Walker named Class 3A Player of the Year
Published 3:00 pm Tuesday, December 17, 2024
- Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette Class 3A Player of the Year and District 3-3A Player of the Year J.R. Walker takes off against John Milledge Academy.
CHULA — Tiftarea Academy just missed out on the GIAA Class 3A finals in 2024, but is the home of the biggest individual winner in state awards.
Senior quarterback J.R. Walker was named GIAA Class 3A Player of the Year as well as Region 3-3A Player of the Year.
Walker finished the year with 1,666 passing yards and 1,710 rushing yards. He combined for 47 touchdowns. Only eight Tiftarea offensive scores did not involve Walker.
He gained an average of 6.9 yards per carry. Nine of the Panthers’ 12 games saw Walker eclipse 100 rushing yards. He had 29 touchdowns. Through the air, he had 18 touchdowns and was only picked three times.
Walker was not afraid to use his muscle at the goal. To go along with the 29 rushing scores, he ran for five two-point conversions and caught one as well.
Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette
J.R. Walker gets a lift from Jacob Joyner after a touchdown. Walker is the GIAA Class 3A Player of the Year and District 3-3A Player of the Year and Joyner is also an All-State and All-Region selection.
Three other Panthers earned first team All-State — John Jackson, Jacob Joyner and Temond Marcus. Joyner was named at tight end and defensive end, Marcus as a linebacker and Jackson as a wide receiver.
Marcus signed with Hampton University this month to continue his football career.
A monster on defense, Marcus led the Panthers with 94 total tackles and tied for team lead with tackles for lost yardage at nine. Marcus had two sacks.
In addition, he had six catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns, one of which was the winning score in a miracle finish against Terrell Academy.
Joyner did not have any catches for yardage during the season, he did snare one key two-point conversion for Tiftarea. He was an outstanding blocker who also had 10 tackles.
Speedster Jackson caught 46 passes for 984 yards, a nifty 21.4 yards per catch. He scored 10 touchdowns and added a two-point conversion. On defense, he had two interceptions.
Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette
John Jackson protects the ball as he scores a receiving touchdown against Valwood in the state semifinals. Jackson is once again an All-State player.
Four Panthers earned second team All-State and three were named honorable mention.
Second team picks were Dawson Butler, Caden Grier, Ridley Monk and Jackson Parrish. Honorable mention honors went to Brody Seagraves, Fletcher Walker and Kaiden Richardson.
Beyond J.R. Walker earning Player of the Year, 11 Panthers took home first team All-Region: Harrison Powell, Jackson, Marcus, Seagraves, Flretcher Walker, J.R. Walker, Butler, Grier, Joyner, Monk and Parrish.
For his work in leading the Panthers to the top of District 3-3A, Erik Soliday was named Region Coach of the Year.
Second team region winners were Brad Ponder, Jack Brand, Charlie Burke, Arjun Singh and Richardson. William Garner, Charlie Taylor, Griffin Lee and Billy Martin were honorable mention.
Becky Taylor/The Tifton Gazette
Temond Marcus grabs hold of John Milledge Academy during the 2024 state tournament. The Hampton University signee is one of four Tiftarea players named first team All-State.
