Evangel. In 11 games, Murphy did more than most do in a career. The junior quarterback was 51-89 throwing the ball for 1,211 yards with 20 touchdowns and three picks while also running for 1,402 yards on 88 carries for another 26 touchdowns. Also had a combined 920 return yards for another seven scores, all on an 80-yard field. His 3,593 all-purpose yards would rank as the ninth-most productive season in AHSAA history.

 

First Team Defense

Defensive Line: TJ Rayam, senior, Thompson. 28 solo tackles, 11 assists, 1.5 sacks, six forced fumbles. Also is the two-time defending heavyweight state champion wrestler.

Defensive Line: Armond Llyod, senior, Oak Mountain. Described by one coach as the “Best DL I’ve seen all year, bar none,” Lloyd had 32 solo tackles, 25 assists, 2.5 sacks, 5 tackles for loss and a pick.

Defensive Line: Carter Bankston, senior, Briarwood. 31 solo tackles, 39 assists, two forced fumbles, four sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss. Committed to the Naval Academy.

Linebacker: Perry Young, senior, Spain Park. 74 tackles, 4 sacks, 3 interceptions. Athletic force who led Spain Park’s stingy defense that gave up less than 10 points per game to the 7A state title game.

Linebacker: Undreaz Lilly, senior, Montevallo. 100 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 1 interception and a forced fumble. Heart of much-improved Montevallo defense.

Linebacker: Jon Drake, junior, Pelham. 122 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception. By and large the best player on Pelham’s defense.

Linebacker: David Hardenbaugh, senior, Chelsea. Three-year starter, 74 solo tackles and 42 assists with a pick in his senior season.

Defensive Back: Nash Adams, junior, Helena. 85 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions.

Defensive Back: Michael Waller, senior, Chelsea. Led team in tackles with 119 tackles, 77 of which were solos.

Defensive Back: Payton Youngblood, senior, Oak Mountain. Moonlighted as a receiver when needed for Oak Mountain, the 6’5 rangy safety had 32 solo tackles, 19 assists and a pick.

Defensive Back: TreShawn Brown, junior, Montevallo. His 128 tackles were the most in the county in 2015. Had six tackles for loss, three forced fumbles and a pick.

Kicker: Crosby Gray, senior, Spain Park. Was 17-21 on the season kicking field goals and a perfect 33-33 on extra points. Long on the season was 44 yards. Tied state record with five field goals in one game against Thompson.

Punter: Tyler Sumpter, senior, Spain Park. Had a long punt of 60 yards this season, averaged over 38 yards per punt.

 

Second Team Offense

Quarterback: Matt Marquet, junior, Chelsea. 98-188, 1,255 yards and 8 touchdowns passing. 122 carries, 784 yards and 11 touchdowns rushing.

Running Back: AJ Jones and Zalon Reynolds, Chelsea. Each rushed for more than 900 yards and combined for 1,877 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns. Jones, a senior, had 973 yards and 17 scores while Reynolds, a junior, had 904 yards and 6 touchdowns. Jones also had 240 receiving yards and another 4 touchdowns through the air.

Running Back: Larry Wooden and Wade Streeter, Spain Park. Combined for 1,904 yards rushing. Streeter, a senior, had 1,008 yards on 240 carries while Wooden, a junior, had 896 yards on 203 carries. Each had seven rushing touchdowns as well. Wooden also had 344 yards receiving and another two scores through the air.

Running Back: Devan Walker, junior, Helena. 758 yards rushing, 143 yards receiving, 9 touchdowns.

Offensive Line: Zeb McCord, senior, Vincent. 6’5, 285-pound lineman who graded 80 percent in all games. Had 16 pancakes.

Offensive Line: Corey Robinson, senior, Kingwood. Best blocker for Kingwood, has drawn a preferred walk-on offer from Michigan, according to Kingwood coach Sheldon Ward.

Offensive Line: Andrew Morris, senior, Evangel. Helped pave the way for Murphy and Evangel’s high-powered offense.

Offensive Line: Jacob Humphrey, senior, Shelby County. Along with his twin brother helped lead the run-centric Shelby County attack.

Offensive Line: Jared Humphrey, senior, Shelby County. Along with his twin brother helped lead the run-centric Shelby County attack.

Wide Receiver: Jay Vickers, senior, Chelsea. 33 receptions, 547 yards, four touchdowns

Wide Receiver: Jordan Haywood, senior, Thompson. 359 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.

Wide Receiver: Bridge Suber, senior, Spain Park. 40 receptions, 461 yards, four touchdowns. Top target in passing attack for Jaguars.

 

Second Team Defense

Defensive Line: Antonio Devinner, senior, Calera. 46 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and four sacks.

Defensive Line: Avery Holsomback, senior, Oak Mountain. 24 solo tackles, 12 assists, 2.5 sacks, seven tackles for loss. Responsible for game-clinching sack against Mountain Brook.

Defensive Line: Kerry Thompson, senior, Kingwood. 60 tackles, 11 sacks, eight forced fumbles, two interceptions.

Linebacker: Houston Hollis, senior, Spain Park. 73 tackles, one sack, two interceptions.

Linebacker: Brett Granger, senior, Helena. 98 tackles, 6 sacks, 13 tackles for loss.

Linebacker: Justin Painter, senior, Chelsea. 68 solo tackles, 26 assists, four fumble recoveries, four sacks, one pick. Also handled punting duties for Chelsea.

Linebacker: RJ Jennings, senior, Briarwood. 55 solo tackles, 54 assists, 11 tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, three picks, one sack.

Linebacker: Jordan Smith, senior, Vincent. 71 tackles, four tackles for loss. Leader of the Vincent defense and offense.

Defensive Back: Calen Russell, senior, Chelsea. 40 solo tackles, 12 assists, four interceptions.

Defensive Back: Hahn Hahn Lau, senior, Evangel. 35 solo tackles, 19 assists, two interceptions, six pass breakups.

Defensive Back: Kelvin Fields, senior, Pelham. 36 tackles, four tackles for loss, eight pass break ups.

Defensive Back: Hall Morton, senior, Oak Mountain. 55 solos, 19 assists, eight tackles for loss, seven pass break ups, three interceptions.

Kicker: Jose Jimenez-Lopez, junior, Pelham. 97 percent of kickoffs were touchbacks, longest field goal on the season was from 47 yards.

Punter: Jose Jimenez-Lopez, junior, Pelham. 54 punts for 35.69 yard average.

 

Honorable Mention Offense

Walker Lott, senior quarterback Thompson. Warren Shader, senior quarterback, Oak Mountain. Joey Beatty, senior quarterback, Spain Park. Jeffrey Odgers, senior wide receiver, Cornerstone. David Lowry, senior wide receiver, Briarwood. Coleman Reeves and Daniel Salchert, senior running backs, Oak Mountain. Phildon Dublin and Kourtney Moore, senior wide receivers, Helena.

 

Honorable Mention Defense

Easton Hopkins, senior linebacker/defensive back, Coosa Valley. Josh Jones, senior linebacker, Oak Mountain. Alex and Jaramy Dozier, junior linebackers, Calera. Nick Mobley, junior linebacker, Thompson. Sam Sherrod, senior linebacker, Briarwood.