By Staff
West Lauderdale's Will Moseley, a 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior, was picked to handle the kickoff chores as his kicks nearly always landed in the end zone. Moseley was 10-of-15 in field goals, including a long kick of 50 yards in the rain at Philadelphia. He was 33-of-38 in extra points.
Eight defensive linemen were selected.
Willie Evans, a 6-foot-2, 260-pound senior, had 88 tackles, nine sacks, and three fumble recoveries for the War Eagles of Wayne County.
Dustin May, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior, had 98 tackles and four sacks for the Quitman Panthers as they went 9-3 and made the Class 4A playoffs for the first time in school history. He was named the Most Valuable Defensive Lineman in Region 5-4A.
Newton County's Adam Bout, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior, had 72 tackles, five sacks, and a fumble recovery.
Quitman's Fred Carter, a 5-foot-11, 160-pound senior, had 94 tackles and six sacks.
Louisville's Martez Hopkins led the Wildcats' defensive front. He was voted defensive line MVP for Region 2-4A.
Newton County's Michael Johnson, a 5-foot-10, 230-pound junior, had 77 tackles and three sacks.
West Lauderdale's Jared Parten, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound senior, led the Knights' defensive front.
Philadelphia's Curtis Spivey, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior, had 111 tackles and caused six fumbles.
Parten and Spivey were selected co-Best Defensive Lineman in Region 5-3A.
Nine linebackers were selected. Noxubee County's O'Bryant Brandy heads up that group. The Tigers allowed seven points or less in eight of their 12 games with Brandy, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, leading the charge. He was voted co-MVP on defense for Region 2-4A.
Wayne County's Brodie Jones, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior, helped lead the stingy War Eagle defense.
Newton County's Terrance Patrick, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound junior, had 119 tackles for the Cougars along with two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Patrick was picked Best Linebacker in Region 5-3A.
Leake Academy's Luke Culpepper, a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior, had 144 tackles, five sacks, and two interceptions. He was the Defensive MVP of Academy 3-AA and played in the MPSA All-Star Game. Culpepper was an All-MPSA second team choice.
Quitman's Domenik Kelly, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior, had 90 tackles and two sacks.
C.C. Finley, a 211-pound senior, was the leader of Meridian's defense.
Heath Ainsworth, a 5-foot-10, 212-pound senior, had 115 tackles for Heidelberg Academy. He played in the MPSA All-Star Game. On offense, Ainsworth had 1,042 yards and 18 touchdowns on 141 carries. He was voted MVP of the Academy 3-A league.
Monroe Mayfield, a 6-foot-3, 227-pound junior, anchored Lamar's defense. He was co-Defensive MVP of Academy 3-AAA.
Jason Fulcher, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior, was a top hitter for Winston Academy. He was also chosen to the All-MPSA first team and played in the MPSA All-Star Game.
Six defensive backs were chosen.
Quitman's Marcus McCormick, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior, had four interceptions and returned 28 punts an average of 15.6 yards with a long return of 52 yards. He was also selected the Most Valuable Defensive Back in Region 5-4A.
Dione Hampton, a 181-pound senior, was Meridian's leading player in the secondary.
Quitman's Evan Pickens, a 6-foot-1, 181-pound senior, had two interceptions and scored 10 touchdowns on offense.
Leading Choctaw Central this fall was Anselm Henry, a 6-foot-1, 183-pound junior, who also played quarterback. Henry had 62 tackles, four interceptions, and a fumble recovery as the Warriors went 5-5. Henry was named co-Best Defensive Back in Region 5-3A.
Leading Wayne Academy to a 12-2 year and a state runner-up finish in Academy A was Cory Cochran, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound senior. He was voted Most Valuable Back in Academy 3-A.
Also picked for the secondary is Philadelphia's Blake Peebles, a 5-foot-11, 160-pound senior. Peebles had 74 tackles and four interceptions.
Named as the team's punter is Newton's Lucas Poole. The 6-foot, 170-pound junior averaged 42.2 yards for the Tigers.
Chosen as an all-purpose player is Northeast Lauderdale's Stephen Dyess. The senior played both quarterback and wideout for the Trojans as they went 3-7.
Wayne Academy's Tom Boszor was chosen Coach of the Year with Noxubee County's M.C. Miller, Newton County's Jeff Breland, Louisville's Tony Stanford, and Quitman's Charles Faulkner selected to round out the area's coaching staff for 2001.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com or call him at 693-1551, ext. 3235.