
A junior (Sylas Gunn) and a senior (Isaac Manning) selected as “Athletes”
This is the first year Big Ass Fans, out of Lexington, KY, fielded a small and large school all-state football team. Last season, the teams were jointly sponsored by NewsRadio 840 WHAS (Louisville) and us. We honored 152-players Kentucky-wide hailing from 81-seperate institutions of secondary learning. We are proud of this and believe this year’s edition to be the most thorough and comprehensive team of its type in Kentucky history. Two Storm-chasers made this team and we will tell you about each one in this article.
HB Lyon, Scouting Director, “KPGFootball”

Morton’s Gap, Kentucky: The most coveted and comprehensive all-state football team has been published and the “Storm” was rather well represented. Sylas Gunn, ’26, and Isaac Manning, ’25, both made the team as “Athletes.”
We talked with a member of the “Big Ass Fans” selection committee. He preferred to speak to us anonymously but still on behalf of the entire committee. The committee’s identities were kept confidential to prevent any undue influence being yielded against its members.
“We selected Sylas Gunn and Isaac Manning as Athletes in our small school division of the all-state football program,” the representative told us. “We felt the contributions made by each to multiple levels of the team’s bottom line were sufficiently significant to warrant selection for both players.”
The Athletes were our most competitive and accomplished group…
Big Ass Fans All-State Football Selection Committee
We asked him about the category Athletes. He told KPGFootball, “In ’24 we had a plethora of players whose contributions on Friday night were so multi-faceted that selecting that player at an individual position didn’t seem appropriate.”
This committee member concluded, “The Athletes were our most competitive and accomplished group.” As for competitive and accomplished, our two team members well fit the bill!
Borrowing from the article, we published about the small school all-state offense,…
Sylas Gunn, ’26, Hopkins County Central, 104-tackles, 6-TFLs, played offense (QB) where he was among the leaders in passing, rushing, and receiving where he played half the year at WR. This guy was a three phase contributor.
Isaac Manning, ’25, Hopkins County Central, another three phase contributor who was among the leaders in receiving (21.2-yards per reception), and was a stellar defender on the back end of the defense (among the leaders in INTs) while being a valuable member of the special teams on kick and punt return.
We were able to reach head football coach, Chris Manning, and he was excited for his two players. Coach Manning told KPGFootball, “I believe these two (Gunn and Manning) were deserving and displayed the characteristics the committee appeared to emphasize.”
Manning continued, “Anytime a member of our football teams gets individually recognized, it is a testament to the teammates and coaches who worked hard to get those players to that destination. I have always viewed it as a reflection on the whole team and not just its individual parts.”
[Getting individually recognized] is a testament to the teammates and coaches who worked hard…
Chris Manning, Head FB Coach, Central
We would add our heartfelt congratulations to both awardees. We are very proud of them and thankful we get Sylas Gunn back for another run in ’25.
For our senior, Isaac Manning, thanks for the memories. We’ll be back home cheering you on wherever your path may lead.
This is Friday Night Fletch, reporting for KPGFootball, reminding you to PLAY THROUGH THE WHISTLE!
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