Calhoun, Sonoraville represent well in Class AAA All-Region team
MBaron@CalhounTimes.com
Calhoun and Sonoraville High Schools each had plenty of representation in the Region 6-AAA All-Region Football Team. The Yellow Jackets totaled 20 athletes while the Phoenix had 14. Here is the breakdown.
First team offense: Sonoraville junior quarterback Brady Lackey earned distinction, along with fellow teammates
Brant Bryant (freshman), Blade Bryant (senior) and Davin Buckner (senior). Brant Bryant was listed as a wide receiver while Blade Bryant’s name was located next to athlete (ATH). Buckner played along the offensive line.
Four Calhoun Football athletes’ names were on the first-team offense. They were junior running back Jerrian Hames, senior wide receiver Ethan Crump, senior offensive lineman Elijah Baldridge and senor offensive lineman Jaedan Curtis.
The first-team defensive representation saw four names from Gordon County (three Calhoun, one Sonoraville). Senior defensive lineman Dawson Hamby, senior linebacker Zeke Brown and senior defensive back Jake Prather earned honors for the Jackets. Senior linebacker Colton Richards was the lone Phoenix tabbed for first-team defense.
FOOTBALL,
Tyler Capps, junior linebacker Davin O’Neal and senior defensive back Blade Bryant.
In the honorable mentions section, 11 athletes hail from a Gordon County-based school.
For Calhoun: sophomore wide receiver Cole Speer, sophomore wide receiver Kendrick Kirby, junior defensive lineman Carson Griffin, senior linebacker Julian Ipac, sophomore linebacker Mason Green and senior punter David Braden.
For Sonoraville: senior offensive lineman Warren Gragg, sophomore offensive lineman Brenden Miller, defensive lineman Brandon Bristol, junior defensive lineman Justin Stokes and senior linebacker Case Collins.
“We told him to go out and just work on things we’ve been working in practice, and that’s the best he’s wrestled all year,” Herndon said. “All of our kids who wrestled ... probably the best they wrestled all year and that’s all we can ask for is just getting better. It was nice to close out on that win.”
Ashworth Middle School fielded wrestlers for the meet, but Gordon Central High School did not attend due to a lack of wrestlers on the team.
“I’m hoping they can get their program to the point where we can have a true little championship thing and rotate it around,” Steward said. “We agreed to rotate it so everybody could benefit from it from a gate standpoint.”
Wendesday’s wrestling meet was well attended, as both sides of bleachers were filled inside Sonoraville High School’s gymnasium, often referred to as “The Furnace.”
“I think there’s a lot of pride going into a night like this,” Herndon said. “They’ve grown up with these kids, they know these kids, we wrestle them three or four times during the year. For us, I think it helps having the fans here. I think it fuels us to wrestle a little bit harder, the crowd’s a little bit louder. It’s a lot of fun.”
Steward said he hopes to continue the Gordon County Championships with the two other high schools in the county lines.
“I feel this is a key signature event to help do that, and between me and (Calhoun Wrestling’s coach Herndon), ... we’ll hopefully continue to keep it going,” Steward said. “You walk in and look at the crowd tonight, to me, it looked like a basketball crowd. Wrestling is important in Gordon County, I really believe that.”