In what has become a tradition here at KPGFootball, we are finishing up our seasonal football coverage with our All-State football teams. When we first began publishing All-State football teams for the freshman and sophomore classes, these kids were being left off the AP and Coach’s teams simply because of their ages. Now, more and more of our sophomores are finding their way on the older teams and even some of the freshmen have begun to garner some honorable mentions.
We are very proud of this. If our efforts have increased the attention apportioned to these younger players then we are accomplishing exactly what we set out to do.
The sophomore squad is easier to select than the freshman counterpart. By the time the below players get to be sophomores they are making considerable contributions to their respective teams. Getting on the field on Friday night as a freshman for considerable time is an accomplishment standing alone. Playing on Friday night as a sophomore, regardless of classification, if you are truly a superstar is expected.
Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the KPGFootball Sophomore All-State offense…
QB- Gavin Wimsatt, Owensboro (Senior).
Wimsatt led Owensboro to a 12-2 record and a berth in the Class 5A Semi-finals. In so doing, Gavin completed 192 of his 351 passing attempts (completion percentage of .547) for 2,729 yards and 31-TDs against 10-picks. Wimsatt, a much more dangerous run-threat than our second All-State QB, gained 564-yards rushing and scored another 12-TDs on the ground in 87 rushing attempts. None of this is easy to do with the competition a Class 5A team sees, especially one which finished 12-2.
QB- Isaac McNamee, Pikeville.
McNamee is KPGFootball’s top-rated, drop-back passer in Kentucky’s class of 2022. Isaac led Pikeville to the Class A, State Football Championship and a 14-0 record for a team which was one of KHSAA’s best regardless of classification. McNamee will be KY’s top-rated QB-prospect in the 2022 class by the others too when they get around to rating the 22’s. Isaac completed 148 of his 228 passing attempts (completion percentage of .649) for 2,464 yards with 32 passing-TDs against only 6 thrown interceptions.
RB- Seth Huff, Knox Central.
You may remember Knox Central had a RB on this squad just a year ago in Ethan Mills. Mills went down in game six making Huff responsible for shouldering the workload in the remaining 6-games. The sophomore didn’t disappoint. Huff gained 1,201-yards in 172-carries with 20-rushing TDs. Before you say it was the OL, the team finished 3-8. How good could the line have possibly been? Huff caught 6-balls out of the backfield for 60-receiving yards. Defensively, Huff caused two fumbles, recovered one, and contributed 31-tackles with 2 TFLs from his slot at LB. He runs the football like a LB. He projects at either as a next level guy.
RB- Juwan Northington, duPont Manual.
Juwan is referred to lovingly as “Wan-Wan” and is one of Kentucky’s most coveted college prospects in the class of 2022. Who loves him? Well, we do as does every other fan or scout scouring the commonwealth of Kentucky. Playing against the toughest competition Kentucky High School football can muster, Wan-Wan gained 1,036-yards in 116-carries with 20-rushing TDs to his credit in 12-games. Northington led the Crimsons in points scored with 130. Both Huff and he pass the “eye-test” easily as both are big, sturdy, “I am going to hate tackling him” kind of RBs. Northington also played LB on defense and did even better on the side of the football than Huff. Wan-Wan had 50-tackles, 4 TFLs, and 3 QB-sacks as a LB in 2019 and would have made this team at LB had he not made it at RB.
WR- Vinny Anthony, Jr., Louisville Male.
Like McNamee, Vinny “the Jet” will be one of the commonwealth’s most prized prospects when publications (other than this one) get around to rating 22’s. Vincel caught 34 footballs this year for 573-yards and 10 TDs receiving (second on the team behind only Izayah Cummings). Anthony’s Louisville Male team spent much of the year ranked among America’s top-25 high school teams before losing to Trinity in the 6A-Kentucky Championship game. Male finished 14-1, and with players like Anthony, it is hard to imagine not continuing to challenge for the 6A football championship for the foreseeable future.
WR- Braden Mundy, Owensboro Catholic.
This kid is built like a linebacker and really poses problems for defenders trying to contain the big fella. You aren’t going to get anywhere attempting to “get into his grill” up at the line of scrimmage. Of all the WRs on this team, he has the most impressive stats. He also played in the most “pass-happy” offense with, statistically, Kentucky’s best QB throwing the ball to him. Mundy had 54-receptions in 2019 for 1,080-receiving yards and 9-TDs. What is even scarier than that is the fact he wasn’t the statistical leader in his own locker room in any of those three statistical areas. Hagan Edge caught 83-balls for 1,571-yards receiving and a whopping 24-TDs. Wow!
WR- Xavier Brown, Lexington Christian.
Xavier is just one of the more explosive and speedy players in the 2022 class and will be a very highly coveted prospect by everyone. We already have him highly regarded here. Brown caught 33-passes in his 12-games of action for 440-receiving yards and 5 TD-passes. He was second on the team in scoring with 94-points. Brown, with 745-rushing yards and 10-rushing TDs in 109 runs from scrimmage, showed he was as dangerous in the backfield as he was split out in spread-sets. Brown, in the defensive backfield, had 20-tackles and an interception. He was too good not to make this team so we put him at WR.
WR- Dane Key, Frederick Douglas.
Key made our freshman team last year as a corner and we assure you his making this year’s team has nothing at all to do with that. Each year stands alone. Dane is also one of the most coveted prospects in Kentucky’s 2022 graduating class and considered by many to be its fastest player. While that is great, we are not a recruiting service. We reward play on Friday night, not how good someone may look at a combine or during Sevens’ season. This isn’t the “shorts and shirt,” sophomore all-state squad. Simply put, Key has been getting it done on the field. We were surprised he wasn’t used more on defense as we still think he would make a fine corner, but his production on offense at WR was prodigious for a team which played for the Class 5A State Football Championship and finished 14-1. Dane Key caught 33-passes in 2019 for 545-yards receiving and 8 TDs. He led Frederick Douglas with 94-points scored on the season and carried it from the slot 10-times for 83-yards and 3 TDs on the ground.
OL-Grant Bingham, 6-4, 280-pounds, Johnson Central.
Played in all 14-games for Johnson Central which gained 4,524-yards on the ground in 523 carries with 68-rushing TDs. The Eagles, not really a passing team by reputation, scored an uncharacteristically high 18 TDs through the air, so the hogs were doing something right for the Eagles’ offense.
OL-Owen LeMaster, 6-1, 265 pounds, Johnson Central.
This guy is just a mauler and we believe he is the finest interior OL in the Class of 2022, Kentucky-wide. The college guys will be tempted to overlook him owing to his size but that would be a mistake. No less than Phillip Fulmer, former HC at Tennessee and a guy who knew a little something about OL play, once referred to Aaron Sears the best OG he ever coached. Sears, who played around a decade in the NFL was 6-1 and that may have been kind. LeMaster can overcome his lack of height and length, ask Johnson Central’s opponents. He’s a take in KPGFootball’s opinion and we wouldn’t be surprised to see him make All-State football teams, this offseason, separate from our sophomore squad.
OL- Teegan Smith, 6-1, 265-pounds, Breathitt County.
The 14-football games Teegan Smith started this year for Breathitt County were the first games of organized football this kid had ever before played. If you think there are an inordinate amount of Breathitt County players across this offensive front, we would simply state the obvious: 1. Breathitt County was 13-1; 2. Breathitt County averaged 10.04-yards per rush on the season (308-carries, 3,092-rushing yards); 3. Breathitt County led all Kentucky classifications by scoring a TD every 4.6 carries (67 TDs, in 308-rushing attempts); 4. Breathitt County was at the top of Kentucky, regardless of classification, in scoring offense and offensive efficiency (88 TDs in 415 total offensive plays or a TD every 4.72 plays); and 5. much of this was owing to the prowess of Kentucky’s premier unit, Breathitt’s famed “Big-Blue Wave,” which many teams will groan to learn is returning next season largely intact. Teegan Smith, who was learning on the job, discovered he was a punishing drive-blocker in the ground game, a killer on the trap and pull, and outstanding in pass protection which 21-TD passes versus just 4-picks on the year would support. This kid’s best football is ahead of him. That should make the 7th-district, and in truth all of the 2A classification, terrified.
OL-Anthony Johns, 6-2, 270 pounds, Lexington Christian.
This kid just keeps getting better and better for a team which split two games with his classification’s State Football Champion. Johns, like Deaton, is a “finisher” and his frame is getting thicker and adding length about every time we see him. He is a technician and exhibits the best hand-placement, punch, and power-steps of any player across this front. He could slide inside and play guard. If he learned to play offensive center, his stock would really sore. Just hard to find good player at the offensive center position.
OL Connor Deaton, 6-7, 340 pounds Breathitt County.
We were watching this kid run a rope-ladder in practice one day and looked at the coach standing within ear-shot and told him, “This kid will play on Sundays.” Deaton is an unbelievably nimble and agile young man for someone of his tender age together with his incredibly massive frame. His father is even bigger than Connor. Deaton plays with excellent pad-level and runs his feet through the block, down the field, very well. Once he latches on the defender, it’s a ride on “roller-skates” for that guy until the whistle blows or he gets driven through the turf. Frankly, as a sophomore, he’s one of the best “finishers” on this team. Offensive linemen are “finishers” where they try to block defenders not “to the ground” but “through the ground.” Yep, that’s Deaton. Connor isn’t out to block anyone. Conner is really looking to embarrass defensive linemen. Deaton’s doing it. As a member of Breathitt County’s “Big Blue Wave,” he helped the offense run for 3,092-yards in only 308-carries and score an incredible 67-rushing TDs for second in KY, regardless of classification. The offense’s 88-total scores (67- by ground, 21 by air) was also among the best in the commonwealth. Deaton is a future superstar.
OL- Zach Tong, Middlesboro, 6-6, 288-pounds.
Tong helped lead Middlesboro to one of Kentucky’s more profound and improbable turn-arounds in high school football. Hard to believe the team which finished 8-4 this year was 1-10 just one year ago. Tong played tackle across a front which was second in its district in rushing yards and ground scores. Middlesboro gained 2,988-yards rushing and scored 39-rushing TDs in its 12-games. They also did all of this without a serious, down-field, passing attack. Tong is what we call a multi-level blocker with the athleticism to block 1st, 2nd, and even 3rd level defenders and not just the defender who happens to be in front of him. Like Deaton, this guy is a real prospect if he continues to develop and get the quality coaching he is getting now.
There it is folks, that is our Sophomore, All-State offense. Keep checking the site for the posting of the defense.
This is Coach HB Lyon, reporting for KPGFootball, and we’re JUST CALLING IT LIKE WE SEE IT!
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