Predicting Every Albemarle Conference Team's MVP

<p>It's June, which is close enough to the season to start preseason content, at least in my mind. Our friends at Prep Redzone South Carolina started a fun series that we picked up on later in the offseason last year. We're bringing it back this season. Here, we're looking at several conferences to predict one player per team as their team MVP. Let's look at the Albemarle (AAC) 2A Conference.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predicting Albemarle 2A Conference Team MVPs</h2>   <p><em>Editor's Note: Since we started these much later in the offseason, we rolled these into conference previews. We'll preview conferences in the future, but here, we're just focusing on team MVPs.</em></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Bertie Falcons</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2221554' first='Danetrez' last='Askew']</strong> | LB</p>   <p>The Falcons struggled mightily last season, but should return a few pieces next year, including Askew. The versatile linebacker grew into the season, improving as it progressed. The Falcons will look to him for leadership on defense, and if he can rack up a few takeaways for his team, Bertie will be much better this season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Camden County Bruins</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2221549' first='Danny' last='DeFilippo']</strong> | LB</p>   <p>DeFilippo lived around the ball last season, leading the conference in tackling, forcing two fumbles, and making a few impact plays in the backfield. He leads a defense that returns several starters. There are some pieces on offense, too, and DeFilippo contributed a bit there, as well. If the Bruins can get some more splash plays out of DeFilippo and the defense, they'll have a chance to flip a couple of close losses from last year into wins.</p>   <p>Others Considered: <strong>Gabriel Norman</strong> (Ath.)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Gates County Red Barons</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2183865' first='Aiden' last='Jordan']</strong> | RB</p>   <p>Jordan is one of the leading returning rushers in the state after rushing for nearly 1,800 yards for Gates County last season. He has excellent vision, and he's as important to his team's success as any player in the conference. Jordan averaged nearly 25 carries per game last year, and kept them in games against tough defenses with his ability to pick up yardage in chunks.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Holmes Aces</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2067025' first='Kazzure' last='Downing']</strong> | RB/DB</p>   <p>Downing led the Aces in rushing last year, racking up nearly 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. He was unstoppable in conference, averaging an astounding 19.6 yards per carry against conference opponents and scoring 13 total touchdowns. He also had four interceptions, again all against conference foes. Should Downing continue his hot streak into 2026, the Aces are <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/03/way-too-early-2a-top-10/">dark-horses in the 2A class</a>.</p>   <p>Others Considered: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2148890' first='Jayden' last='Lindsey']</strong> (Edge)</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Manteo Redskins</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2221557' first='Drew' last='Brown']</strong> | QB/Ath.</p>   <p>Brown is a standout baseball player, but he has some football upside, too. I'm interested to see if he gets more volume as a passer after throwing for 794 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. He's also a high-volume runner and got better as he tucked it to run more often in conference play. The Redskins aren't far away, so if they can get just a bit more out of Brown, they'll be one of the better teams in the conference.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Perquimans County Pirates</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717322' first='Steven' last='Elliott']</strong> | Edge</p>   <p>The Pirates lose a lot from a decent offense, but there's some returning talent on the defensive side of the ball. Elliott, a lean edge rusher with plenty of explosive qualities, leads that unit after leading the team in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks, all by a wide margin. The Pirates' ceiling is likely determined by the production they can get out of an inexperienced offense, but Elliott is the known commodity on the defensive side.</p>   <p>Others Considered: <strong>Antrez Wood</strong> (QB/DB)</p>   <p><span><i>Our preseason coverage is just getting started. Coaches, if you want your team featured in a team preview, </i><a style="font-style: italic" href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeB9YBH_he_sOP-lhvI26XRh0P9vobS8PsVJy_5QCJ4jQLTvQ/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=118251332469799088451">fill out our surve</a>y.<i> Want to share Prep Redzone with a friend? Help them get 30% off their first billing cycle with promo code Helms30.</i></span></p>

It's June, which is close enough to the season to start preseason content, at least in my mind. Our friends at Prep Redzone South Carolina started a fun series that we picked up on later in the offseason last year. We're bringing it back this season. Here, we're looking at several conferences to predict one player per team as their team MVP. Let's look at the Albemarle (AAC) 2A Conference.