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Fort White wled the area with seven members on this year's LCR all-area team. (BRENT KUYKENDALL/Lake City Reporter)
OFFENSE
QB: Jayden Jackson
Fort White, sophomore
Threw for an area-most 22 touchdowns while completing 58% of his passes for 1,623 yards to lead the Indians to the regional semifinals. Also rushed for 294 yards and six more scores.
ATH: Tywan Williamson
Lafayette, sophomore
Threw for an area-most 1,728 yards and tossed 20 touchdowns. Also rushed for 297 yards and five scores to help the Hornets reach the regional semifinals.
RB: Dakota Fisher
Fort White, senior
The LCR’s Offensive Player of the Year led the area with 1,924 all-purpose yards, rushing for 1,235 of them while averaging 8.6 yards per carry. He also scored an area-most 23 touchdowns — 19 rushing, three on kickoffs and one via punt return. See profile here
RB: Marquavious Owens
Suwannee, senior
Led the Bulldogs with 1,013 rushing yards and scored a team-high nine touchdowns. Also caught nine passes for 66 yards to help SHS make the playoffs.
WR: Camdon Frier
Columbia, senior
The Florida State signee led the Tigers with 867 all-purpose yards, catching 45 passes for 640 yards and six touchdowns. Also returned a punt for a score to help lead CHS to the District 3-3S title.
WR: Jordan Murphy
Lafayette, junior
Led the Hornets with 29 receptions for 675 yards and seven touchdowns.
WR: Garrett Brady
Fort White, senior
Led the Indians with 10 touchdown receptions. Caught 31 passes for 503 yards for the season.
OL: Zackery Grimes
Columbia, sophomore
Played center for a Tigers offense that averaged 235 yards per game.
OL: Robert McIntyre
Fort White, senior
Played tackle for an Indians offense that averaged 307 yards per game.
OL: Andrew Harrell
Suwannee, senior
Played center for a Bulldogs offense that averaged 286 yards per game.
OL: Tate Dampier
Branford, senior
Played guard for a Buccaneers offense that averaged 263 yards per game en route to a playoff berth.
OL: Troy Mares
Lafayette, junior
Anchored the Hornets line for an offense that averaged 241 yards per game.
K/P: Jace Moran
Suwannee, freshman
Made 21 of 22 extra points and connected on 6 of 10 field goals with a long of 45 yards. Averaged an area-best 36.2 yards per punt with a long of 54 yards, pinning nine inside the 20 yard line.
DEFENSE
DL: Ja’Darius Cherry
Suwannee, senior
Led the area with 13 sacks and recorded 53 tackles, 14 for loss.
DL: Amarie Fleming
Lafayette, senior
Led the Hornets with eight sacks and recorded 69 tackles — an area-best 24 for loss — while forcing two fumbles and recovering three fumbles.
DL: Jaden McCray
Fort White, freshman
Led the Indians with nine sacks, including six in a win over Lafayette, and posted 46 tackles with 10 for loss.
DL: Caden Bolstein
Columbia, junior
Forced a fumble and recovered two, returning one for a touchdown. Finished the year with 40 tackles — seven for loss — and two sacks.
LB: Lecosta Byrd
Fort White, junior
The LCR’s Defensive Player of the Year led the Indians with 98 tackles, including 23 for loss, and had two sacks. He also had two interceptions, including a pick-6, and forced three fumbles, blocked two punts and blocked a field goal. See profile here
LB: Dre Maysonet
Branford, junior
Led the area with 108 tackles, including 20 for loss, and led the Buccaneers with five sacks.
LB: Wilson Philemon
Columbia, senior
Led the Tigers with 79 tackles — 10 for loss — and had two sacks, one interception, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
DB: Kyshaun Veasey
Branford, senior
Led the area with six interceptions to go with 84 tackles and a forced fumble.
DB: Kodi Lang
Suwannee, senior
Anchored the Bulldogs’ secondary from the safety position, posting 68 tackles with an interception and fumble recovery.
DB: Jerome Carter
Columbia, senior
The Old Dominion signee had a stuffed stat line, finishing the season with 58 tackles, three interceptions, a forced fumble, two blocked punts and a blocked field goal.
DB: Kani Fulton
Columbia, senior
Posted 66 tackles with two interceptions, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a touchdown.
TWO-WAY PLAYERS
WR/DB: Najeeb Smith
Fort White, senior
Led the Indians with 43 catches for 720 yards and finished the season with eight touchdowns and 935 all-purpose yards. Also had 29 tackles, four interceptions and a sack on defense.
WR/DB: Austin Malaguti
Branford, senior
Led the Buccaneers with 1,058 all-purpose yards, catching 40 passes for 526 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 272 yards and two scores. Also recorded 77 tackles — five for loss — and forced two fumbles defensively.
RB/LB: Trevor Maddox
Branford, junior
Had 101 tackles — 21 for loss — and recorded three sacks at linebacker. Also led the Buccaneers with 549 rushing yards while catching six passes for 75 yards, scoring seven total touchdowns.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Demetric Jackson, Fort White
Led the Indians to a 9-2 record — their best since 2016 — and the No. 2 seed in Region 3-1A. His squad won eight of its nine via running clock and outscored opponents 417-133 this season. That included a record-setting 77-13 win over Santa Fe, which set a new program record for the most points in a single game and one for the largest margin of victory in the Battle for the Paddle rivalry.
HONORABLE MENTION
Columbia: Zamarion Jones, Au’vontae Smith, Trevis Johnson, D’Mari Bruce; Fort White: Christopher Smith, Maliki Clark, Hayden Adams, Darion Brinson, Hayden McCroy, Gavin Heaton, Tafari Moe, Dakota Philpot; Suwannee: Hunter Watson, Sam Wainwright, PJ Davis; Branford: Thomas Raulerson, Cole Peyton, Colby Carver, Haiden Ward; Lafayette: Trevor Mares, Jalen Hill, Jamarcus Smith, Dayne McCray.