A.J. Mooneyham, a senior, was named Most Valuable Player of the 2015 DeKalb County High School Football Team during the annual Awards Banquet held Saturday night at the Smithville First Baptist Church Life Enrichment Center building. The awards were sponsored by Liberty State Bank.
The MVP trophy was presented to Mooneyham by Coach Steve Trapp. ” He started out as a running back and then moved around and did a lot of different things for us but for his career he rushed the football for 108 times for 540 yards and 11 touchdowns. Keep in mind he got moved around a lot. He wasn’t solely a running back for his whole career. He had 39 receptions for 351 yards and four touchdowns. Return yardage. He had 13 returns, punting and kickoff returns for 266 yards. He did a lot of different things for us in his career. Defensive stats. He had 209 total tackles including 19 for a loss, one safety, seven interceptions, five deflected passes, six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and four blocked extra points or field goals,” said Coach Trapp.
“In 2013 he was named 2nd Team All-District in 8AA. He was voted by his team as DeKalb County High School Defensive Back of the Year. In 2014 he was 1st Team All District in 8 AA. He was named DCHS Linebacker of the Year. In 2015 he had 11 receptions for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He had 57 rushes for 239 yards and seven touchdowns. A.J. received All Upper Cumberland 2nd Team Defensive Back, All Region Most Outstanding Defensive Back and 1st Team All Region for Region 4AAA. He’s had a pretty good career for us,” Coach Trapp said.
The Tigers finished the season in November with an overall record of 7-4 and another appearance in the state play-offs. It was the fifth consecutive year the Tigers earned a berth in the state play-offs and their seventh appearance in the last eight years. The Tigers lost in the first round of the play-offs to the Chattanooga Christian Chargers 23-22 in Smithville.
Meanwhile, Carlee White, a senior, was named Most Valuable Cheerleader. The presentation was made by Cheer Coaches Amanda Fuller and Sonya House. “She was an All American for two years. She received the highest score for two years. She helped us plan every single pep rally. She has a true gift for choreography, putting together dances and putting things to music. Cheerleading is her life. She has done this competitively. She knows what she is doing and works as hard as everyone else. She did something this year that has never been done before. She was nominated for the TSSAA All State Cheerleading Team. You have to be selected to even try out for this team. She was selected to try out and was one of only eighteen cheerleaders in the state of Tennessee chosen to cheer for the Tennessee East-West game. She is extremely talented. She is driven. She has great determination and work ethic. She is just a wonderful example of what a cheerleader should be,” said Coach Fuller
Other individual Football Player Awards are as follows:
Offensive Player- Steven Jennings
Offensive Lineman- Luke Green
Offensive Back- Christian Pruitt
Receiver- Isaiah Jones
Defensive Player- Jesse Smith
Defensive Lineman- Tayvian Nokes
Linebacker- Jordan Whitehead
Defensive Back- Riley Sexton
Special Teams Player-Matthew Poss
Most Improved- Braxton Linder
MVP- A.J. Mooneyham
Coach Clay Edwards Memorial Tiger Pride Award-Eli Cross
Individual Cheer Awards are as follows:
Best Stunts- Lexie Bates
Most Spirited- Hannah Walker
Best Jumps- Kaitlyn Roller
Best Dance-Rachel Fuson
Most Improved- Shaunta Koegler
MVC- Carlee White
DEAR (Dedication, Enthusiasm, Attitude, and Responsibility)-Taylor Marshall
REGION FOOTBALL AWARDS:
Offensive MVP: Steven Jennings
Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Eli Cross
Outstanding Defensive Back: A.J. Mooneyham
Outstanding Tight End: Christian Pruitt
Outstanding Punter: Matthew Poss
All Region 1st Team:
Riley Sexton
Jordan Whitehead
Jesse Smith
Luke Green
Tayvian Nokes
All Region 2nd Team:
Isaiah Jones
Gage Delape
Devin Zaderiko
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