2009 All-Orange Leader Football Team

[Gabe]

From Orange Leader sports department

Times changed along the Orange County football landscape during the 2009 high school season.
For the first time since 2005, West Orange-Stark was joined by some playoff company by two other schools in the form of Bridge City and Vidor.
Let’s not forget the strides that both programs at Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Orangefield made along the way as well.
WO-S (8-3), as usual, was once again in the playoffs. The Mustangs saw their 29-game District 21-3A win streak come to an end. So, they’ve just started another one and it stands at four already.
The Mustangs allowed just 227 yards a game, which was tops in Southeast Texas.
Bridge City (7-4) found itself in postseason play for the first time since 2005 and Vidor (7-4) made it for the first time since 2000.
For LC-M (4-6) and Orangefield (4-6), it was all about taking steps in the right direction and both accomplished that. Let’s not forget that these two teams combined to go 1-15 in 2008.
With many players returning to their respective lineups next season, maybe we can squeeze a couple more teams in the playoffs, without the UIL’s help of course.
So without further ado, here are the superlatives for the 2009 All-Orange Leader Football Team:

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Shayne Pitman, Vidor
Opposing defenses never truly found a way to slow the Pirate senior running back down.
Pitman was a key cog in a Coach Jeff Mathews’ Pirate offensive machine that ran the ball for nearly 3,700 yards. Pitman benefitted from running behind the largest line in Southeast Texas.
Pitman churned out 1,521 yards on the ground on 232 carries and found the end zone 16 times. If he had received more carries, no telling what his numbers would have been. He had plenty of help from backfield mates Kevin Tate (974 yards, 12 TDs) and fullback Jacob Peevey (729, 7 Tds).

OFFENSIVE MVP
Hunter Gonzales, LC-M
The Bear junior quarterback amassed some heavy numbers against top-notch District 20-4A defenses as the Bears went from no wins in 2008 to four in 2009.
Gonzales completed 150-of-272 passes for 1,686 yards and 11 TDs. He also rushed for 383 yards and 11 scores as he hand his hands involved in 22 of the Bears’ 30 total TDs. He was also All-District as a punter.

DEFENSIVE MVP
Stephen Cook, WO-S
Cook, a three-time All-District 21-3A selection, despite being double-teamed throughout the season as well as teams running away from his side of the ball, had another superb season for the Mustangs.
Cook was in on 89 tackles, had seven tackles for losses including four sacks and also had three fumble recoveries for 21-3A’s leading defensive unit.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Corey Huckabay, Orangefield
Very seldom does this honor go to a senior but Huckabay certainly deserves it.
The Bobcat quarterback made a big impact for the Bobcats and his father first-year Bobcat head coach Brian Huckabay.
Huckabay grounded up the yardage as he rushed for 1,005 yards and 12 TDs on 166 carries and also passed for 390 yards and four TDs.

TOP UTILITY  
PLAYER
Cameron Dishon, Bridge City
Dishon, a sophomore, did it all for the Cardinals.
Offensively, he finished with 20 catches for 355 yards and seven TDs and ran for 191 yards and two TDs.
On defense, he recorded 106 tackles, 62 of them solo and brought back an interception for a score.
On special teams he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a score and averaged nearly 18 yards per punt return including one that went 90 yards for a score.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Cris Stump, Bridge City
Coach Stump led the Cardinals to their first playoff berth since 2005.
The Cardinals’ biggest improvement came on the defensive side of the ball. A weakness the last several years, the Cardinals allowed just 245.7 yards a game.
Bridge City had two outstanding comeback wins in 21-3A play, coming back in the fourth period to topple Hardin-Jefferson and then rallying in the fourth quarter and in overtime to take down rival Orangefield.


Here is the 2009 All-Orange Leader Football Team as selected by the Leader sports staff:
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Shayne Pitman, Vidor
OFFENSIVE MVP: Hunter Gonzales, LC-M
DEFENSIVE MVP: Stephen Cook, WO-S
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Corey Huckabay, Orangefield
TOP UTILITY PLAYER: Cameron Dishon, Bridge City
COACH OF THE YEAR: Cris Stump, Bridge City

FIRST TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Reggie Garrett, WO-S
Running backs: Matt Menard, Bridge City; Kevin Tate, Vidor
Wide receivers: Zack Sonnier, LC-M; Mark Roberts, WO-S
Tight end: James Larramore, Vidor
Offensive line: Cody Hill, Vidor; James Burns, Vidor; Ethan Cowart, Orangefield; Shane Stankus, Bridge City; Van Jordan, WO-S
Utility: Derrick Evans, Orangefield
Kicker: Justin Sparrow, WO-S

DEFENSE
Defensive line: Dakota Risinger, Bridge City; Luke Gunstream, Orangefield; Lawrence Gilmore, WO-S; Matt Johnson, Vidor
Linebackers: Wilson Washington, WO-S; Josh Shores, Orangefield; Donovan Rubin, WO-S
Defensive backs: James Haynes, WO-S; Aldric Jones, LC-M; Justin Thomas, WO-S; Zach Heinze, Bridge City
Punter: Hunter Gonzales, LC-M

SECOND TEAM
OFFENSE
Quarterback: Josh Lemoine, Bridge City
Running backs: Keeton Addison, Deweyville; Jacob Peevey, Vidor
Wide receivers: Johnny Epps, LC-M; Justin Francis, WO-S
Tight end: Logan Moss, Orangefield
Offensive line: Brian Patton, Vidor; Tyler Whitmire, Orangefield; Thomas Luce, Bridge City; Clint Dunn, LC-M; Cole Durkin, Orangefield
Utility: Darius Mitchell, WO-S
Kicker: Devin Bertrand, Bridge City

DEFENSE
Defensive line: Jeremy Chauvin, LC-M; Channing O’Bannion, Deweyville; Chase Groves, Vidor; Thomas Taylor, Bridge City
Linebackers: Evan Boren, Bridge City; De’Jewel Nelson, WO-S; Blake Tinkle, Vidor
Defensive backs: Chan Smith, Vidor; Eric Avila, Deweyville; Trae Hester, Vidor; Brandon Forward, WO-S
Punter: Matt Menard, Bridge City

[Gabe]

Well I will be the first to congratulate these well deserving players. Congrats to all.

[kicker]

I kind of understand, but it seems Trey Franks got scratched from every poll there is. I still think the school board shafted him. I am not condoning what he did, but kids make mistakes. JMO

[badndn]

[quote name="kicker" post="734247" timestamp="1261502553"]
I kind of understand, but it seems Trey Franks got scratched from every poll there is. I still think the school board shafted him. I am not condoning what he did, but kids make mistakes. JMO
[/quote]
Agreed 100%. What he did did not warrant the death penalty to his HS career.
Congrats to the OC folks. BC, Vidor and LCM are all on the uptick and WOS was young and should be a power in the next several years again.

[Cat22]

These picks are horrible!!  Who picks this team?  They must not watch much football!!  ::)

;D Just messing with you Gabe.  You and Van did a great job as always!!

[kicker]

[quote name="badndn" post="734283" timestamp="1261515190"]
[quote author=kicker link=topic=64018.msg734247#msg734247 date=1261502553]
I kind of understand, but it seems Trey Franks got scratched from every poll there is. I still think the school board shafted him. I am not condoning what he did, but kids make mistakes. JMO
[/quote]
Agreed 100%. What he did did not warrant the death penalty to his HS career.
Congrats to the OC folks. BC, Vidor and LCM are all on the uptick and WOS was young and should be a power in the next several years again.
[/quote]

It might hurt him in the future also. I dont understand why the WOCCISD school board hates football so much. ::)