TIFTON — Greg Reid has pretty much done it all on the football field this season for Lowndes.
He has been a star on offense, scoring 13 touchdowns. He has been a star on defense, intercepting six passes. He has been a star on special teams, returning three kicks for touchdowns.
Choosing the Region 1-AAAAA Player of the Year was pretty simple this year.
“Greg’s a great player. There’s no doubt about that,” Lowndes head coach Randy McPherson said. “He’s very valuable to this team. He’s a great all-around player. It’s great to have him.”
Reid has rushed for 520 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught six passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. He has made 32 tackles, and leads the Vikings in interceptions. He was the only player to be named first-team All-Region on both offense and defense.
The Region Coach of the Year was also a very easy decision. Valdosta head coach Rick Tomberlin led the Wildcats to a 9-3 record, a second-place finish in the region, and a trip to the second round of the state playoffs. Valdosta did all of this just one season after going 1-9 in 2006.
Coffee quarterback Burke Batten was chosen the region’s Offensive Player of the Year. Batten passed for 1,501 yards and 19 touchdowns, throwing only three interceptions, and also ran for 410 yards and two scores.
Valdosta linebacker Curtis Weatherspoon shared the Region Defensive Player of the Year award with Tift County defensive tackle Larry Bryant. Weatherspoon led the Wildcats in tackles, and also had several big fourth quarter plays. His interception against Jordan and interception return for a touchdown against Warner Robins sealed Valdosta wins, and his blocked extra point against Tift County was the difference in a 27-26 Wildcat win.
Bryant made 55 tackles, had 6.5 sacks and forced three fumbles for Tift.
Reid was one of seven players from region champion Lowndes to be named first-team All-Region this year. Joining him were running back Darriet Perry, center Ethan Barwick, left tackle Levi Vedas, linebacker Tavaris Williams, defensive back Kelly Dawsey and punter Hayden Martin.
Valdosta placed four players on the first team: Weatherspoon, running back David Arnold, center Allen Scruggs and defensive end Charles Alford.
The rest of the first-team offense was: Tift running back Kaream Hess, Houston County wide receiver Craig Presley, Tift receiver Jared Davis, Coffee receiver Demario Bennett, Coffee tight end Corey Davis, Tift left tackle Zach Allen, Coffee tackle B.J. Brand and Warner Robins kicker David Clark.
The other players on the first-team defense were: Warner Robins defensive end Jordan Sanders, Coffee defensive tackle Fred Moore, Tift defensive end Shayon Green, Tift linebacker Josh Abbott, Houston linebacker Chris Prewett, Warner Robins defensive back Shawn Monos and Houston defensive back Rico Hendrix.
Lowndes also placed six players on the All-Region second team: defensive linemen T.J. Manning and Desmond Miller, linebacker Blake Summers, defensive back Gerald Demps and kicker Mark Willis. Defensive tackle Devin Simmons received honorable mention.
Valdosta’s second-team players were: quarterback Michael Turner, fullback Marcus McNair, defensive end Jamaal Hunter and safety Darris Roberts. Linebacker Young Roberson and defensive backs Kevin Stokes and Michael Gilliard received honorable mention.
The rest of the second-team offense was: Tift quarterback Nick Prostko, Coffee running backs Rod Jones and Josh Ellerton, Colquitt County all-purpose player Eric Key, wide receivers Jarrod Bateman of Tift, Rashad Wynes of Warner Robins and Akeem Wesley of Coffee, tight end Ricky Williams of Houston, and offensive linemen Rob Bailey of Warner Robins, Jacob Lott and John Roberts of Coffee, R.J. Taylor of Colquitt, Thom Roberson of Tift and kicker Jordan West of Tift.
The other second-team defenders were: Warner Robins defensive lineman Thomas Bruce, Coffee defensive lineman Demario Paulk, linebackers A.J. Brown of Tift, Josh Palmer of Warner Robins and Terry McDaniel of Colquitt, and defensive backs Blake Reddick of Tift and Jared Wooten of Coffee. Prostko was the second-team punter.
Local Sports
Related Photos
-
Pat Gallagher/The Valdosta Daily Times
-
Paul Leavy/The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Region 1 football’s best
Player of the Year Greg Reid heads All-Region 1-AAAAA team
- Local Sports
-
-
Dario Franchitti wins Indy again
Dan Wheldon couldn’t win his third Indianapolis 500. Dario Franchitti did it for him.
And if it wasn’t going to be Franchitti, then it would be Scott Dixon. Maybe even Tony Kanaan.
No matter what, one of Wheldon’s best buddies was going to Victory Lane. -
VSU teams hosting summer camps
The national champion Valdosta State softball team will host two separate summer camps this summer, as well as weekly clinics throughout the summer.
The two summer camps will be held on June 11-13 and July 9-11 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The camps will cost $100 each. -
David Dean Youth Camp begins next week
The David Dean Youth Football Camp is quickly approaching.
The fourth annual camp will be held May 29-June 1 at the Athletic Fieldhouse off Mary Street. -
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck
National champion head coach rewarded with new truck Valdosta State head softball coach Thomas Macera was rewarded with a new Toyota Tacoma from Valdosta Toyota on Wednesday for his team’s 4-1 victory over the University of California-San Diego in the Division II Softball National Championship Game.
-
Valwood’s Savino, Elliott named All-State soccer
Two Valwood boys’ soccer players have been named to the GISA Class AA All-State team.
-
All-American again
Go ahead and add another award to resume of this year’s Valdosta State softball team.
Between conference player of the week awards, a national player of the week award, All-Conference and All-Region honors and four All-American awards, the national champion Blazers had plenty of individuals honored for performances throughout the season, which ultimately led to VSU’s first ever softball national title. -
Local area events coming soon
Several local area runs will take place in the coming weeks.
Monday, May 28, there will be a Memorial Day 5K, which will begin at 8 a.m. from the VECA School located on the corner of Azalea Drive and College Street. -
Tech bound
Donjahae Jones gets it done in the classroom and on the track.
One of the top students in her class, and one of the top track and field competitors in the state, Jones will be taking her talents to the Division I level after she signed a track and field scholarship with Georgia Tech on Tuesday. -
Blazers garner All-Region honors
Two Valdosta State baseball players have been named All-South Region while a third has garnered Academic All-Region, according to announcements made by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and the Collegiate Sports Information Director's of America (CoSIDA) this week.
-
Lowndes' Phelps named tennis Coach of the Year
Lowndes tennis coach Heath Phelps has been named the Region 1-AAAAA girls’ and boys’ tennis Coach of the Year, after he guided both teams to region championships.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
