TIFTON — Certainly, the bulk of the 2000s were not kind to the Tift County football team in terms of wins and losses. The Blue Devils finished with a 54-55 record — the first losing decade ever in 94 seasons of Tifton/Tift County football.

Through the first half of the decade, Tift had only 18 wins against 33 losses. Luckily for Tift, the Devils hired Suwannee High (Fla.) coach Jay Walls.

All Walls did over the final five seasons of the 2000s was win 36 games against only 22 defeats. The Blue Devils also won 17 region games in those five seasons, second only to mega-power Lowndes High.

In fact, since the creation of Region 1-AAAA in 1978, Walls ranks eighth in terms of region winning percentage by coaches who have been in at least 30 region games in their careers. He ranks only behind names such as Randy McPherson, Nick Hyder, Jim Hughes, Mike O’Brien, Joe Wilson, Gene Brodie and Milt Miller.

And the Blue Devils did have some talent, despite the sub-.500 record this decade.

The following players were picked by myself, and of course, there will be some that feel one player deserved the honor over another. Outside of 2004, when I lived out of state, I only missed one game this decade.

So have a Happy New Year, and by the way, football is only seven months away.

Quarterback

The All-Decade quarterback selected is Josh Allen. Allen was a two-year starter for coach Tommy Seward, and threw for 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns in his career. Allen also rushed for 923 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

He was selected to the 2001 Region 1-AAAAA All-Region second-team, and in 2002 was the Region Offensive Player of the Year. That season, Allen passed for 2,050 yards and led the Blue Devils to the Class AAAAA playoffs for the first time since 1997. He was also named to the AP All-State Honorable Mention team.

Allen would later attend Mars Hill College, and then Troy University, where he served as a starting wide receiver.

Honorable Mention:

Sean Baxley (Class of 2007) and Zack Ellis (Class of 2001)

Running Back

There was only one name to consider — Kaream Hess. Hess burst onto the scene for the Blue Devils in 2006, rushing for 1,298 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading Tift to the Class AAAAA state semifinals. The future Albany State Ram also caught 56 passes for 479 yards and two touchdowns, earning All-State honors as an athlete that season.

Hess came back the next season, and in an injury-plagued year, rushed for 958 yards and nine touchdowns in only nine games played.

Hess’ 2,256 career rushing yards rank him near the top of the career yardage list.

Honorable Mention:

Stevan Toomer (Class of 2009), Tony Andrews (Class of 2002)

Wide Receivers

Four receivers stood out in the 2000s beginning with Maurice Daughtry. Daughtry caught a school-record 68 passes for Bob Stinchcomb as a senior in the year 2000. He was named to the All-Region team that same season as a first-teamer.

Louis Brown was Allen’s favorite target in 2002, catching 44 passes for 582 yards and six touchdowns as a senior. Brown had a school record 14 receptions in a 49-41 loss to Fitzgerald in that same season.

Jared Davis was a three-year starter for Walls, and had a game, and region-winning touchdown grab as a sophomore against Colquitt County in 2006. Davis, currently at Valdosta State University, had 92 grabs for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns in his career, and was selected to the All-Region first-team in 2007 and 2008.

Israel Troupe was a three-time All-State performer, and had 126 receptions for 1,576 yards and 12 touchdowns in his illustrious career. Troupe had 62 grabs in his senior season in 2006, and was chosen to three All-Region teams as well, before signing with the University of Georgia in 2007.

Honorable Mention:

K.B. Lester (Class of 2001), Lee Caquelard (Class of 2005), and Connoris Henley (Class of 2002)

Athlete

Malcolm Dixon gets the nod as the first-team athlete. Dixon, a wideout at the beginning of his career, moved to quarterback full time in 2008, and was named as the first-team All-Region quarterback; throwing for 1,502 yards and 11 touchdowns, and rushing for 499 yards, and 10 more scores on the ground. Despite a young team in 2009, Dixon threw for 967 yards and rushed for 388 yards as a senior.

Honorable Mention:

Xavier Jordan (Class of 2003)

Offensive Line

This group rarely gets recognized, but five guys that all played for Walls are on the first team.

Zack Allen, Almarkus Williams, Britt Wilson, Thom Roberson and John Torell paved the way for players like Hess, Davis and Troupe to get their yards and touchdowns. Zack Allen, like older brother Josh, was named to the All-State team. But “little” brother made the first team — twice — and just completed his freshman season at North Carolina State. Williams played at the University of the Cumberlands, and Wilson is a Valdosta State Blazer.

Roberson was an undersized center that earned All-Region honors, and Torell was the Valedictorian of the Class of 2009.

Honorable Mention:

Jamaal Watson (Class of 2009), Brad McWilliams (Class of 2003), Derek Mosley (Class of 2005) and Corey Lewis (Class of 2004)

Defensive Line

Larry Bryant, Anthony Woods, James Carter and Jay Gaskins make up the Blue Devil All-Decade defensive line.

Bryant was a first-team All-State player in 2007, after recording 65 tackles and eight sacks. Bryant is currently enrolled at Reedley Community College in California.

Woods had 55 tackles and four sacks as a senior in 2006, and currently plays at Albany State. Carter recently completed his senior season at Howard University. While at Tift, Carter was named All-State Honorable Mention in 2005.

Gaskins could have been named in two or three different positions, but his work as a defensive end could not be overlooked. Gaskins was named to two All-Region teams, and an All-State team in 2006. As a defensive end in 2005, Gaskins had four fumble recoveries, with three returned for touchdowns. And as a safety the next season, he had five picks along with 74 total tackles.

Honorable Mention:

Cory Maddox (Class of 2007), Matthew Cushion (Class of 2005), Jamal Denson (Class of 2009), Tabias Walker (Class of 2009), Lanarius McKinley (Class of 2007)

Linebacker

This could be the most talented corps of linebackers to come through Tift County in a long time. Josh Abbott, Shayon Green, Jeffrey Searcy and Mario Collier combined to make nine All-State teams for Tift County.

Abbott is one of the leading tacklers in school history, finishing with 378 total tackles before signing with Alabama State in February.

Green played one season at linebacker, after two along the defensive line. Green had 115 tackles in 2008, leading the Devils to the second round of the playoffs. After a career which saw Green amass 187 tackles and 6 and 1/2 sacks, he signed with the University of Miami in February.

Collier was a first-team All-Region selection in 2001, after collecting a staggering 191 total tackles and 17 tackles for loss. He also had four sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three pass deflections his senior season.

Honorable Mention:

Astin Roberson (Class of 2006)

Defensive Back

Before becoming the captain of the Valdosta State Blazers as a junior this season, Dean had a fabulous two-year career as a member of the Blue Devils.

Dean had 127 tackles and five picks as a junior, and backed that campaign up with a 100-tackle and three-interception effort in 2005. Dean was named the Region Defensive Co-Player of the Year twice, and made the All-State first-team in back-to-back seasons.

Lynn Bryant was also an All-State selection in 2003, and was named first-team All-Region as a senior. He had 100 tackles, two fumble recoveries, three pass deflections and an interception. He also played linebacker and tailback for Seward.

Randy Parker had an excellent career as a cornerback, kick returner and punt returner as a three-year starter. He had over 10 interceptions in his career. He is currently on the track and field team at Arkansas.

Honorable Mention:

Zach Brown (Class of 2007), Sumner Ellis (Class of 2006), Blake Reddick (Class of 2008), Micah McCant (Class of 2010)

Kicker and Punter

This is probably the easiest pick of the bunch — it’s Charlie Edwards.

All Edwards did in four seasons was kick 41 field goals, five short of the all-time Georgia High School record (Jake Bundrick- Cairo). He had three game winners in 2006 – and was a weapon for Walls and staff. He also had a four-field-goal game against Irwin County in 2005, and kicked three against Worth County as a freshman in 2003. His 18 field goals in 2005 and 2006 fell one short of the state record held by Chris Ray of Lovejoy.

As a punter, Edwards averaged 40 yards per kick during his junior and senior seasons. Edwards transferred from the University of Alabama at Birmingham to Georgia Southern after his freshman season.

Honorable Mention:

Stephen Delk (Class of 2001), Jordan West (Class of 2009)