Tri-County Coaches Association selects 2020 high school football Players of the Year
The 2020 football season was destined to be special at its outset.
Having one at all, really, was at one point considered a far-off feat — especially when you consider that North Carolina public school football teams, some just a short drive away from parts of York and Lancaster counties, haven’t played at all yet and won’t for another couple of months.
But beyond merely having teams play games on Friday nights (or Thursday nights, or Wednesday nights), this year still had its share of storylines that transcended the COVID-19 pandemic. Most notably: Northwestern ran to the 5A state semifinals after a few years of mediocrity (something Trojan fans, or really any fans in Rock Hill, aren’t used to); and Catawba Ridge, in just its second year of existence, made an Upper State title game (proving that there’s plenty of football talent — and football fandom — in Fort Mill to go around).
To pay tribute to these memories — and to recognize the achievements of the best football players from York County, Chester County and Lancaster County — here are the high school football Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year, as voted on by members of the Tri-County Coaches Association.
5A Players and Coach of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year: Carson Black.
Black, the sophomore quarterback from Nation Ford, had a prolific year: In five games, he completed 131-of-199 passes for 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. The transfer from Sun Valley High School in Union County, N.C., kept the Falcons in games when they needed him to — including in the team’s near-double-overtime-upset against Gaffney, where Black went 42-of-63 for 414 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. (He had a rushing touchdown in the Gaffney game, too.)
Black’s season, however truncated, gave Fort Mill residents a glimpse of how potent Nation Ford’s offense could be in the next few years. Black came surprisingly close to one school record and was on pace to eclipse a few state records that one of his predecessors, Cole Martin, achieved in 2014. Martin, per SCHSL documents, still holds the record for most passes completed in a single game (51); sits third state-wide for most passes completed in a season (348); and sits 11th in most touchdown passes thrown in a season (42). (Martin holds the school records for all three categories still.)
Other nominees for OPOY: Will Mattison (Northwestern); Will Alvarado (Fort Mill); Robbie Ouzts (Rock Hill).
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Jordan Knox.
Northwestern’s left tackle, who was a captain all season despite just being a sophomore, was a critical part of Northwestern’s success in 2020. Knox finished the season grading out at 89% on the year with 22 knockdown blocks, 12 pancake blocks and no sacks allowed. The 6-4, 295-pound lineman, who also started as a freshman in 2019, helped lead an offensive line that paved the way for a special year running the ball: The Trojans rushed for 1,102 yards and 13 touchdowns on 290 total carries on the season.
Other nominees for OLOY: Nathan Brooks (Fort Mill).
Defensive Player of the Year: Gregory Johnson III.
Northwestern missed Johnson, who was out with an injury, in its last contest of the 2020 season against TL Hanna. In seven games, though, the linebacker finished the season with 75 tackles, four quarterback pressures, five pass break-ups, two sacks and nine tackles for loss. The Army commit is also a South Carolina Mr. Football finalist, a prestigious award that has been won by seven former and current NFL players. (S.C.’s Mr. Football will be announced in December. Rock Hill’s Robbie Ouzts is also a finalist.)
Johnson anchored a talented defense that knew it had the chance to be good at the beginning of its undefeated regular season run. The Trojans, in total, only allowed 16.1 points per game all season and just over 2,000 yards of total offense in its eight games (only 258.5 yards per game).
Other nominees for DPOY: J’Quon Carter (Nation Ford).
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Kyle Springs-McCottry.
Northwestern’s relentless defensive end notched 41 tackles, one fumble recovery, three quarterback pressures, six sacks and seven tackles for loss in the 2020 season. The senior was a key part of Northwestern’s aforementioned defensive prowess, and an important part of the foundation that will fortify Northwestern football for years to come.
Other nominees for DLOY: Miller Shouse (Fort Mill); Bryce Webb (Nation Ford).
Special Teams Player of the Year: Kanoah Vinesett.
Beyond nailing a school-record 53-yard field goal in the team’s first game — which ultimately led to him being voted by fans as The Herald’s Football Player of the Week in late September — Vinesett had an immensely good junior year. He finished 10-for-12 on field goals this season and finished with 25 touchbacks on kickoffs. He also went a perfect 27-for-27 on extra points.
Other nominees for STPOY: Jerrick Foster (Nation Ford returner); Joe Shepler (Fort Mill, kicker).
Coach of the Year: Page Wofford.
What is there left to say (for now) about all Wofford and his staff did to turn around the Northwestern Trojans? In his second year as coach, Wofford, normally decked out in his American flag facemask and his trademarked visor, helped thrust the once-flagship football program in a town called Football City USA into relevance after a handful of years of relative misery — delivering in 2020 an undefeated regular season, an Upper State championship appearance and, perhaps most importantly, a team with higher numbers than in recent years despite preseason concerns that the coronavirus could depress football participation.
Wofford, known for being a pass-first offensive savant of sorts, also showed his versatility in 2020. His team ran the ball more than 36 times a game on average. In a recent interview with The Herald, he credited his coaching staff for being able to seamlessly pivot and adjust gameplans as the season progressed.
Wofford will be returning a lot of talent on offense next year, including rising senior quarterback, Will Mattison.
4A PLAYERS AND COACH OF THE YEAR
Co-Offensive Players of the Year: Kayden Hager and O’Mega Blake.
Hager, the Catawba Ridge senior, was someone who did whatever was asked of him to help lead the Copperheads on their magical run to the Upper State finals this season. In addition to playing linebacker, Hager took over quarterback responsibilities midseason when freshman starting quarterback Jadyn Davis went out for a handful of weeks with a collarbone injury — and Hager caught fire: He finished the season completing 60-of-90 passes (67%) for 830 yards and 11 touchdowns; he also added 73 carries for 612 yards and nine touchdowns.
Blake, simply put, was who South Pointe needed him to be all season long. The South Carolina commit finished his senior campaign with 1,272 yards of total offense and 12 touchdowns. He filled in everywhere, at quarterback, receiver, running back and was even the team’s punter: Blake threw for 381 yards and three touchdowns; ran for 182 yards and three touchdowns; and caught 50 passes for 709 yards and six touchdowns.
Blake’s graduation from South Pointe represents the departure of the last players who were part of the Stallion state championship regime from 2013-17.
Other nominees for OPOY: TJ Thomas (Indian Land); Weston Hance (York).
Co-Offensive Linemen of the Year: Jack Beachum and Seth Petty.
Indian Land’s Beachum graded out at 84%, had 26 knockdowns on the season and didn’t give up a sack in 2020. The 6-4, 270-pound sophomore left tackle is now a two-year starter and a rising recruit in the state of South Carolina, per Indian Land’s well-connected head coach Adam Hastings.
Petty, of York, also earned the yearly honors after grading out at 87% on the season and notching 27 knockdowns. The junior played center and guard this year, filling in wherever his team needed him, to help lead York’s young offensive line that graduated several studs in 2019.
Other nominees for OLOY: JD McClain (Catawba Ridge).
Defensive Player of the Year: Dumkele Idehen.
Idehen, the linebacker who donned the “big-play belt” several times on Indian Land’s sideline this season, had a notable junior year: He had 114 tackles — 14.3 a game — and also notched four sacks, 12 tackles for loss, one interception and two forced fumbles.
Other nominees for DPOY: Brody Tesimale (Catawba Ridge); Jacobie Henderson (Catawba Ridge); Ashton Edington (York).
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Asa Johnson.
In receiving this honor, Johnson repeats as a Tri-County Defensive Lineman of the Year award-winner. The Catawba Ridge junior was integral to the strength of the Copperhead defense — a group that had a shutout streak that extended three games. Johnson ended the season with 73 tackles, eight sacks, 18 tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
Other nominees for DLOY: RJ Lincoln (Catawba Ridge); JT Knight (Indian Land); Trey Nichols (York).
Special Teams Player of the Year: Jevon Long.
Long was among the most explosive players for York this season. On special teams, he returned three kickoffs for touchdowns and averaged 38 yards per return. (He was also a standout receiver: In the team’s last game of the season against archrival Clover, Long caught five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns.)
Other nominees for STPOY: Mieqwel Lewis (Indian Land); Ayden McCarter (Catawba Ridge).
Coach of the Year: Zac Lendyak.
It’s tough to imagine that even an optimist like Lendyak would predict a year like this.
The only football coach in Copperhead history was armed with a unique faith in the preseason — a faith that Catawba Ridge, with all of its two-win 2019 team returning and a few notable transfers from the Charlotte-area coming in, could be pretty good. When it was all said and done, “pretty good” was modest: The former Nation Ford assistant coach’s team ultimately fell in the 4A South Carolina semifinals last Friday night, ending a seven-game winning streak (which is made more notable considering the team only played nine games). Lendyak told The Herald that the 2020 team’s legacy will remain at Catawba Ridge “forever.”
Although Lendyak has some seniors departing for the first time in his head coaching career, he also has plenty of talent returning, including Davis, his rising sophomore quarterback who already has SEC offers.
3A, 2A, 1A Players and Coach of the Year
Offensive Player of the Year: Deven McCrorey.
Lewisville had big shoes to fill after its everything-player Demetric Hardin, who is now playing wide receiver at Middle Tennessee, graduated in May. And McCrorey certainly tried to fill them: The senior Lion running back, in total, accounted for 609 yards and nine touchdowns in the six games he played in 2020 — seven of those touchdowns were rushing and two were receiving.
Other nominees for OPOY: N/A
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Jeremiah Days.
Days, Chester’s ever-solid lineman, graded out at 87% with 31 knockdowns and 19 pancake blocks on the year. Days could be considered the unsung hero of the Cyclones’ playoff team: In the shootout with Lower Richland that determined if Chester would make the playoffs or not, the senior helped pave the way for six rushing touchdowns and for multiple rushers to eclipse 70 yards rushing en route to Chester’s win.
Other nominees for OLOY: N/A.
Defensive Player of the Year: Scott Blackmon.
Despite Great Falls football’s tough 2020, Blackmon had a senior season to remember: He notched 67 total tackles, 17 assists, four sacks, one interception, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and one safety in seven games.
Other nominees for DPOY: Payton Hornsby (Andrew Jackson).
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Gavin Phillips.
Andrew Jackson’s senior, in only five games, put together an impressive season statline of 51 total tackles, 32 solo tackles, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. The Volunteers were able to earn an at-large bid to the 2A playoffs but lost in the first round.
Other nominees for DLOY: D’Arrius Edwards (Lewisville).
Coach of the Year: Will Mitchell.
For the first time in the nine seasons he’s coached at Lewisville, Mitchell said Great Falls had more players dress out than his team did when the two archrivals faced off. The Lions defeated the Red Devils in what was a defensive slugfest — and by most metrics, a Lewisville win over Great Falls means a successful season — but what Mitchell was able to wring out of his team this year with a relatively limited cast of characters was remarkable.
The Lions won four of their last five, including a win over defending Upper State champs, Ridge Spring-Monetta. In any other year, they would’ve been a formidable playoff team, but they couldn’t overcome this year’s early region losses like they could last year — which had a similarly inspiring story arc, where the Lions won two regular season games at the end of the year with 19 and 21 players suited up to clinch a playoff berth.
Lewisville’s future with Mitchell at the helm is bright: The program welcomed its largest freshman class Mitchell has ever had — 18 — and is returning its starting quarterback in 2021, Christian Yoder, who’ll be a senior.
The Herald compiled the end-of-year ballot and conducted the vote on Nov. 17, after the regular seasons of all the area teams were complete. Season statistics have been updated through the end of each team’s respective season and were provided by each school. Members of the Tri-County Coaches Association, who nominated players and made up the poll’s electorate, include Page Wofford (Northwestern head football coach); Bubba Pittman (Rock Hill head football coach); Rob McNeely (Fort Mill head football coach); Michael Allen (Nation Ford head football coach); Brian Lane (Clover head football coach); Marcus Surratt (Lancaster head football coach); Adam Hastings (Indian Land head football coach); Zac Lendyak (Catawba Ridge head football coach); DeVonte Holloman (South Pointe head football coach); Dean Boyd (York head football coach); Victor Floyd (Chester head football coach); Will Mitchell (Lewisville head football coach); DeMarcus Simons (Great Falls head football coach); and Todd Shigley (Andrew Jackson head football coach).
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 10:34 AM.
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