A total of seven players from four Garland County football teams were named to the Arkansas Activities Association's 2018 All-State football teams released this week.
The selections included Mountain Pine quarterback Collin Smith; Lakeside linemen John Fuller and Logan Tipton and running back Isaac Echols; Lake Hamilton linebacker Kanaan Williams and defensive end Ray Hamp; and Hot Springs' quarterback and safety, Santiair Thomas.
Other selections in the region included Arkadelphia's Cannon Turner and Victor Tademy, Mount Ida's Jonathan LaGrange and Cade Jackson, and Magnet Cove's Eli Dawson and Ty Dawson.
Smith is one of the only juniors to be named All-State in the area. He was 54-for-130, 41.5 percent, passing for 910 yards with 17 touchdowns and five interceptions in his second season as the starting quarterback.
The Red Devils (8-4) were the only Garland County team to advance to the second round of the playoffs. Smith was paired with senior running back Elijah Browning in the backfield.
Browning ran for a team-best 1,340 yards and 16 touchdowns. Smith tied with Browning with 16 rushing touchdowns on 1,300 yards on 7.3 yards per carry.
Smith and Browning have both been selected for All-Garland County honors in football. All-Garland County selections for football, cross country, golf, tennis and volleyball will be published in the Dec. 23 issue of The Sentinel-Record.
The Sentinel-Record will also recognize an Offensive Player of the Year in football, Co-Defensive Players of the Year, Cross Country Runner of the Year, Golf Player of the Year, Tennis Player of the Year, Volleyball Player of the Year and Fall Coach of the Year on Dec. 23.
Smith and Browning were also among Mountain Pine's all-conference players in the 2A-5. Also recognized were senior receiver Josh Walpole, senior defensive end Bryce Sales, senior linebacker Asa Gatlin, and junior offensive linemen Jason Bennett and Chase Godwin.
Fuller was recognized on both sides of the ball for his production in his senior season for Lakeside (5-6). He started on the offensive line and finished second on the team in tackles with 95. Senior linebacker Reece Turner led the team with 105 stops.
Seniors Tipton, Fuller and Turner were among 10 Rams to earn all-conference in the 5A-South. Also recognized were seniors Taylor Gillham, quarterback; Sawyer Lamb, receiver; Ryan Pelt, defensive line; Aaron Killian, linebacker; Keelan Fleming, receiver and cornerback; and junior safety Chase Norwood.
Echols was one of few sophomores to earn All-State honors. He also made all-conference with 1,490 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns on 8.6 yards per carry.
Thomas was the only player in the area to make All-State from a team that did not qualify for the playoffs. The junior made 87 tackles and six interceptions from his safety position on defense.
Hot Springs (1-9) made the switch to Thomas at quarterback during the season. He finished with more than 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Senior Ramello Cason also moved during the season from offensive line to tight end. He was named the 5A-South's Outstanding Tight End and a first-team all-conference selection, along with Thomas.
Trojans to be named second-team all-conference in the 5A-South were senior linebacker Dashan Doss, senior cornerback Eddie Miles, junior safety Devin Hill, sophomore offensive lineman Elias Parker, and sophomore defensive end and linebacker Adrian Conway.
Williams and Hamp made all-conference and All-State from the 6A-West. Williams was the team's leading tackler with 95 stops in his senior season, as well as two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one caused fumble.
Hamp tied for the team lead with three sacks and led the defense in quarterback hurries with 11. He finished his senior season with 56 total tackles, a team-best 16 tackles for loss, two fumble recoveries and two caused fumbles.
Other All-6A-West players from Lake Hamilton (5-6) were senior offensive lineman Cam Newton, senior linebacker C.J. Reynolds, senior defensive back Tre Darrough, junior offensive lineman Jared Wilson, junior running back Malik Brewer, and junior running back and safety Braden Braughton.
All-State selections are made by conference. Selections from Mountain Pine's 2A-5 conference included Smith, two from Class 2A state quarterfinalist and conference champion Conway Christian (10-3), one from the conference's fifth playoff seed in Quitman (6-5) and the two seniors from Magnet Cove (5-6). The Eagles were ranked No. 5 in Class 2A in the final Arkansas Sports Media High School Football Poll of the season.
Eli Dawson averaged 7.6 yards per carry for 1,511 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns. He added 39 tackles on defense.
Ty Dawson was the team's second-leading tackler with 86, including a team-best 22 stops behind the line of scrimmage, six sacks and 10 quarterback hurries. Senior linebacker Tyler McJunkins had 96 total tackles.
Juniors Tyler Mace and Matthew Cook made all-conference in the 2A-5 from Cutter Morning Star (1-9). Mace led the defense with 83 tackles and three interceptions. Cook caught 37 passes for 525 yards and pair of touchdowns, also running 73 times for 349 yards and another score.
All-State selections from Jessieville's 3A-4 conference included three players from the league runner-up Mayflower (11-2), tow from conference champion Glen Rose (9-3), two from Danville (8-4) and one from Atkins (7-5).
Members of the Lions (4-6) to make all-conference were senior receiver Cage Glisson, senior lineman Eric Robertson, senior defensive lineman Luke Wilson, senior linebacker Jeffrey Scott, junior tight end Joey Benson, junior linebacker Dexton Hilton, junior safety B.J. Holloway and freshman quarterback Carson Hair.
All-State selections from Bismarck and Centerpoint's 3A-5 conference included three from Class 3A state semifinalist and league runner-up Prescott (12-2), two from conference champion and state quarterfinalist Smackover (10-2) and two from state quarterfinalist Camden Harmony Grove (9-4).
LaGrange, Jackson and Lions (11-3) fell one game short of the third consecutive appearance in the Class 2A state championship game. Mount Ida was 39-5 over the last three seasons with a state championship in 2016 and a runner-up finish in 2017.
LaGrange ran for 1,354 yards and a team-best 20 touchdowns in his senior season. He was also the second-leading tackler on defense with 86. Senior Oscar Pinedo led the Lions with 90 total tackles, including a team-best 22 for a loss.
Jackson averaged 8.6 yards per carry for 1,403 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns, also throwing for 286 yards and four touchdowns with one interception on 11-for-19 passing as a senior. He made 62 tackles on defense and caught six interceptions.
Turner and Tademy made All-State from the Class 4A state champion Badgers (10-5), who won 10 straight games after an 0-5 start. All-State selections from the 4A-7 conference with Arkadelphia, Fountain Lake (6-5) and Malvern (0-10) include two players from state runner-up and conference champion Joe T. Robinson (12-3), two from Bauxite (10-3), one from state quarterfinalist Nashville (10-3) and one from Haskell Harmony Grove (5-5).
Fountain Lake's 4A-7 all-conference selections were senior running back and linebacker Andrew Roberson, senior quarterback and linebacker Colson Simpson, senior running back and linebacker Joe Murphy, senior receiver and cornerback Ahman Johnson, and junior offensive linemen Jesse Hoffman and Connor Thomas.
Sports on 12/12/2018