tom.mark@gaflnews.com



TIFTON — A portion of the agenda for the Tift County High Blue Devil football team was to make strides towards regaining the respect of the fellow members of Region 1-AAAAA.

A certain amount was gained during the regular season as the Devils showed a renewed competitive spirit on their way to a 5-5 record that included wins over Ware County and Lee County.

The Devils can add a little more to the respect file as seven members of the team were recently selected to the All-Region 1-AAAAA team. The team was selected by sports writers who cover the region teams.

Named to the first team are linebacker Mario Collier, wide receiver Conorris Henley and offensive lineman Cary Lewis. Named to the second team are offensive lineman Wayne Rigsby, running back Tony Andrews, defensive lineman Duante Walker and defensive back and kick blocking specialist Torrance Galmer.

Receiving honorable mention are lineman Brad McWilliams, quarterback Josh Allen and defensive lineman Keon Brown.

Of the seven first and second team members, six are seniors.

“We felt like we had a good senior class,” said Tift County head football coach Tommy Seward. “They fell right into what we were trying to do.”

“We wish we had them a little longer.”

Collier was the region’s leading tackler, finishing the year with 146. He had 45 assists, 17 tackles for loss yardage, four sacks, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three pass deflections.

Henley, a sure-handed receiver, was the Blue Devils’ “go-to” guy all season. He caught 26 passes for 380 yards and three touchdowns.

Lewis, a two-year starter for the Devils, along with second-teamer Rigsby, paved the way for a much-improved Tift rushing attack. Second team running back Andrews led the ground game with 613 yards on 134 carries.

On the defensive second team Walker had 42 tackles, 23 assists and seven sacks. Nine of his tackles were for loss yardage and he caused two fumbles.

Defensive back Galmer had numbers that were nearly good enough to get him elected to the first team, despite the fact that he played just over half the season before suffering a knee injury. Galmer had 28 tackles, 17 assists, nine pass deflections and four interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. He had two blocked field goals and a blocked punt.

Other offensive first team selections are linemen C.A. Sanders (Colquitt), Gemayle Franklin (Ware) Dustin Dasher (Valdosta) and Phillip Poitevent (Bainbridge). The first team tight end is Cory Clemons (Lowndes).

The first team quarterback and Offensive Player of the Year is Barrett Wilkes (Lowndes). The Viking signal caller threw 16 touchdown passes as he completed 132 passes for 1,489 yards.

The first team running backs are Brian Knighton (Colquitt) and Darrin Richardson (Lowndes). Joining Henley on the receiver corps are Esau Bauknight (Valdosta) and Rod Guy (Bainbridge). Chase Goggins (Coffee) was named the region’s best kicker.

The first team defensive squad includes linemen Issac Jackson (Colquitt), Lawrence Green (Bainbridge), and Travis Bailey and J.D. Wetherington (both of Valdosta).

Along with Collier at linebacker are Valdosta’s Andrew Braley, who was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Derrick Jones and Tron Paulk (both of Coffee).

Eric Williams and Antron Mathews, both of Valdosta, lead the secondary. They are joined by Laquaven Bridges (Colquitt) and Brad Johnson (Lowndes).

The first team punter is Chris Hemphill of Lee County.

The Coach of the Year is Lowndes County’s Milt Miller.

The second team offense is comprised of linemen Cory Bunte (Lowndes), Jacob Bauknight (Valdosta), Jeff Roberts (Coffee), Curtis Jackson (Colquitt) and Chris Harrell (Bainbridge). Cedric Hill of Valdosta was named tight end.

Valdosta’s Jarod Alford is the second team quarterback. Joining Andrews in the backfield is Lawrence Akins of Bainbridge. The receivers are Keith Pryor (Bainbridge), Michael Patterson (Ware) and Andy Gay (Lowndes).

Filling out the second team defense are linemen Pete McGiff (Bainbridge) Daniel Matc





hett (Lowndes) and Dedrick Pickett (Coffee).

The linebackers are John Youngblood (Coffee), Randy Williams (Bainbridge), Dywann Wilcox (Ware) and Eric Thomas (Valdosta).

The second team secondary is comprised of Leodis McKelvin (Ware), Trevis Stubbins (Valdosta) and Funtaine Hunter (Lowndes). The second team punter is Josh Anderson (Ware).