INDEPENDENT COACH OF THE YEARBy Scott RouchColumbia County Bureau

In his four years as head football coach at Augusta Christian, Keith Walton’s teams have improved each season, culminating in an undefeated (13-0) 2012 season.It was the first perfect season in the school’s history and the team went on to win the South Carolina In-dependent School Association Class AAA state title, earning Walton The Augusta Chronicle’s Independent coach of the year.

His mantra at the start of the season was “get better every day” and the team took it to heart.“I’ve never been around a group that bought in,” Walton said. “To see the kids grab it and do it, it’s an amazing thing. I have to attribute it to the young men I get to coach.”With a four year win-loss record of 33-13, Walton has been using lessons learned along the way.He attributes much of his success to Augusta Chris-tian. He graduated from the school in 1991, attended college for a year, came back to the school one day to

Alex HaythornThomas Jefferson

Ethan LynchWestminster Schools

Nick PullenBrentwood Academy

Hunter BaileyEdmund Burke Academy

Fifth NewtonBriarwood Academy

Nate PylantAugusta Prep

Lane ChristianEdmund Burke Academy

Garrett RiggsBrentwood Academy

Zack SmithBrentwood Academy

Austin DanielEdmund Burke Academy

Hagen WadeEdmund Burke Academy

Jon Jon EvansEdmund Burke Academy

Tory MimbsBrentwood Academy

Jackson WilliamsBriarwood Academy

Michael BridgesThomas Jefferson

Offense

QB Tyler RobersonAugusta Christian

RB Nick PullenBrentwood

RB Thomas BanksAugusta Christian

WR Nick FortenberryAugusta Christian

WR Nate PylantAugusta Prep

TE Taylor RobertsonWestminster

OL Alex HaythornThomas Jefferson

OL Jackson WilliamsBriarwood

OL Matt Herzwurm Augusta Christian

OL Zack SmithBrentwood

OL Hunter BaileyEdmund Burke

ATH Charlie Reid IIICurtis Baptist

K Tory MimbsBrentwood

Defense

DL Austin DanielEdmund Burke

DL Sean SweetingAugusta Christian

DL Terin QuarlesAugusta Christian

LB Ethan LynchWestminster

LB Fifth Newton Briarwood

LB Gaige GilbertAugusta Christian

LB Lane ChristianEdmund Burke

DB Hagen WadeEdmund Burke

DB Michael BridgesThomas Jefferson

DB Garrett RiggsBrentwood

DB Kobie BrinsonAugusta Christian

P Jon Jon EvansEdmund Burke

* Not all photos were available at time of production.

INDEPENDENT FIRST TEAM

INDEPENDENT PLAYER OF THE YEARBy Scott RouchColumbia County Bureau

Augusta Christian quarterback Tyler Roberson did just about everything for the Lions during the 2012 South Carolina Independent School Association season.In his senior season at the helm of the Lions’ triple-option attack, the six-foot-four Roberson accounted for more than 3,000 yards of total offense. He rushed for 1,017 yards and 24 touchdowns while throwing for 2,018 yards and another 18 touchdowns with just six interceptions, leading Augusta Christian to its first undefeated season (13-0) and the SCISA Class AAA state championship.That made Roberson an easy choice for The Augusta Chronicle’s Independent player of the year.While honored to receive the award, Roberson spread the credit to his teammates.“I owe all the credit to the O-line and really Thomas (Banks) and Sean (Sweeting) and Nick Fortenberry because without their big-play capability I wouldn’t be able to have mine,” he said. “It all comes back to the team. I mean they really gave me those numbers, I didn’t do it all by myself.”Winning the championship was surreal for Roberson at the time, but a few weeks later it has all sunk in.“It was like I was in a dream and just running around and hugging all these people and my momma and I look back at it now and I realize what we actually did,” Roberson said. “How rare it is to go 13-0 and win a state title? I mean, it’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of and prayed about. I have no regrets at all and I wouldn’t trade this season for anything in this world.” During Roberson’s first three years as quarterback, the Lions had no backup so head coach Keith Walton was reluctant to call running plays for him. With Rob-

erson in his senior season, and a backup quarterback developing, Walton loosened the reins.“I told him at the end of spring football that there would be no quivers left in the arrow,” Walton said. “We sat down and he agreed with me and we were on the same page and I said OK. That first game, he put up numbers like I was playing Tecmo Bowl. I just said this is going to be pretty fun.”That first game against Wilson Hall, Roberson rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner with 53 seconds left in the game, while passing for 176 yards.He said his signature moment came in that game when he went back to pass, had to reverse field four or five times before finding running back Thomas Banks downfield to gain a key first down.“I think it just shows how hard I worked and really tried to improve the talents God’s given me and just the perseverance I’ve had while I’ve been here,” Rob-erson said. Roberson’s four-year career at Augusta Christian al-most didn’t happen.“The first year, I was actually thinking about leav-ing the school and going to my area public school, ‘cause it wasn’t clicking,” said Roberson. “The mo-ment I heard Coach Walton was named head coach before going into my freshman year, I was sold. I was in on that boat from day one. The past four years have been absolutely amazing. We’ve gone through so much together. So many good times, and a few bad, but I wouldn’t trade Coach Walton for any head coach, for any college coach around.”Next year he’ll have a chance to make that compari-son. He verbally committed to the University of Ten-nessee-Chattanooga Mocs after a visit to the school Dec. 1.

“They gave me a full ride and I couldn’t turn that down,” Roberson said. The Mocs team runs virtually the same offense with much of the same verbiage.While he’ll compete for a starting job, Roberson may not see the field right away as the Mocs return quar-terback Jacob Huesman, who set or tied nearly ev-ery team freshman offensive record in 2012 and was fourth in national Freshman of the Year voting. Roberson met Huesman on his school visit.“He’s a dude of great character,” Roberson said. “I can really learn from him off the field and on the field. I’m really looking forward to spending the next few years with him.”

help the head coach with a drill and never left.“I got bit out here that day and I have literally been here ever since,” Walton said.He did finish his college education, earning a busi-ness management degree from Southern Wesleyan University in 2003.”It was huge,” he said. “I knew I’ve got to get a de-gree in order to actually get totally involved with what I need to do here. I thought that was crucial.” His first major decision in 2009 was to go with a core group of players that began as freshmen. It included

running back Sean Sweeting, lineman Matt Herzwurm and quarterback Tyler Roberson.His biggest decision entering the 2012 season was to call running plays for Roberson, who he kept under wraps out of necessity for the first three years.“Literally, no one else took snaps,” Walton said. “Talk about rolling the dice – no one else took snaps, at all. This is the first year anybody else took snaps at practice.”Roberson responded by rushing for over 1,000 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2012.

Roberson is appreciative of what Walton has meant to him on and off the field.“I love him to death,” Roberson said. “He’s taught me how to become a godly man. I really appreciate Coach Walton.”Despite his success at the high school level, Walton isn’t considering leaving his alma mater for life as a college coach.“It’s tough, I don’t want to do that,” Walton said. “I don’t have the temperament for that. I’m too much of a homebody.”

GEORGIA FIRST TEAM

By Scott MichauxStaff Writer

LINCOLNTON, Ga. – When presented with the in-formation that he’d been selected as The Augusta Chronicle’s All-Area Georgia Coach of the Year for the first time since 2005, Larry Campbell instinctively rat-tled off all the places we should have looked instead.Matt LeZotte at Aquinas. Milan Turner at Thomson. Eric Parker at Burke County. Chris Kelly at Glascock County.“Super years,” Campbell said of his peers’ perfor-mances, as if by association his 11-2 season at Lin-coln County was somehow ordinary.

Of course, Campbell has routinely made 11-win sea-sons in Lincoln County ordinary. Below average, ac-tually, since the Red Devils average 11.46 wins in his 41 seasons at the helm. It takes something for the winningest coach in Georgia history (117 more wins than second place) with 11 state titles to rise to the top of the conversation.So what made this team that lost 10-7 to Dooly Coun-ty in the Class A public school semifinals stand out?“I feel like this team improved from game one to game 13 as much as any,” Campbell said of his squad that won 10 straight and claimed a 33rd region title after losing in the second week to Class AA rival Washing-ton-Wilkes.

GEORGIA COACH OF THE YEAR

Avery ArcherWashington County

Donquell GreenBurke County

Zireycus LetmanLincoln County

Jordan DavisThomson

Chris WashingtonBurke County

Earl CobbGlenn Hills

Michael SelbyWashington County

Bernard DawsonThomson

Damien FarmerJefferson County

Jalen FranklinLincoln County

Deonte LatimerWashington County

LaDerrick HammondJefferson County

Deion DukesBurke County

Joseph ArdreyRichmond Academy

Chris JordanThomson

Kendall ReynoldsThomson

Torrie BattleThomson

DefenseDL Quin LatimerWashington County

DL Bernard DawsonThomson

DL Cameron WaltonJosey

LB Chris WashingtonBurke County

LB Damien FarmerJefferson County

LB Javeon BrighamLakeside

LB Tomarkus YoungWashington-Wilkes

DB Zireycus LetmanLincoln County

DB George MyersLaney

DB Jalen FranklinLincoln County

DB LaDerrick Hammond Jefferson County

P Jacob RiznerEvans

* Not all photos were available at time of production.

OffenseQB Donquell Green

Burke County

RB Brendan DouglasAquinas

RB Chris Jordan Thomson

WR Deonte Latimer Washington County

WR Earl Cobb Glenn Hills

TE Jordan Davis Thomson

OL Kendall Reynolds Thomson

OL Michael Selby Washington County

OL Deion Dukes Burke County

OL Will Jones Richmond Academy

OL Avery Archer Washington County

ATH Torrie Battle Thomson

K Joseph Ardrey Richmond Academy

GEORGIA PLAYER OF THE YEARBy Wayne StaatsStaff Writer

If Donquell Green can sidestep opponents as a quarterback and score touchdowns, there’s no reason he can’t do the same as a defender — or anywhere else he’s put.As he sees it, playmakers just make big plays. So Green aspires to do so, whether he’s taking the snap from the center or waiting to catch the ball on a kickoff.This season, Green pro-duced highlights at ev-ery position he played, though most came as the quarterback for the Burke County football team. A junior, Green rushed for 1,827 yards, passed for 1,399 yards and did a little bit of everything to lead the Bears to the Class AAAA state quar-terfinals. For his impres-sive season, Green is The Augusta Chronicle’s Georgia football player of the year.“If I’m going to make a

big play on the offensive side of the ball, I should be able to make a big play on the defensive side of the ball,” Green said. “That’s what Divi-sion I players do.”Green was the backup quarterback behind Corey Mayton in 2011, when the Bears won the Class AAA state cham-pionship. This fall, Green had the job with Mayton gone, and Green was un-stoppable for most of the season.Against Cross Creek, for example, Green account-ed for five touchdowns: three rushing scores, an interception return and a passing score in the 55-6 win.But that wasn’t the only huge game. In the first round of the Class AAAA state playoffs, Green rushed for three touch-downs, threw for one and also had a 98-yard kick-off return against Perry.Pick any game, really, and similar statlines keep showing up.

Going into the season of-fensively, Green wanted to work on his throws. With his blazing speed, Green was a known threat as a runner. But to stop defenses from stacking the box or using blitzes to keep him con-tained, he had to get bet-ter as a passer.He’s still not where he wants to be, but Green improved to become a powerful dual-threat quarterback.With that progression, Green had plenty of passing touchdowns to go along with the rushes and other scores.But one kind of touch-down is his favorite — the kickoff return.“The crowd’s pumped; everybody is hyped for the kickoff. The thought of the kicker having the guts to kick it to me, that’s what gets me,” Green said. “Everybody’s screaming on both sides. It’s just the best feeling ever.”

This was hardly Campbell’s most gifted team. And it was definitely not his most experienced.“We were down to four sophomores starting on the lines who should have been playing JV in a normal year,” Campbell said. “We had to cancel our JV schedule and we’ve never done that.”Campbell arguably got as much as he could out of this team, yet it’s the premature ending that still sticks in his craw.“I think that’s one of the few times I can remember getting beat by a team I thought we were better than,” Campbell said. “It hurts. We had so many things go wrong. You don’t get over that feeling until Christmas. Hurting right now.”

The Red Devils dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone. They dropped a potential pick-six interception. Worst of all, they suffered a rare blocked kick on a point-after length field goal attempt on the last play of the half that Dooly returned for its only touchdown and a 10-0 lead.“Halftime was like talking to zombies,” Campbell said. “Seemed like they took all the air out of us.”It’s that frustration and regret that keeps Campbell doing what he does at age 64. Every year he’s asked how much longer he’ll keep coaching, and every year he insists he won’t overstay his welcome.“Probably until I lose that aching in your stomach that you kind of crave,” he said. “I don’t know how to

explain it. When it starts getting where it really don’t bother me to lose, it’s time for me to get out.”Getting out has never really been a thought ever since he went straight from graduating at the University of Georgia to being a Red Devils assistant under Thom-as Bunch in 1970. Two years later he become head coach.“I love high school football,” Campbell said. “I wouldn’t do nothing else if I had my time to go back over again and they told me I could be a medical doc-tor. I would still choose coaching. I don’t regret doing it one iota.”

SOUTH CAROLINA PLAYER OF THE YEAR

By Wayne StaatsStaff WriterBrian Neal saw the potential, all the desire and talent at McCormick. He also saw the school as a way to return closer to home.Neal, who went to Ninety Six and was later the head coach there, was at North Myrtle Beach before he took the McCormick head coaching job prior to the 2011 season.His first year was a good one, as the Chiefs won a state playoff game. But this fall was even greater: McCormick advanced to the Class A Division II

state championship game, finishing 11-3. Because of the successful sea-son, Neal is The Augusta Chronicle’s South Carolina football coach of the year.“It was fun, obviously. The team bought in early — actually bought in last year,” Neal said. “They believed they could get there.”Neal thinks the first-round win against Great Falls in 2011 helped make this year’s run possible. He said the win proved to his players that there was a chance to advance in the playoffs. Neal also said the 27-13 victory probably impassioned this year’s team to do even better.

By Wayne StaatsStaff Writer

NORTH AUGUSTA — It was easy to know when Trey Morgan was in the game on offense — someone just had to look at the other team.With Morgan in, players would move around and defenses would adjust.The opponent was deter-mined to stop him; it didn’t always work out that way.“It was like, ‘Oh.’ People would change defenses on us. That’s a big deal,” North

Augusta football coach Dan Pippin said. “We put him in if we needed a first down, and he led the team in receptions. If we wanted to run the option every play, he would have been the quarterback.”And then there’s Morgan’s defense.Morgan had 119 tackles and three interceptions, rushed for 226 yards and 10 touchdowns and had 411 receiving yards and five scores to get Team MVP honors. Morgan is also The Augusta Chronicle’s South Carolina football player of the year.He led the Yellow Jackets to the Class AAAA, Division II state quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Greenwood 34-32 in the closing seconds.Still, the 9-4 season meant North Augusta has won 44 games the past four sea-sons.“We know we have guys who come in here every year and work hard,” Mor-

gan said. “So you just keep having good seasons.”Running back DeVonte Pressley rightfully got big yards on offense — 1,940 rushing yards, in fact — but Morgan got his, needing only 38 rushes to get those 10 touchdowns. He would take snaps and go through massive holes opened up by the Yellow Jackets’ line.Factoring in his receiving totals, Morgan scored a touchdown every 4.7 times he touched the ball on of-fense as he would get the call to finish drives. With the offensive usage joining his starring role on defense, Morgan eclipsed the 100 plays-per-game mark as the season got older.Though Morgan’s high school career is over, Pip-pin expects Morgan to find success in college. After that, Pippin thinks even more success will follow.“I wish he would get into teaching and coaching, but he’s probably going to be some business guy who’ll make a lot of money. He’ll be my boss some day,” Pippin said with a big grin.

SOUTH CAROLINA COACH OF THE YEAR

The Upper State champions had veterans Adrien Peterson, a star line-backer, and Kenneth Gunter, a dominant defensive end, to spearhead the breakthrough season.Not surprisingly, with those two and other players, Neal’s team did it with defense — just the way the coach likes it. For the 14-game season, the Chiefs gave up single-digit points five times. In the three postseason wins, McCormick allowed 13.7 points per game.Also, while McCormick lost to Cross 38-26 in the state final, Neal takes pride in his team’s effort. The Chiefs actually fell behind 20-0 before mak-

ing Cross work in a high-scoring second half.Now Neal’s team hopes to have another long playoff act next season. There will be new faces in spots, but with the JV team getting a winning season, Neal isn’t lowering the demands.“They’ll have the same expectations to carry on the tradition — or hopefully what will become the tradition,” he said.

Adrien PetersonMcCormick High

Shakur ChisolmBarnwell High

DeAndre SchoultzSouth Aiken

Taylor HearnWilliston-Elko High

James JacksSilver Bluff

Jahmaya JenkinsWilliston-Elko High

Justin DaySouth Aiken

Matt AlbertsonSouth Aiken

Parker CollinsNorth Augusta

RJ TylerWagener-Salley

Gyasi YeldellSilver Bluff

Pedro ZambranoSilver Bluff

Defense

DL R.J. Tyler Wagener-Salley

DL Gyasi Yeldell Silver Bluff

DL Brandon Maddox North Augusta

DL Jahmaya Jenkins Williston-Elko

LB Garret Boatwright Midland Valley

LB Adrien Peterson McCormick

LB Kris Howard North Augusta

DB Hykeem Brooks Strom Thurmond

DB Demetrius Leysath Strom Thurmond

DB Devin Grimes North Augusta

DB Shakur Chisolm Barnwell

P Matthew Albertson South Aiken

Offense

QB Jauveer HammondStrom Thurmond

RB DeVonte PressleyNorth Augusta

RB Darius HammondStrom Thurmond

WR Ty BrooksStrom Thurmond

WR DeAndre SchoultzSouth Aiken

WR Deondre BaskettFox Creek

OL James JacksSilver Bluff

OL Jake WhitleyNorth Augusta

OL Taylor HearnWilliston-Elko

OL Justin DaySouth Aiken

OL Parker CollinsNorth Augusta

ATH Trey MorganNorth Augusta

K Pedro ZambranoSilver Bluff

SOUTH CAROLINA FIRST TEAM

* Not all photos were available at time of production.