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By Pat Cole
pcole@mckenziebanner.com |
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The Quarterback Club MVP award was
presented to Phillip "Boo" Weathers.
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Huntingdon's Mustangs were treated to a catered meal and
banquet at the Huntingdon Church of Christ family center
last Thursday night. Quarterback Club President Robert
Lovett welcomed the players, coaches and wives,
cheerleaders, and fans to the event and congratulated
the Stangs for their season. Prominently displayed on
the podium was the silver ball received following their
narrow loss to Alcoa.
Coach Mike Mansfield thanked the Church of Christ elders
for allowing the team to use their building for the
banquet and directed the meal to begin. Following the
meal, AB Club President Kelley Carter presented gifts to
Chasity Strayhorn for her brilliant performance
throughout the season as the mascot and sponsor Penny
Smith.
Cheerleader recognition was given by sponsor Lisa
Bryant. She noted the hard work the girls perform from
the time they are chosen to represent their school and
how they had received their first bid to the National
Championships and how Mallory Miler and Jazz Johnson had
been chosen All American cheerleaders. She thanked the
girls for their hard work and recognized the three
seniors, Mallory Miller (captain) and co-captains
Kristin Crockett and Cayce Dempsey.
The Scholar Athlete Award was
presented to senior Karl Butler.
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Throughout the night, Coach Mansfield thanked the many
persons who had assisted the team with their season.
Blue/Gold Service Awards were presented to Mike Henson,
Robert and Dawn Lovett, Brian and Cathy Kelley and Diane
Cross.
The team members were then recognized, beginning with
the freshmen and presented with packets which contained
a number of items, including letters and/or bars for
their contribution.
Coach Mansfield pointed to the silver football and noted
it was the culmination of a lot of hard work. He praised
their character and noted the team played the hardest
and best they could in each contest. He said, "It's a
challenge to accomplish what we have (two consecutive
state championship appearances and one championship).
Mansfield noted the effort was enhanced by the family
unity of the team members and that tradition, not
victories was the most important attribute of the
program. He said, "It's how we go about business and
represent ourselves" that means the most. He praised the
seniors for their leadership and noted they had raised
the bar for leading a bit higher by returning to the
state championship game. The seniors were 26-4 for their
last two years and he cautioned they would have a lot of
good memories which he hoped they would cherish as the
years passed by.
Sam Bush presented each senior with a CD which contained
individual game photos of each of them, as well as
photos he had printed. He noted he had taken over 8,000
throughout the 2004 season and he wanted them to play it
from time to time and remember their final season.
Coach Eric Swenson in presenting the first of the
offensive awards noted the offense this year had rushed
for 4,981 yards and passed for 1,179 yards for a total
of 6,160 yards and 506 total points scored against
opponents.
Offensive awards were presented as follows: Best
Receiver: Scott Hampton with 330 yards; Best Back: Chris
Donald with 225 carries for 1,589 yards and 146 yards
received, scoring 124 points; Offensive Lineman: Cliff
Bush and Drew Kelley; Offensive Most Valuable Player:
Cale Belew.
Coach Jimmy Pritchard noted the Stangs gave up only 211
points all season with 52 against Alcoa. He said, "They
were the best offense we ever tried to defend."
Defensively, the awards were presented as follows:
Defensive Linebacker: Desmond Townes with 62 tackles, 10
for a loss; Defensive Back: Cody Baker with 72 tackles,
three for a loss, one fumble recovery, two
interceptions; Most Improved: Brandon Snyder, 121
tackles, 20 for a loss, five sacks and one fumble
recovery.
Special teams awards were presented to Brandon McCormick
(long snapper), Brent Taylor and Josh Noles (21 tackles,
20 on kickoff return and one on a punt return).
The Team Captain Award went to Scott Hampton the
Co-Captain Award to Hunter Hastings and the Hustler
Award to Marcus Beal. The Stangs/Scholar/Athlete Award
was presented to Karl Butler by Kent Jones and Larry
Logan. The Quarterback Club MVP Award was presented to
Phillip "Boo" Weathers, who was a Mr. Football finalist,
the Jackson Sun Player of the Year, the Region 6-AA
Player of the Year and the 96.5 Player of the Year. Boo
was also named to the second team All State in all
classifications in a defensive capacity.
Each coach received a plaque from Mr. Lovett recognizing
the team record, the scores of each game and the total
number of points scored by and given up by the 2004
squad with a notation of a 12-3 season.
OFFENSIVE AWARDS: Pictured (L-R) front row: Scott
Hampton and Chris Donald; back row: Cale Belew, Drew
Kelley and Cliff Bush.
DEFENSIVE AWARDS, TEAM CO-CAPTAIN: Pictured (L-R) front
row: Desmond Towne and Cody Baker; back row: Hunter
Hastings and Brandon Snyder.
SPECIAL TEAMS AWARDS: Pictured (L-R) are Brandon
McCormick, Brent Taylor and Josh Noles.
COACHES AWARDS: Pictured (L-R) front row: Eric Swenson,
Mike Mansfield, Jimmy Pritchard; back row: Alan Eubanks,
Robbie Miller and Rick Wallace.
CHEERLEADERS: Front row (L-R) are Kristin Crockett,
Robin Geans, Rachel Webb, Mallory Miller, and Cayce
Dempsey; back row (L-R): Jessica McMackin, Annamaria
Gregory, and Ashley Diaz. Not pictured: Jessica Frazee,
Jazz Johnson, Raquel Clark, and Megan Sellers.
