By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Sports Editor

It was a strong season for our AISA and ACSC teams, as well as the Hope Christian Eagles, in 2018. Coosa Valley looks to be on the rise under a new head coach, Evangel won another national and state championship and Kingwood got off to a strong start and showed a ton of growth.

There were so many players on each team responsible for that success thanks to hours of hard work, and all of them deserve the credit for impressive seasons. Below, we name our 2018 AISA/ACSC All-County football team with several of the best offensive and defensive players honored. 

Offense 

Quarterback: Tyler Henderson, junior, Evangel. Henderson had a strong junior season posting 1,922 passing yards and 23 touchdowns on 81-of-152 passing, throwing just one interception.

Running back: Kaleb Allen, senior, Coosa Valley. Allen was one of the best running backs in the county with 1,089 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns offensively, while posting 63 tackles and two sacks defensively.

Running back: Tyler West, junior, Kingwood. West posted 838 rushing yards, six rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns this season.

Running back: Noah Shears, junior, Evangel. Played in just four games this year, but still managed to post 579 rushing yards and eight touchdowns earning the NACA championship game MVP.

Offensive Line: Samuel Graham, senior, Evangel. A solid player on the offensive line and also posted 79 tackles and 13 tackles for loss defensively.

Offensive Line: Tanner Parks, junior, Evangel. A key part in Evangel’s strong rushing attack this season, as well as allowing Henderson to reel off close to 2,000 yards passing.

Offensive Line: Will Parker, junior, Evangel. Similar to Graham, Parker was strong on the O-Line, but also posted 43 tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks defensively.

Offensive Line: Austyn Franklin, senior, Kingwood. Franklin was key in allowing West to have such a big year for the Lions running the football.

Receiver: Antonio Ruiz, junior, Kingwood. Ruiz closed out a strong junior season with 412 yards receiving on just 27 catches, while posting five touchdowns.

Receiver: Dawson Humphries, senior, Evangel. As a receiver, Humphries shined posting 787 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns, while also posting an impressive seven interceptions defensively.

Athlete: Will Ferrell, sophomore, Evangel. He totaled 331 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries, while also 253 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the passing game playing in just five games this year. 

Athlete: Cody Eades, senior, Coosa Valley. An all-around athlete, Eades played safety, receiver and running back. He posted 122 tackles defensively forcing four fumbles, and rushed for 564 yards and caught 50 balls for 692 yards offensively.

Athlete: Jackson Davis and Noah Seiger, seniors, Hope Christian. This duo led the Eagles all season long. Davis threw for 1,078 yards and 22 touchdowns, ran the ball 66 times for 723 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught three passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Seiger completed 17-of-52 passes, for 314 yards and five touchdowns, ran the ball 32 times for 302 yards and seven touchdowns and caught seven passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns. Davis also posted 102 tackles defensively, while Seiger posted 33.

Defense

Defensive Line: Jayton Denard, senior, Kingwood. Denard was a dominant force defensively this season with 93 total tackles for the Lions. 

Defensive Line: Jahmad Quillman, junior, Evangel. Totaled 51 tackles and one sack for the Lightning.

Defensive Line: Evan Key, senior, Hope Christian. In just six games, he posted 25 tackles and three tackles for loss, while also putting up 151 rushing yards offensively.

Linebacker: Carson Alexander, senior, Coosa Valley. Alexander had 88 tackles, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception.

Linebacker: Peyton Long, senior, Kingwood. A stellar athlete, Long had 53 tackles and an interception defensively, while posting eight receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 485 yards and nine touchdowns offensively.

Linebacker: Daniel Viles, sophomore, Evangel. Offensively he posted 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns and defensively he totaled 42 tackles with six tackles for loss and three sacks.

Linebacker: Hunter Green, senior, Evangel. Undoubtedly the best defensive player this year with 140 total tackles, 100 of which were solo, also posting four tackles for loss and one sack.

Defensive Back: Reid Maddox, senior, Coosa Valley. His seven interceptions were third in the state, and tied for a county high with Thompson’s Jalen Bustamante. He also added 37 tackles.

Defensive Back: Nate Arvizu, senior, Evangel. Arvizu had an incredible season in the secondary featuring 98 tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks.

Defensive Back: Chase Jones, junior, Evangel. Had 252 receiving yards with four touchdowns on just six catches in five games offensively. Jones also posted four interceptions defensively in that stretch.

Honorable Mention: Brayson Edwards, Coosa Valley. Jake Blankenship, Cornerstone. Tanner Falkner, Cornerstone.