Meigs County player Aaron Swafford (19) passes during the Tigers’ TSSAA Class 2A playoff football quarterfinal game against the South Greene Rebels at Meigs County High School on Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Decatur, Tenn. The rewards from its first state championship have continued for Whitwell’s football program with six players earning all-state recognition by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.
Nine players from the Chattanooga area have been named to the Class 1A all-state team, including Whitwell’s Warner Ashworth, Brayden Condra, Jace Kilgore, Hudson Petty, Thundur Roberts and Tanner Stewart as well as South Pittsburg’s Jabron Hale and Ronto Tipton and Lookout Valley’s Keith Sanders.
Six area players earned spots on the TSWA 2A team, led by three from Meigs County and two from Tyner. Joining Meigs County’s Trace Corne, Gage Gardner and Aaron Swafford are Tyner’s Jeremiah Batiste and Tyrique Henry as well as Polk County’s Alex Pell.
Ashworth threw for more than 2,000 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for another 800 yards and 12 TDs. Stewart caught 36 passes for 1,007 yards and 14 TDs, and Condra graded as the top blocker on a Tigers team that ran for more than 3,600 yards and totaled more than 5,800 yards.
Kilgore led Whitwell’s defensive front with 16 tackles for loss, while Roberts finished with 101 solo tackles and nine for loss. Petty, a state Mr. Football semifinalist, had 83 solo tackles, 11 for loss and four interceptions on a unit that held nine opponents to single-digit scoring.
“It’s big for our program to have that many kids getting those postseason honors,” Tigers coach Randall Boldin said. “They deserve every recognition they get, because they battled their butts off and refused to be anything but the best at their position.
“We were really good on both sides of the ball, and I think having three kids get recognized on each side speaks volumes to how complete of a team we were. As a coach I couldn’t be more proud.”
Hale led South Pittsburg in tackles for loss on a defense that allowed just nine points per game, while Tipton led the area with seven interceptions and Sanders had 53 tackles including nine for loss.
Swafford, who was named Mr. Football in 2A, finished with nearly 3,000 total yards and 34 TDs to lead Meigs County to 13 wins and the state semifinals.
Gardner helped lead one of the state’s top offenses, which averaged 40 points per game, while Corne was the Region 3-2A defensive player of the year with 103 tackles, 10 for loss, six sacks and two fumble recoveries.
Batiste, a junior who also was a Mr. Football finalist, is one of the area’s top college prospects after leading the city with 985 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Henry led the area with 23 tackles for loss and 12 sacks and was one of the Rams’ overall tackles leaders.
Pell, a three-year starter, was the top-rated blocker on a Polk County team that ran for more than 2,900 yards. He is the program’s first all-state selection in five seasons.
“We may not have a lot of guys come through here who get recognized at the state level, but Alex is definitely one who deserves it,” Wildcats coach Derrick Davis said. “He’s been one of the best players, on both sides of the ball, for us for a long time.”
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.