Record setters lead way for ASWA Players of the Week; TRM’s Davis named

Published 8:24 am Tuesday, August 30, 2011

By PAUL BEAUDRY
For The ASWA

Last season, Daleville running back Brandon Burks averaged 155 yards per game and three touchdowns every two games. After the Warhawks opener with Bullock County, Burks can sit for a while and still have plenty of room to keep his average high.
Burks rushed for 411 yards and had seven touchdowns on 26 carries in a 53-23 win over the Hornets, earning him a spot in the Alabama High School Athletic Association record book and honors as the Alabama Sports Writers Association Offensive Player of the Week.
Burks had scoring runs of 13, 69, 1, 4, 26, 42 and 71 yards with two more runs called back because of penalties. His yardage placed him seventh on the AHSAA single-game list, while his seven touchdowns in a game were also seventh.
Burks topped two finalists in Hoover’s Sam Gillikin and Phil Campbell’s Jamie Dorroh. Gillikin was 18 of 30 for 181 yards and three touchdowns passing with an interception, and ran 13 times for 82 yards against the nation’s No. 16 team, South Panola (Miss.), before a national audience on ESPN. Dorroh caught eight passes for 205 yards and touchdowns of 35 and 70 yards in the Bobcats’ 27-14 victory against Cold Springs – the Bobcats first home game since tornadoes destroyed the school and much of the town in April.
The ASWA Defensive/Special Teams Player of the Week was another record setter – DeMarco Hall of Pickens County. Hall scored twice on kickoff returns, tying a state record, and had two interceptions on defense in a 47-42 win by the Tornadoes. In all, Hall finished with 225 yards on three kickoff returns, 72 yards rushing with three TDs and 86 receiving yards with a TD.
The two defensive finalists were Geraldine’s Michael Davis and Dillan Campbell of Oak Grove. Davis also tied the same state record in a 42-21 win over Randolph, running a kickoff back 91 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and added a 94-yard return for a TD in the third. He also carried nine times for 124 yards and two TDs of 3 and 7 yards. Campbell had 11 tackles, blocked two extra points, recovered a fumble and had a sack in a 33-26 comeback win over West Blocton.
Some 68 nominees were considered by a panel of ASWA prep writers in this week’s voting, submitted by members in Birmingham, Centre, Cullman, Decatur, Demopolis, Dothan, Florence, Fort Payne, Gadsden, Graysville, Mobile, Montgomery, Oneonta, Scottsboro and Tuscaloosa.
Other standout performances include:

OFFENSE

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Nate Andrews, Fairhope: Caught six passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns, with both scores in the first half, in a 35-21 victory over defending Class 5A champion Spanish Fort.

Zachary Anthony, Central-Florence: Rushed for 142 yards and two scores as Central beat Lexington 39-21 to hand new coach Heath Wood his first win after taking over the program 17 days ago.

Luke Bailey, Fairview: Completed 16 of 27 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns and had 97 yards rushing with three TDs in a 40-20 win over Vinemont.

Cole Claunch, Colbert Heights: Completed 15 of 17 passes for 252 yards and three scores (3, 68, 25) in three quarters as Colbert Heights beat Danville 38-6.

Cameron Cox, Appalachian: Recovered from a first-half ankle injury to lead the 1A Eagles to a 26-13 victory over 3A J.B. Pennington, completing 11 of 19 passing for 209 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and adding 11 carries for 80 yards with a 51-yard touchdown.

Maurice Crews, Eufaula: Rushed for 191 yards and five touchdowns (25, 5, 33, 57, 15) on just 11 carries in a 55-27 win over Abbeville.

Kevin Davis, T.R. Miller: Led an 83-yard drive in the final 1:02 and scored the game-winning TD on a 1-yard sneak with 0.4 seconds to play and lead the Tigers to a 37-31 victory over Escambia County. He threw for 202 yards and a TD and kicked a 40-yard field goal.

Ryheem Dixon, Flomaton: Rushed for 202 yards on 14 carries, with TD runs of 45, 4 and 60 yards, and threw a 32-yard touchdown pass in a 47-14 victory over W.S. Neal.

Kaleb Harris, Pinson Valley: Threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns in a near-flawless 13 for 14 effort in a 69-42 win against Mortimer Jordan.

Jacob Kennedy, Berry: Accounted for 421 yards in a 62-19 win over Northside. He was 16-of-27 passing for 272 yards with two touchdowns and had 149 yards rushing on 15 carries with three TDs.

Will Minor, Deshler: Rushed for 160 yards and four touchdowns (70, 3, 2, 10) as Deshler snapped a six-game losing streak against Russellville with a 41-14 win.

George Payne, St. Luke’s: Ran 15 times for 165 yards, with TD runs of 80 and 35 yards, to lead the Wildcats to a 14-6 victory over John Essex for the school’s its first season-opening win ever.

Ladarius Rodgers, Leeds: Had three touchdown runs of 20, 41 and 84 yards and finished with 13 car­ries for 204 yards against Alexandria to go with five tackles and a pass breakup.

Chad Thompson, Sand Rock: Tallied 224 yards on 11 carries with four touchdowns (80, 1, 11, 87) in the Wildcats’ 35-8 victory over Pleasant Valley.

Carr Tigner, Hewitt-Trussville: Rushed for 131 yards and threw for 221 on 11 of 13 passing in a 28-14 win over Gardendale.

Demetrice Vaughn, Blount: Rolled up 205 yards on 20 carries, with TD runs of 1, 12, 8 and 2 yards to lead the Leopards to a 60-54 victory over Craigmont (Tenn.) as the team had more than 50 players serving an AHSAA suspension for a fight against Sidney Lanier during a spring game.

Josh Walker, Austin: Rushed for 174 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries in Austin’s 35-25 win over Decatur.

Zach Walker, G.W. Long: Rushed for 191 yards on 11 carries with one touchdown and added an 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to pace Long to a 48-20 win over Goshen.

Luke Wingo, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa: Completed 8 of 12 passes for 151 yards and running for 140 more yards on the ground and two touchdowns.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

Darrin Abrams, McIntosh: Had 11 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in a 39-7 victory over Cottage Hill Christian.

Antheryius Aldridge, Marengo: Recorded 16 total tackles to go along with a sack and a forced fumble in addition to tallying 119 yards on 10 carries on offense in a 39-0 win over 5A Wilcox-Central.

Timothy Bryant, Tharptown: Caught a 10-yard touchdown pass, returned a fumble 70 yards for a score and added an interception in a 26-21 loss to Meek.

Josh Carroll, Gulf Shores: Kicked a 36-yard field goal with 2:41 to go to lift the Dolphins to a 9-6 victory over Robertsdale. He added 121 yards on 16 carries.

JuJu Donley, Deshler: Had a pair of interceptions as Deshler snapped a six-game losing streak against Russellville with a 41-14 win.

Lewis Johnson, Highland Home: Scored on a 50-yard interception return and on runs of 19, 5 and 4 yards in the Flying Squadron’s 68-14 win over Central-Hayneville.

Dee Liner, Muscle Shoals: Had three sacks, all in the first half, to spark a defense that limited Colbert County 62 yards while the starters were playing in a 48-7 victory.

Patrick Lowe, Cherokee County: Blocked a punt for a safety, partially blocked another punt and broke up a pass in the Warriors’ 28-23 victory over Class 1A, No. 5 Cedar Bluff.

Draequon Murphy, Carver-Montgomery: Stripped the ball on a kickoff and ran 41 yards for a touchdown in the Wolverines’ 28-19 loss to Opelika.

Dylan Tucker, Etowah: Returned a fumble recovery 80 yards for the winning touchdown in the Blue Devils’ 27-21 win over Lincoln.

Curtis Williams, Collinsville: Picked off a pair of passes, including one returned 29 yards for game’s first touchdown, in Class 1A, No. 7 Collinsville’s 49-0 victory over Coosa Christian.