HonorableMention
› Chad Copeland, Bradley Central: He completed 20 of 21 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns and rushed seven times for 90 yards and two scores as the Bears beat Jefferson County.› Cade Kennemore, South Pittsburg: The junior covered 154 yards on two punts he returned for TDs, added a 74-yard kickoff return for another score and also had two catches for 19 yards, one of those for a touchdown. That’s 254 all-purpose yards in the Pirates’ victory over Copper Basin.› Dee King, Ringgold: He ran 17 times for 154 yards and scored once in the Tigers’ loss to Adairsville.
Maddux Houghton is going to play in college, and it quite possibly could've been in football.
Instead, Houghton will be signing in November with Lipscomb University to play baseball.
The Dalton High School senior was at his football finest Friday in the Catamounts' 45-16 victory over Sprayberry. He intercepted two passes - each of which set up a Dalton score - blocked a point-after kick and recorded 12 tackles. He was selected the Times Free Press Waffle House All-Star player of the week.
"He's a free safety, but that's one of the things that's very unique about him. He's such a smart football player that it gives us the opportunity to play him in multiple ways," Dalton coach Matt Land said. "We can move him around the defense. We don't pigeonhole him into one area. We're putting him somewhere new each and every week."
Houghton, the son of former Central High baseball coach Scott Houghton, is a 6-foot, 190-pound shortstop for Rhett Parrott's Dalton baseball team, but he is often the last line of defense for the football squad.
"He is among the top four academically in his class. That's the first thing that's great about him - he's a phenomenal student - but he is also a great student of the game. He's always studying film," Land said. "A lot of the game comes to him intuitively. He plays with an understanding that often doesn't come to players until they're much older."
The coach compared Houghton to Dusty Eggleston, a former Catamount of similar size and mindset that went on to play at West Point.
"If Houghton lacks anything physically, he makes up for it with effort. He has an insatiable appetite to be better, whether it's the next play, the next practice or the next game," Land said. "Our players vote for team captains. They're not appointed, and in my seven years as a head coach he received more votes than any player ever has.
"He almost had a vote from every player on the team, which speaks to the way our kids respect him. He doesn't talk a lot, but he comes to work and works hard every day."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765.