NASHVILLE — A pair of Baylor School football standouts earned recognition as Tennessee Titans Mr. Football Award winners on Tuesday afternoon at Nissan Stadium.
Sophomore 6-foot, 190-pound running back David Gabriel-Georges was named Mr. Football in Division II-AAA, while senior kicker Philippe Laforge took home the Kicker of the Year award presented by the Tennessee Titans. The duo helped the Red Raiders go unbeaten in the regular season, achieve a No. 13 national ranking by Sports Illustrated and reach the BlueCross Bowl for a third straight season.
Gabriel-Georges rushed for 1,103 yards on 114 carries with 14 touchdowns in 10 games. In February, he received his first college football offer from Oregon and recently landed his 20th and 21st offers this past month from Texas and Penn State.
“This is a big thing for me and my family,” Gabriel-Georges said. “I have only been at Baylor for five months and I came here to play with the best and against the best. I am extremely grateful for the support system here and I can see that hard work will pay off in the end. This is just the beginning. I have many more goals to achieve.”
Laforge won the esteemed kicking honor over two other finalists from Chattanooga in Boyd Buchanan’s Ethan Lane and McCallie’s Elliott Arnold.
The Red Raiders’ place kicker went 9-for-9 on his field goal attempts in his first year of playing football, as Laforge originally came to Baylor to play soccer. His longest field goal make was 52 yards, while he was 56-of-57 on extra point attempts.
“I am so grateful for all the help from my coaches and parents as well as the support from my teammates,” said Laforge, who has received college football interest from Coastal Carolina, North Carolina, Buffalo and Wofford. “To be a Mr. Football award winner is a great honor and blessing. David and I are both from Canada. I would have been happy if he won and I didn’t. It’s about the ‘us’ and not the ‘me’.”
Gabriel-Georges rushed for a season-high 232 yards on 17 carries in a 44-12 home victory against McCallie during the regular season. He also had 119 rushing yards on just 10 carries against the Blue Tornado in the BlueCross Bowl Division II-AAA state championship last Thursday at Finley Stadium.
“My uncle and brother inspired me to play football,” said Gabriel-Georges, who has been playing since he was 5. “I have learned so much in a short time here at Baylor and am super thankful. If I continue to get better and better, I believe any dream can happen. I have been able to learn from the best here in Coach (Erik) Kimrey and my teammate Shekai Mills-Knight.”
While soccer was Laforge’s first love, he now shares the same passion for football.
“I didn’t expect to take off like this so quickly in football,” Laforge said. “To be here on the stage today representing the state with two other great kickers from our area means a lot. Today shows a lot about the talent we have in Chatt. My dream from here is to play a high level of college football and then kick in the NFL one day.”
The other two kicking finalists also boasted tremendous numbers.
Arnold made 16-of-19 field goal attempts and was 46-of-49 on extra points while also averaging 49 yards per punt for the state champion Blue Tornado.
Lane was a perfect 56-of-56 on extra points and made 5-of-7 field goal attempts. He ranks fifth all-time in TSSAA history for extra points made with over 200.
Whitwell senior do-it-all Bennett McDougal was a runner-up for Mr. Football in Class 1A after he had 23 touchdowns and totaled 1,472 yards (561 passing, 560 rushing, 351 receiving) while also compiling 57 tackles and forcing two turnovers.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.