13 Bobcats voted to 1st, 2nd all-region teams
Eighteen Gilmer High football players have been recognized by the region.
The Region 7-3A all-region honor rolls and superlatives were announced last week. Bobcat senior Will Kiker excelled for Gilmer on both sides of the ball and was named the region’s athlete of the year.
“It’s well-deserved and a great recognition by the other coaches in the region of Will’s abilities, and more than his abilities, but his performance on the field,” said head coach Paul Standard. “I think it’s a huge compliment and several years since that’s happened for someone in our program.”
Kiker is the first GHS player to receive an all-region superlative since Jake Ingram was named lineman of the year in 2014. Kiker was second on the team with 82 total tackles and also broke up four passes, intercepted one, recovered a fumble and blocked two kicks.
Offensively, he averaged nearly a first down per carry. Kiker finished the year with 587 yards and 11 touchdowns on 62 attempts. He caught six passes for 137 yards and two more scores.
He was the team’s punter and also returned 17 kickoffs with an average of 22 yards and a long of 53.
Three Gilmer seniors were voted to the first team and included halfback Hunter Watkins, offensive lineman Hershel Defoor and defensive back Mason Smith.
Ten more players landed on the second team. On the offensive side, all-region selections include senior fullback Brock Titus and sophomores Issac Rellinger at quarterback and offensive lineman Blane Banks.
Junior Blake Reece made the second team at tight end, as well as for his efforts on the defensive line.
Second-team defensive selections also included lineman Hunter Brown and fellow senior Bryson Daniel at outside linebacker. Junior outside linebacker Ian Berry, junior inside linebacker Aspen Hataway and sophomore defensive back Kyle Cowart brought Gilmer’s all-region tally to 13.
Receiving an honorable mention were seniors Kendall Sanders along the defensive line and defensive back Marcello Valle. Sophomore Grant Ballew was recognized for his efforts at linebacker.
Rounding out Gilmer’s honorable mentions were offensive lineman Aaron Walker and fellow senior Isaac Freeman at receiver.
“The number of players who got voted to the first and second team shows how other coaches felt about our players,” Standard said. “It’s the utmost respect when your opponent gives you credit and votes you as an all-region player. I’m thrilled that the players who deserved that recognition received it.”
Watkins led GHS with 958 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught four passes for 96 yards. Smith’s 11 pass breakups ranked first on the team. He totaled 48 tackles and recovered a fumble.
Rellinger operated the Bobcats’ offensive attack, and his reads often decided a play’s success. He had 92 carries for 337 yards and five touchdowns. When he was asked to throw, he completed 13/31 passes for 299 yards and four touchdowns.
Titus earned hard yards mostly running directly at defenses. He totaled 647 yards and five scores on 145 rushes and caught a pass for 24 yards.
Hataway was Gilmer’s top tackler with 91, which included seven for a loss and three quarterback sacks. He forced one fumble and recovered two.
Daniel made 53 stops and four were behind the line of scrimmage. He also intercepted a pass and defensed five passes.
Berry was there to make 44 tackles and eight for losses. He also recovered two fumbles, forced another, broke up a pass and blocked a kick.
Brown tallied 22 total tackles, one for a loss and a sack to go with one fumble recovery. Cowart broke up seven passes and registered 35 tackles. Reece had 11 tackles, one for a loss and broke up a pass.
Sanders finished with 33 tackles and four for losses. He also led GHS with four sacks to go with a pair of forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and pass break up.
Ballew made 52 tackles on the season and two were for a loss. He forced a fumbled and had one sack. Valle broke up two passes and made 19 tackles.
Linemen Defoor, Banks, Walker and tight end Reece helped pave the way for Gilmer’s potent rushing attack. Freeman played a pivotal role as well blocking on the perimeter to spring explosives runs.
Gilmer’s offense averaged 285 rushing yards per game and 6.4 per carry, and Bobcat running backs reached the end zone for 35 rushing touchdowns.