Bren Shepard/The Tifton Gazette
CNHI
TIFTON —
It seems like football season just started, but here we are on Christmas Day releasing the 2011 All-Tiftarea football team.
This is the first All-Tiftarea football team in three years.
It was a year of ups and downs for the teams of the Tiftarea. Five of the eight schools failed to make the playoffs, which is the same as last year.
We won’t focus on the bad though, let’s look at some highlights from this past football season.
Two of the best quarterbacks in Class AA were right here in the area. Fitzgerald’s Kaleb Nobles eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark in passing for his career, which is quite an impressive number to be running out of the Wing-T offense. Cook quarterback Zach Folsom hit an even higher mark, passing for over 6,000 yards during his time with the Hornets.
Nothing makes a quarterback’s job easier than a good receiver, and no receiver made that job easier than Travin Henry from Cook. He fell only 16 yards short of 1,000 for the season, which was a school record, and scored on nine catches. No receiver was more reliable than Nick Utley for Tift County. Utley made several circus catches on the season as he caught 52 passes, a school record for regular season, for 761 yards and five touchdowns. Right down the road from Tift Payton Mann had an impressive season for Tiftarea Academy, he caught 45 passes for almost 650 yards.
In addition to Nobles, Fitzgerald also had a serious threat in the running game, as Tolerance Shepherd rushed for over 1,500 yards and scored 20 touchdowns. They were keys to Fitzgerald making a run into the state quarterfinals.
Worth’s Ellis Anderson rushed for over 1,300 yards in two less games than Shepherd. He was a big part of helping the Rams make it to the state playoffs for a third straight season.
Jamadre Wilson rushed for just under 800 yards with 80 less rushes than Shepherd. His efforts were key in the Irwin County Indians upsetting Clinch County early in the season.
Then there are the unsung heros of the offense, the big boys up front on the offensive line.
Hunter Clanton for Berrien could have made an impact for just about any team in the state as an offensive guard. Jared Jackson from Turner, Destry Walker of Cook and Brett Steverson and Jordan Fletcher of Fitzgerald all helped make things a lot easier for the skill position players behind them.
Then there was Jakevin Jackson of Tift and Savon Farley of Worth. These two could do it all.
Farley played quarterback and returned kicks for the Rams, and was just as dangerous on the ground running as he was throwing the ball.
Jakevin Jackson played both ways for Tift, lining up at quarterback, receiver, running back, line backer and in the secondary.
Of course offense is just part of the game. They have always said “defense wins championships.”
Just Hayes played defense for Cook, but the casual observer might have thought he was playing in the backfield for the opposing team. He racked up 11 sacks and 15 tackles for loss as a nose-guard.
Tift’s Ricky Sutton enjoyed disrupting plays as well, causing five fumbles while making 12 tackles in the backfield.
Jerome Baker had a monster season for Fitzgerald, making 146 tackles on the season as a linebacker. An even scarier thought is that Don Hill was lined up next to him this season, he had 123 tackles.
Luckily for the other teams in Region 1-AA, Ross Pickle played for the Hornets, not the Hurricanes. Pickle ended the season with five interceptions, three fumble recoveries, seven tackles for loss, three sacks and 81 total tackles. He made plays from sideline to sideline and was a game-changer for Cook.
Adding to the dominant defense of Fitzgerald was Jaquadrian Lewis. He was the last line of defense as the safety, and not much got past him. He ended the season with 148 tackles, including 16 in their final game of the season against Carver.
Eric Lee made 85 tackles this season for Tiftarea as a safety. He also made an impact on the game as a tightend for the team, averaging 40 yards per game.
Tift’s Gerald Pledger, who also played offense and defense, had a knack for making big plays. He specialized in pass breakups, and had one of the biggest plays of the season for Tift when he returned an interception for a touchdown to seal victory against the Shiloh Generals.
There are plenty of great athletes in the Tiftarea, these are just a few.
All of them have made their communities proud and will have bright futures ahead of them if they apply the same work ethic that they have on the football field to whatever it is they choose to after high school.
OFFENSE
First Team
Quarterback - Kaleb Nobles, Fitz
Running Back - Fred Hooks, Fitz
Running Back - Ellis Anderson, Worth
Running Back - Jamadre Wilson, Irwin
Fullback - Tolerance Shepherd, Fitz
Wide Receiver - Travin Henry, Cook
Wide Receiver - Nick Utley, Tift
Wide Receiver - Payton Mann, Tiftarea
Wide Receiver - Donnell Tuff, Tift
Tight End - Taylor Hughes, Irwin
Offensive Line - Hunter Clanton, Berrien
Offensive Line - Jared Jackson, Turner
Offensive Line - Destry Walker, Cook
Offensive Line - Brett Steverson, Fitz
Offensive Line - Jordan Fletcher, Fitz
Athlete - Jakevin Jackson, Tift
Second Team
Quarterback - Zach Folsom, Cook
Running Back - Shaquille Foster, Turner
Running Back - Donte Studstill, Irwin
Running Back - Daniel Hardy, Tiftarea
Wide Receiver - Nate Martin, Turner
Wide Receiver - Romarius Golden, Fitz
Tight End - Kevin Coney, Fitz
Offensive Line - Shaq Bryant, Tift
Offensive Line - Destry Walker, Cook
Offensive Line - Daven Gibson, Worth
Offensive Line - Martinez Wilcher, Worth
Offensive Line - Jordan Cox, Tiftarea
Athlete - Savon Farley, Worth
Honorable Mention
Quarterback - Luke Soliday, Turner
Running Back - Devante Bass, Berrien
Wide Receiver - Kareem McDaniel, Worth
Wide Receiver - Zack Williams, Cook
Offensive Line - Sha’Qown Smith, Fitz
DEFENSE
First Team
Defensive Line - Justin Hayes, Cook
Defensive Line- Case Pack, Tiftarea
Defensive Line - Ricky Sutton, Tift
Defensive Line - Scottie Griffin, Fitz
Defensive Line -Dillon Cheevers, Turner
Linebacker - Ross Pickle, Cook
Linebacker - Jerome Baker, Fitz
Linebacker - Don Hill, Fitz
Linebacker - Dantavis Jones, Worth
Linebacker - Rashad Parks, Tift
Defensive Back - Gerald Pledger, Tift
Defensive Back - Marlin Hall, Worth
Defensive Back - Stevie Turner, Cook
Defensive Back - D.J. Smith, Fitz
Defensive Back - Eric Lee, Tiftarea
Defensive Back - Jaquadrian Lewis, Fitz
Second Team
Defensive Line - Jack Lee, Tift
Defensive Line - Christian Ross, Cook
Defensive Line - Deion Bivens, Fitz
Linebacker - Travis Harris, Turner
Linebacker - Yusif Muhamad, Turner
Linebacker - Austin Newton, Worth
Linebacker - Alex Lassiter, Turner
Linebacker - Chris Bryant, Cook
Defensive Back - Lavontae Robinson, Worth
Defensive Back - Devarius Vance, Tift
Defensive Back - Kade Poole, Fitz
Defensive Back - Demarcus Williams, Turner
Defensive Back - Ladarius Stewart, Tift
Special Teams
Long Snapper - Ike Powell, Tift
Punter - Tadric Jackson, Tift
Place Kicker - Irving DeLos Santos, Fitz
Kick Returner - Savon Farley, Worth
Kick Returner - Kade Poole, Fitz
