All-West Metro football team
I liked Boneman’s idea of an all-zone team, so here are your All-West Metro selections honoring the players from Mustang, Yukon and the Putnam City schools.
Instead of honorable mention, I went with a second team. No particular reason why. Just seemed like a neat idea. Don’t assume that this was easy. There were a lot of talented, deserving players that didn’t get on the list, but you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. That resulted in several tough decisions.
Offensive Player of the Year: Daniel Farrow, Mustang
I didn’t watch every RB in the state, but I saw most of the good ones and I know I didn’t see one better than Farrow. As Glidden once pointed out to me, the 60-yarders weren’t the impressive runs. Those were the 6-yarders when two guys hit him at the line of scrimmage and a third or fourth hopped on as he carried the first two. I actually considered Glidden for this honor, because he impacts the game in more ways, scoring TDs on receptions, rushes, kick returns and interceptions. But Farrow’s ability to take over a game and still be productive when everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball lifted him to the top.
Defensive Player of the Year: Dillon Schooley, PC North
Why this kid doesn’t have a half-dozen Division I offers, I can’t understand. He has the speed, the size and the intangibles to play D-I. He can play cornerback or safety and return punts and kicks. And he’s a gamer. You couldn’t watch a PC North game without noticing No. 16. Maybe he’s not quite a Big 12-caliber DB, but he’s D-I. Dowty, with the bulky sack numbers, was the next-best contender for this spot
Coach of the Year: Todd Wilson, Yukon
Ty Prestidge at Mustang and Bob Wilson at PC North each had to replace a lot of starters and kept their teams at a playoff level, but Todd Wilson took a team with some new faces at key positions and a growing stigma of not being able to make the playoffs, and got them to Week 11 for the first time since 1998.
First Team Offense
QB Corben Jones, Yukon: Right off the top, this was one of the hardest decisions. It came down to Jones and Jace James of Putnam City North, but Jones’ efficiency and leadership in getting the Millers to the playoffs was huge. Jones had slightly better passing numbers and led his team in rushing.
RB Daniel Farrow, Mustang: Had he played a full season, we’d be talking about one of the greatest years ever from a Class 6A back.
RB Dre Holman, PC North: Only a sophomore, he’s a hard runner with a great future.
WR David Glidden, Mustang: The scariest player in the state with the ball in his hands.
WR Antonio Johnson, PC North: Didn’t make a lot of flashy plays, but he was consistent and reliable.
WR Kollin Retter, Yukon: 100 percent pure football player with a good toughness/speed combo.
OL Bronson Irwin, Mustang: An all-around lineman — size, speed and smarts.
OL Mason Mathews, Yukon: Played all five spots on the line. And played them all well.
OL Taylor Prather, PC North: Played through pain as a leader on the Panthers’ underrated line.
OL Cody Murray, Mustang: Gave the Broncos a great pair of bookend tackles.
OL Jordan Anderson, PC West: Showed his talent against some of the best in 6A.
K Kris Godwin, Yukon: Hit some big kicks for the Millers with good range.
KR David Anwanwan, PC: An early injury and offensive struggles prevented him from showing his full talent, but he was dangerous.
First Team Defense
DL Alex Dowty, Mustang: Call him the Sackmaster, with 16 this year and 33 the last two years.
DL Brandon Banta, Yukon: A beast and a bruiser wherever he played, FB or DT.
DL Patrik Jones, PC: A true team player and one of the best on a solid PC defense that was sometimes overlooked.
DL Jeremy Tillman, PC North: The Panther D had its struggles, but Tillman held up his end.
LB Blake Wood, Mustang: A force in the box, despite missing a few games.
LB Alex Shannon, PC: Everything I said about Patrik Jones I could say about Shannon.
LB Ryan Tester, PC West: A linebacker in a DB’s body, he was one of the top tacklers in the state.
DB Dillon Schooley, PC North: Always performed at crunch time, whether at DB or WR (just ask Southmoore)
DB Braden Wiseley, Mustang: Though others got more attention, Wiseley always showed up to work for the Broncos.
DB Hunter Bohannan, Yukon: Extremely important to the Miller D in both run and pass coverage.
DB Antonio Jenkins, PC North: Big hitter didn’t make many mistakes at free safety.
P Kevin Cabello, PC North: How does the All-State kicker end up as the All-West Metro punter? For one, there weren’t any great punters in the West Metro, and Cabello was as good as or better than any of them when he started punting late in the season. Also, guys like Glidden and Retter punted for their teams, and they’re already on the first team. Godwin was more deserving as a kicker than any of the other guys at punter, so in an effort to honor the best players, Cabello ends up here.
PR Dominique Taplin, PC West: Can do a little bit of everything, and was a particularly good safety.
Second Team Offense
QB Jace James, PC North
RB Terry Jones, Yukon
RB Johnny Smith, PC West
WR Kaiden Horn, Yukon
WR Jon Luckey, Mustang
WR Covin Conrady, PC North
OL Daniel Burton, PC North
OL Brian Dean, Mustang
OL Logan LaPorte, Yukon
OL Mason Haun, Yukon
OL Scott Lemaster, PC
K Carson Lynn, PC
KR Casey Curtis, PC
Second Team Defense
DL DaShon Lovelace, PC
DL Clinton Alonzo, PC
DL Cory Cox, Mustang
DL Jake Doyle, Yukon
LB Ricky Johnson, PC North
LB Blake Moss, Mustang
LB Justus Elliott, Mustang
DB Casey Coyle, PC North
DB Andy Vowell, Yukon
DB Devon Bruner, PC
DB Atavian Blakeley, PC West
– Scott Wright, swright@opubco.com
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Farrow is awesome but when Mustang went to basically an all running attack they lost their identity, they lost that fear they put into defenses and they lost Glidden on offense who really is the best threat on their team. When they played Southmoore and in the playoffs they relied too much on their rushing game if they would have stayed balanced keeping Glidden and Wisely the other WR involved in the offense they would have been tougher to defend and would have scored more points. Ask any Southmoore defensive player they were happy when Farrow kept getting the ball they didn’t have to worry about Glidden and their lethal passing attack–look at the Norman North game when Mustang thrashed North’s defense with Glidden and the passing attack they were unstoppable. Glidden is the best player on that team.