All-South Metro Team: Johnson wins Offensive Player of the Year
The high school football season passed without a state champion from the Starnes Publishing coverage area for the first time since 2015, but there were plenty of standout teams, players and performances throughout the fall.
Mountain Brook put together a fourth straight playoff season, led in large part by the contributions of quarterback Strother Gibbs, linebacker Clark Griffin and many other key players for head coach Chris Yeager.
As a result, Gibbs has earned the Starnes Publishing All-South Metro overall Player of the Year award. Gibbs, in his second year as the Spartans’ starter, completed 97-of-155 passes for 1,290 yards and 10 touchdowns. He did plenty of damage on the ground as well, piling up 758 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. His numbers don’t always jump off the page, but Mountain Brook has won 17 games over the last two years.
“Let just call it what it is; it’s ugly, but dadgum it, it’s effective,” Yeager said following an overtime victory over Gardendale in the regular season finale. “I’m really proud of Strother. He’s one tough guy. People can talk about stats all they want but the most important stat is out to the left of the name of our team (the win column).”
Griffin is the Defensive Player of the Year due to his efforts in the middle of the Spartans defense at linebacker. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior capped off his career with a fine season, totaling 147 tackles (98 solo, 49 assisted) and had four tackles for loss. Griffin finished his Mountain Brook career with 335 total tackles over three seasons.
Pinson Valley wide receiver Keyonteze Johnson takes home the award for Offensive Player of the Year. Johnson was a key cog for the Pinson offenses that took home back-to-back Class 6A state championships in 2017 and 2018, and finished his career with another strong season. Johnson caught 80 passes, totaling 1,439 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year.
After the first three weeks of the 2019 season, it appeared as if new Briarwood head coach Matthew Forester’s debut season was going to be a rocky one. The Lions were pummeled in their jamboree game against Vestavia Hills and dropped their first two regular season contests to Chelsea and Pleasant Grove.
But the Lions righted the ship and ripped off 11 straight victories, advancing all the way to the Class 5A semifinals. There, Briarwood fell to Pleasant Grove once again. The Spartans lost a tight contest to Central-Clay County in the title game.
Forester was promoted to head coach following Fred Yancey’s retirement last November and finished his initial campaign with a 12-2 record (Chelsea later forfeited its win). He is this season’s Coach of the Year.
“I am proud of the foundation the seniors were willing to leave, how they led was just incredible. They stuck with us and believed in what we were doing. I couldn’t ask for a better group of seniors, and the juniors were right there with them. They’ll be doing the same thing next year,” Forester said after the Lions’ semifinal defeat.
FIRST TEAM
Offense
- QB – Strother Gibbs, Mountain Brook: the gutsy signal-caller combined for 24 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards of offense.
- RB – Collier Blair, Chelsea: finished the season with 1,048 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging a shade over 5 yards per carry. He also caught three touchdown passes.
- RB – Anthony Hayes, Hoover: broke out in the second half of the season and finished with 1,025 yards on just 171 carries. He rushed for 13 touchdowns and caught four more through the air.
- WR – Keyonteze Johnson, Pinson Valley: finished off an outstanding career with 80 catches for 1,439 yards and 15 touchdowns.
- WR – Cooper Kelley, Spain Park: spearheaded a potent air attack, catching 43 passes for 778 yards and seven touchdowns for the Jags.
- WR – Blake McKenna, Briarwood: the deep-play threat caught six touchdown passes in his final season. He finished the year with 32 grabs for 565 yards for the Lions.
- WR – Trae Ausmer, Homewood: an explosive receiver that piled up 1,059 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 70 catches.
- TE – Crawford Golden, Mountain Brook: an extraordinary ball-catcher and blocker, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior caught 25 passes for 410 yards and a touchdown.
- OL – Andrew Flemming, Mountain Brook: allowed no sacks and contributed 38 knockdowns, 22 pancakes and 51 double blocks.
- OL – Trent Howard, Briarwood: anchored an offensive line that paved the way for nearly 2,000 rushing yards. The Alabama-Mississippi all-star allowed no sacks and had 38 pancakes.
- OL – Logan Self, Hewitt-Trussville: the Troy commit was a three-year starter and helped pave the way for the Huskies’ strong running game.
- OL – David Bodden, Hoover: contributed 63 pancakes and graded out at 83% or better in each of his 12 games.
- ATH – GaQuincy McKinstry, Pinson Valley: the do-it-all playmaker caught 47 passes for 700 yards and 12 touchdowns, returned 12 kickoffs for 183 yards and intercepted a pass for the Indians.
- ATH – Logan Brewer, Mountain Brook: played nearly every snap of every game for the Spartans. As a defensive back, he picked off four passes and returned two of them for a touchdown. He caught two touchdown passes and averaged 23 yards per kickoff return.
- K/P – Sam Johnson, Oak Mountain: averaged 36.4 yards on 44 punts, downing 11 inside the 20-yard line.
- K/P – Jaren Van Winkle, Clay-Chalkville: converted all 45 of his extra points and made 12 field goals, with a long of 45 yards. He also averaged 41 yards on 32 punts.
Defense
- DL – Jake Horton, Spain Park: totaled 59 tackles, including eight for loss and six sacks. He played a pivotal leadership role on the Jags defense.
- DL – Cole Garner, Briarwood: despite being injured much of the season, Garner managed 58 total tackles, including 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.
- DL – Justice Finkley, Hewitt-Trussville: was a dominant force every week for the Huskies defense, finishing the year with 16 quarterback pressures and 64 total tackles, including 16 for loss and eight sacks.
- LB – Will Pfaffman, Oak Mountain: coming off a knee injury, the senior totaled 95 tackles and finished the year with seven tackles for loss.
- LB – Tyler Waugh, Briarwood: amassed 163 tackles, including 96 solo tackles in a standout junior season. He also rushed for 13 touchdowns as the Lions’ goal-line runner.
- LB – Marcus Williams, Hoover: finished the season with 71 total tackles, including 13 tackles for loss.
- LB – Clark Griffin, Mountain Brook: finished career with 335 total tackles.
- DB – Will Yarbro, Mountain Brook: made 79 total tackles, intercepted three passes and broke up five passes for the Spartans.
- DB – Cole Johnston, Vestavia Hills: was a force to be reckoned with, contributing 91 total tackles from the back end of the defense and coming up with 12 tackles for loss. He also forced and recovered two fumbles.
- DB – Malachi Moore, Hewitt-Trussville: the Alabama signee concluded his career with 85 tackles and four interceptions, two of which he returned for a touchdown.
- DB – Seth Parker, Hoover: finished the season with 55 tackles, two sacks and a defensive touchdown.
SECOND TEAM
Offense
- QB – Eli Sawyer, Vestavia Hills: threw for 1,497 yards and 15 touchdowns, leading the Rebels to their first playoff appearance since 2015.
- RB – Luke Prewett, Briarwood: compiled 876 yards and nine rushing touchdowns despite missing a few games.
- RB – Sean Jackson, Hewitt-Trussville: took over for the injured Armoni Goodwin and amassed 1,225 all-purpose yards, averaging 8.1 yards per carry.
- WR – Jaylen Ward, Spain Park: caught 51 passes for 596 yards and six touchdowns for an explosive Jags offense.
- WR – Chandler Merrill, Vestavia Hills: the 5-foot-9 receiver caught 36 balls, going for 495 yards and four scores.
- WR – Michael Gibbs, Chelsea: served as a rushing and receiving threat for the Hornets, totaling 753 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns.
- WR – Tristan Jones, Clay-Chalkville: amassed 712 receiving yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars.
- TE – Jacob Jenkins, Spain Park: caught 42 passes for 612 yards and three touchdowns as a versatile player in the Jags offense.
- OL – Drew Padgett, Oak Mountain: the 6-foot-7 lineman did not allow a sack all season.
- OL – Alex Mathis, Oak Mountain: the Eagles’ highest-grading and most consistent lineman, according to head coach Cris Bell.
- OL – Luke Haywood, Chelsea: a versatile, aggressive and smart lineman, according to head coach Dustin Goodwin.
- OL – Lucas Padgett, Homewood: the Patriots center allowed no sacks and graded out at 88% for the season.
- ATH – Jeremiah Gibbs, John Carroll: a contributor on both sides of the ball, rushing for 711 yards and 11 touchdowns, catching 21 passes for 240 yards and registering 24 tackles.
- ATH – Jackson Holland, Hewitt-Trussville: was the Huskies’ leading tackler from the safety position until he was forced into duty as the quarterback for several games.
- K/P – Cooper Neal, Chelsea: converted 37-of-38 extra points and made five field goals, with a long of 49 yards.
- K/P – Constantine Hontzas, Hoover: made 39-of-41 extra point attempts and 10 field goals, including a game-winner against Central-Phenix City. He also punted 43 times for an average of 38 yards.
Defense
- DL – Devin Owens, Clay-Chalkville: lived in the backfield for the Cougars, contributing 19 tackles for loss and 12 sacks on the year.
- DL – Joe Davis, Hoover: finished the season with 43 total tackles, eight for loss and 4.5 sacks.
- DL – Jake Levant, Vestavia Hills: contributed 54 total tackles, including 8.5 for loss and two sacks. He forced four fumbles and also scored eight rushing touchdowns as a goal-line runner.
- LB – Antoine Williams, Pinson Valley: combined for 80 tackles and 14 tackles for loss on the season.
- LB – Cal Reebals, Briarwood: called the “heart of the defense” by head coach Matthew Forester. The senior compiled 78 total tackles and 9.5 for loss in his senior season.
- LB – Charlie Goode, Homewood: had 61 solo tackles (92 total) and 10 tackles for loss for a young Homewood defense.
- LB – Aarren Smith, Hoover: finished his career with 56 total tackles, including nine for a loss and four sacks. He also scored a defensive touchdown.
- DB – Chase Schwender, Oak Mountain: piled up 84 tackles and two interceptions, with Bell noting his skills as an open-field tackler.
- DB – Jamari Dailey, Pinson Valley: picked off seven passes on the season and contributed 8.5 tackles for loss.
- DB – Deshazio Williams, Pinson Valley: the two-year starter intercepted eight passes for the season.
- DB – Will Brooks, Vestavia Hills: intercepted four passes on the season and returned three of them for touchdowns.
HONORABLE MENTION
- QB – Harrison Barker, Spain Park; Evan Smith, Oak Mountain; Damione Ward, Clay-Chalkville; Pate Owen, Homewood; Robby Ashford, Hoover
- RB – Judah Tait, Oak Mountain; Mike Sharpe, Pinson Valley; Kenji Christian, Pinson Valley; Michael Callens, Spain Park
- WR – Noah Young, Oak Mountain; Dazalin Worsham, Hewitt-Trussville; Omari Kelly, Hewitt-Trussville; Len Irvine, Homewood; Jamari Buye, Hoover
- OL – Drew Rowland, Oak Mountain; Charlie Parkinson, Chelsea
- Special teams – Hogan Morton, Oak Mountain; Drake Tabor, Spain Park; Sam Nivens, Chelsea; Xander Echols, Chelsea
- DL – Braxton Wetzler, Mountain Brook; Gavin Nelson, Oak Mountain; Micai George, Oak Mountain; Jacob Payne, Oak Mountain; Julian Peterson, Pinson Valley; DeQuarius Hill, Spain Park; Judah Walton, Clay-Chalkville; Eric Taylor, Hewitt-Trussville; Sam Suswam, Hoover
- LB – Juston Taylor, Oak Mountain; Dorian Henderson, Pinson Valley; Richard Moses, Spain Park; Parker Hutson, Briarwood; Colby Clements, Chelsea; Cole Berryman, Chelsea; Jordan Smith, Chelsea; Leroy King, Clay-Chalkville; Gabe Madden, Homewood; Jeppa Kilgore, Hoover; Josh Smith, Hoover; Spencer Drouin, John Carroll
- DB – Markel Dailey, Pinson Valley; Alastair Harris, Briarwood; Cameron Grady, Clay-Chalkville; Trey Washington, Hewitt-Trussville; Kory Chapman, Hoover
- ATH – Devin Holden, Oak Mountain; Christian Ferguson, Briarwood; Luke Reebals, Briarwood
Awards
- Player of the Year: Strother Gibbs, Mountain Brook
- Coach of the Year: Matthew Forester, Briarwood
- Offensive Player of the Year: Keyonteze Johnson, Pinson Valley
- Defensive Player of the Year: Clark Griffin, Mountain Brook
– Starnes Publishing produces seven monthly newspapers, and members of the All-South Metro team include players from Briarwood, Chelsea, Oak Mountain, Hoover, Spain Park, Homewood, John Carroll, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Clay-Chalkville, Hewitt-Trussville and Pinson Valley. The team was compiled by the staff of Starnes Publishing in consultation with local coaches.