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2008 all-county football teams announced
In total, 19 Ricebirds and 10 Hornets earned all-county honors. This year's top award went to El Campo tailback and defensive back Landon Appling. By playing a major part for the Ricebird offense and defense, Appling was named the county MVP. "I was surprised and didn't know what to think at first," Appling said. "I didn't even know I got overall, I thought I got offensive MVP at first. I was surprised when they told me. It feels awesome." Appling, a junior, finished the regular season with 1,002 yards rushing, a 7.65-yard average, five touchdowns, one interception, three knock downs and 13 tackles.
"It feels good," Appling said. "You've got to be in good shape and work hard. If Coach asks you to do something, you better do it." El Campo senior Bryan Skow was named defensive MVP. Skow led the Ricebirds with 102 tackles, 12 for a loss, two interceptions, two knock downs, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one sack. El Campo's defense was particularly strong this year and Skow credited the entire team. "We had a lot of leaders on defense this year - Josh Garcia, Darius Parks, Troy Lawson, Daniel Tice and one of the best coaches at El Campo, Coach (Wayne) Condra," Skow said. "I think the main reason for success on our defense is the defensive tackles. Whenever they do their job, the linebackers like me and Josh do our job."
El Campo Head Coach Bob Gillis was named as coach of the year. After leading his team to an 8-3 record and an appearance in the regional round of the playoffs, Gillis said he feels the award should not be given to an individual but an entire team.
"It's a team effort. There's offense, defense and we call it a football team. I'm very proud of our coaches and very proud of how they work, how they work together and get our kids to play. Hopefully we'll do it again." As for El Campo's 10 members on the first team, Gillis admitted a bias to his team and wished for more Ricebirds. "I think it's well deserved. Personally, I think they all should have been on it," Gillis said. "We had a great year and, like everybody, we wish we played a few more weeks. All in all, we had a good year and I'm very proud of them." First Team Offense Louise's Kyle Lawson and El Campo's Maverick Smith made the team as running backs in their senior seasons. Lawson had one of his best seasons in 2008, his fourth year of starting for Louise. He ran for 1,525 yards on 199 carries, averaged 7.66 yards-per-carry and scored 21 touchdowns. "It was good, I was healthy all season," Lawson said. "Last year, my ankle was messed up during district. I just stayed healthy this year and it helped me to cut and stuff a lot more." Smith helped lead El Campo's ground attack that totaled 2,140 rushing yards in the regular season. "This year is kind of special to me because I made it my senior year and I had a great season just like my fellow teammates," he said. "It's an honor to be on All-Wharton County." Smith earned 585 rushing yards on 89 carries, averaged 6.57 yards-per-carry and scored nine touchdowns. His favorite feat, however, came on his longest run of the year. "The best thing of this year would have to be my 93-yard run against Foster," Smith said. "I didn't know I had it in me. I looked (behind me) like five times. I was surprised because I don't usually break that far on runs - I'm more of a power runner for my size." El Campo senior Gabriel Lara was named as the team's kicker. He connected on 31 extra points and four field goals in the regular season and credited some of his performance to his soccer experience. "It all starts out with practicing and then getting a chance to come out and kick when you have somebody else going for the spot," Lara said. "You have better skills on kicking. You know what angle to kick and how far you kick too so you have better judgment." El Campo seniors Troy Lawson and Chase Bullard made the first team because of their offensive line play along with Louise senior Javier Padron at tight end. As members of the offensive line, Bullard, Lawson and Padron are asked to play strong on every snap. One bad move could lead to a sack, a tackle for a loss or a fumble. Bullard said he does not like to think of that pressure, but admitted it is there. "You've just got to come out there, be ready to come off the ball and hit," he said. "If you don't come off the ball then the running backs can't get yards. That's basically what the offensive line has to do - come out and play the hardest all four quarters." Louise uses the tight end position mainly as an extra blocker. Padron and the Hornet offensive line helped the running game earn 2,547 total yards and average 283 yardsper game. "I had no problem with blocking (instead of receiving)," Padron said. "That's what I do best - I'm made for blocking. I like the thrill of smashing someone to the ground and then your friends run up to you and say, 'Good job man, good job.' It fires you up." Lawson said he enjoyed seeing El Campo's backs gain yards because of the offensive line's play. "Blocking for the running game is fun," he said. "To see Maverick, Landon and Bryan run for a touchdown, that's fun because we get off the field." Lawson also played on El Campo's defensive line and came through with five tackles for a loss. He said playing defense is his preference. "I have to hit a certain person on offense, but on defense, I can just go knock the heck out of anybody that I want," Lawson said. First Team Defense Leading the defensive honors are linemen Daniel Tice of El Campo and Zach Lawson of Louise. Tice totaled 31 tackles and five for a loss in his senior season. As a lineman, it was his job to set up El Campo's linebackers for success. "It feels pretty good knowing that we're stopping the offense and that our defense is getting a good stop," Tice said. "I think that we did really well this season. Our team really came together toward the end and we had a really good season this year." Zach Lawson, a junior, made 12 solo tackles, 30 assisted tackles, had 11 hurries, five tackles for a loss and recovered one fumble. "I felt pretty good about making all-county," Lawson said. "I feel like I got to the ball more than I did last year." Senior linebackers Josh Garcia, of El Campo, and Matthew Blumrick, of Louise, also made the first team. Garcia finished the year with 108 tackles, 23 for a loss, two sacks, five forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. "Defensively, we came out stronger this year than compared to other years," Garcia said. "That's because of all the leaders on defense. This is why we do so good. "We just motivated each other every day in practice. People keep pushing you and keep pushing you and that way we had lots of success." Blumrick, last year's defensive MVP, said he was honored to be on the all-county team again. "It's a challenge and it's cool," he said. "It's hard to make it two years in a row. It's just a feeling that you'll never lose." The Hornets leading tackler, Blumrick made 41 solo tacklers, 39 assisted, five hurries, six combined sacks and tackles for a loss, recovered three fumbles and made two interceptions. Though the Hornets finished the season 3-6 and missed the playoffs, Blumrick said he felt proud seeing Ganado, a team Louise beat, make it to the state semifinals. I took a lot of pride in that," he said. "That's one of our games that we actually played all the way. Seeing them go that far knowing that we beat them and are better than that, it felt good. We figure that we could have been there too if we made playoffs." El Campo's Darius Parks and Louise's Chris Hicks both made defensive back in their senior season. Parks split time at linebacker and defensive back and totaled 51 tackles, eight for a loss and made one sack. He said his preference was to play back and attacking the offense hard. I'd rather play safety because I can see more, be more involved and help the team more," Parks said. "I like making a big hit. It makes me feel like a beast." Hicks helped the Hornets defense with 33 solo tackles, 43 assists, three interceptions including one for a touchdown and a fumble recovery. "Playing safety is pretty fun because you get to see everything. You get to see the way everything happens. It's fun putting hits on people too." Second Team Offense Louise's Desmond Pulliam and Clint Workman and El Campo's Jac Axel and Steven Drapela all made the second team offense. Pulliam pushed Louise's rushing game 311 yards on 49 carries while Workman was a solid member of the Hornets' offensive line. Axel made the team as a receiver primarily for his integral down-field blocking while Drapela made great blocks for the front line. Second Team Defense El Campo's Ottis Williams, Parker Herrmann, Anthony Cruz and Dominique Murray all made the second team defense. Williams made 23 tackles and three for a loss while Herrmann earned 45 tackles and five for a loss as members of the defensive line. Cruz made linebacker and recorded 35 tackles, three for a loss, forced two fumbles, recovered three, knocked down three passes and made an interception. Murray made 25 tackles and knocked down five passes. Honorable Mention El Campo's Wes Condra (quarterback), Caleb Fisher (linebacker) and Matthew Montalvo (defensive line) and Louise's Jay Sulak (quarterback), Andrew Cardenez (offensive line) and Chico Vasquez (linebacker) all received honorable mention. |
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