PRZTN Class 5A POTY/Positional Awards

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The two state title competing teams in Page and Sevier Co. are well represented within our postseason player of the years honors with a Smoky Bear prospect taking home the top award. Come inside to see who took home our Class 5A Prep Redzone Tennessee POTY and positional awards for the 2025 season. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Player of the Year</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1142902"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-697a6008e0142"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Back to back years, Newman led his Smoky Bears team to the Class 5A title game and even though he came up short last Fall, this junior quarterback still had a sensational junior campaign. For the 2025 season, Newman threw the ball for 3,705 yards with 45 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. The Smoky Bears signal caller also had a 73% completion percentage while rushing for 124 yards and another three scores. Newman kept his team undefeated throughout the entire season until falling to Page in Chattanooga but all year long, this junior passer was near flawless, showing an improved skill set along with continuing to build his makeup as a winner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Offensive POTY</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1104268"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-697a6008e020c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Bobcats went 10-3 last year while making it to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs and a lot of the success was due to the emergence behind center from Long. This junior signal caller had a stellar junior year where he passed for 3,327 yards and 28 touchdowns while rushing for 1,286 yards and another 18 scores. Long produced a total of 46 touchdowns on the season and became a major catalyst behind the turn around season from the Bobcats. He also earned a place on the Mr. Football stage as a semi-finalist and will be a top contender to take the award home next year. Long also boosted his college stock in a big way and can keep pushing it higher with strong off-season development.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Defensive POTY</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1178947"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-697a6008e0281"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Playing his lone season last Fall with the Patriots, Grissom made a major impact and became a key force behind his team's 5A title run. Opposing offenses had a hard time dealing with Grissom as he generated 84 total tackles with 21 of them for loss along with 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 11 passes defended, 1 interception, 12 sacks and 2 defensive touchdowns on the year. The Pats edge rusher was an absolute menace that did a little bit of everything from rushing the backfield towards stopping the run and creating defensive scores for his team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Offensive Line Unit of the Year&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Page Patriots&nbsp; </strong>(Key Players: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402552' first='Jordan' last='Curll']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1695364' first='Sloan' last='Bass']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853121' first='Jacob' last='Rathbone']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='905242' first='Caleb' last='Coffman']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1570544' first='Preston' last='Ashmore']</strong>)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- The Patriots did not go 15-0 and win a state title last season without the stellar play up front from their offensive line. This might have been the best O-line unit of anybody throughout the Volunteer State for the 2025 season. Nobody could work past Curll at left tackle. Bass and Rathbone were two of the best interior O-line performers in the state last year. Coffman was consistent while Ashmore flashed big time play and upside. These five big men were near flawless all year long where the opposition had a hard time providing a pass rush against or pushing the line back in the run game. They were also the most consistent unit throughout the team and possibly the main piece towards earning a state championship.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1757105,"width":"318px","height":"auto","aspectRatio":"1.501511939105349","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/08/jcurll4.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-1757105" style="aspect-ratio:1.501511939105349;width:318px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Coach of the Year&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Charles Rathbone - Page</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- Going undefeated at 15-0 while winning the school's first ever football state championship, Coach Rathbone pushed all the right buttons last Fall to finally bring that elusive “Gold Ball” home, one he and his staff have been chasing for five years now. Coach Rathbone has won more games than any other coach in the state over the past five years while earning five straight region titles and taking his Patriots program to the 5A state title game, five times in a row. He did a great job of keeping his team together last season and finishing out the team's goal of becoming state champions. It might have been his best coaching job of his career and that's saying something with all the strong teams he has helped put together.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - - - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Class 5A Positional Awards</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(QB POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='693877' first='Cameron' last='Kruse'] - Page ‘27</strong>: Throwing for nearly 3,000 yards as a junior, Kruse had a strong debut season with the Patriots where he became the X-Factor behind his team's Class 5A state championship run. For the 2025 season, Kruse tossed 41 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions while having a 73% completion percentage and helped average 40 points per game throughout the Pats undefeated football year.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(RB POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='1585458' first='Tay' last='Starks'] - Munford ‘28: </strong>Whenever the ball touches his hands, Starks produces and that's what he did during his junior season. The Cougars ball carrier generated 1,606 yards on the season along with 19 touchdowns while averaging 8.8 yards per carry. Starks did all this work on 183 carries and defenses consistently focusing on stopping him game in and game out but yet he still produced.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(WR POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='284143' first='Bryson' last='Maddox'] - Clinton: </strong>This was a tough call to make between several strong options but I had to go with Maddox due to his impressive performance last Fall that occurred in only nine games. For the 2025 football year, the Dragons wideout produced 1,225 yards on 59 receptions while scoring 12 touchdowns and averaging 20.7 yards per catch. Maddox has done nothing but produce at a high level during his time at Clinton and will now run routes during his college days at MTSU.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(Co-OL POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='944767' first='Kamari' last='Blair'] - Kirkwood / [player_tooltip player_id='402530' first='Camden' last='Goforth'] - McMinn Co.: </strong>The hardest position to work through was the O-line as several prospects earned admiration here but in the end, Blair and Goforth both deserved top honors. These two were probably the most dominating O-linemen in the state for the ‘25 season where neither Blair or Goforth allowed a sack all year long. Both are signed to Power Four programs (Tennessee/West Virginia) and both have the upside to become multi-year, dominating starters over time.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1681234,"width":"230px","height":"auto","aspectRatio":"0.7500251483754149","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/05/kblair3.jpg?w=768" alt="" class="wp-image-1681234" style="aspect-ratio:0.7500251483754149;width:230px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(DL POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='1675657' first='Taydon' last='Russell'] - Lawrence Co.: </strong>Russell finished his high school career in a big way by taking his game to another level and displaying disruptive game play that should play well during his time at Lindsey Wilson. The Wildcats big man had a stellar senior year where he generated 74 tackles from his D-line position while creating 33 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 1 blocked punt, 2 blocked field goals and 10 sacks on the season.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(LB POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='2090376' first='Carson' last='Pearce'] - Knox. Halls ‘27: </strong>The Red Devils ended up with one of the better defensive units from the 5A ranks last Fall with Peace being a major factor behind those efforts. This East Tennessee backer had a coming out party during his junior year where he produced 137 total tackles with 23 of them for loss along with one forced fumble, two of them recovered and 7 sacks on the year.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(DB POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='540028' first='Knight' last='Wilson'] - Page: </strong>A multi-year starter and leader for his Patriots team, Wilson was a key piece in helping Page earn their first ever football state championship last Fall where he made a big impact on both sides of the ball. Wilson was a major player at receiver but it was his work at safety that made a difference last season and helped propel the Pats towards earning a “Gold Ball.” You will now see Wilson making plays in college next Fall at Air Force, where has a chance to see the field early.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>(ATH POTY) [player_tooltip player_id='2083569' first='Bryson' last='Headrick'] - Sevier Co.: </strong>Headrick was a two-way game changer throughout his senior year that saw him produce 1,200 yards receiving on 73 catches and 17 touchdowns while having 25 tackles with two of them for loss on defense along with one blocked field goal, four passes defended and five interceptions. Whenever the Smoky Bears needed a big play to happen, Headrick answered the call and did so at a high level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2045214,"width":"266px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/11/bheadrick.jpg?w=700" alt="" class="wp-image-2045214" style="width:266px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->