Another season officially wrapped up over the weekend with the University Interscholastic League’s State Football Championship Games.

Congrats to the Newton Eagles and Beaumont West Brook Bruins for getting all the way to the ultimate State games.

In Orange County, it was quite a season for many players, especially those seniors that wrapped up a great time representing their respective schools.

Of course, the West Orange-Stark Mustangs, despite missing out on a State trip after making it four straight seasons, had another tremendous season for Coach Cornel Thompson.

The Mustangs stormed to yet another district championship and made it to the Class 4A Region III Division II Finals for the eighth consecutive year.

The Mustangs had some tremendous moments along the way. They defeated Silsbee in district play to claim the state’s all-time best winning percentage in history.

WO-S, with mainly a junior-laden team, opened the season 2-4 and faced some stout competition along the way. After getting that experience, they then took off on a superb seven-game winning streak, including a very hard-fought and dramatic win over Jasper in the regional semifinals before they eventually fell to Silsbee in a rain-soaked regional final.

The LC-M Bears got off to a slow start as well with a 1-4 non-district slate but caught fire with a nice district streak to grab the third-place playoff seed behind a nice passing game led by senior quarterback Adam Pope.

The Bridge City Cardinals battled hard for first-year coach Allen DeShazo as they definitely went through a youth movement. Expect the Cardinals to climb the ladder next season after they plugged a lot of sophomores and even freshmen into their starting lineup last season.

The Orangefield Bobcats started the season off 3-0 in non-district play but then suffered some tough losses in their new 3A district that barely kept them out of the playoffs. The district was tough for sure as East Chambers raced all the way to the regional finals and Woodville went three rounds deep. The Bobcats had some youngsters that saw valuable time, especially late in the season as they look to make a playoff push next season.

I just want to thank everyone that was involved to make our season happen including the skills of Caleb Adams, the masterful photo work of Mark Pachuca along with Dennis Sedtal, Charley Elkins, Chad Landry, Tommy Mann, Bill Dixon and Aaron Burke for helping with all of the stats.

So without further ado, here is the 2018 All-Orange Leader Football Team.

 

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Teshaun Teel, WO-S

OFFENSIVE MVP: Adam Pope, LC-M

DEFENSIVE MVP: Tyrone Brown, WO-S

CO-NEWCOMERS OF THE YEAR: Gunner Jones, Orangefield; Elijah Gales, WO-S

COACH OF THE YEAR: Cornel Thompson, WO-S

 

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Tyrone Wilson, WO-S

Running backs: Kavyn Cooper, WO-S; Brad Nunez, Vidor

Fullback: Blake Bradley, Orangefield

Tight end: Jackson Tims, Bridge City

Wide receivers: Brandon Pollock, LC-M; Jay’zn Robinson, WO-S

Offensive line: Colt Lebleu, LC-M; Darby Jones, WO-S; Jonah Landry, Orangefield; Quincy Ledet, WO-S; Manuel Gomez, Bridge City

Return specialist: Justin Sibley, WO-S

Kicker: Angel Ibarra, WO-S

 

DEFENSE

Defensive line: Blake Ferguson, LC-M; Steven Wilkerson, WO-S; Shemar Manaway, WO-S; Colby Gonzales, Orangefield; Ian Wooten, Vidor

Linebackers: Shawn McKay, LC-M; Lande Butler, WO-S; Ja’Marcus Ross, WO-S

Defensive backs: Renaldo Rose, WO-S; Ja’Vonn Ross, WO-S; Chase Broussard, Orangefield; Cade Brown, Orangefield

Punter: Kooper Abernathy, LC-M

 

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Cace Skinner, Bridge City

Running backs: Zach Dahlenburg, Vidor; Rylan Ply, Bridge City

Fullback: Andy Lara, Bridge City

Tight end: Grant Johnson, Vidor’

Wide receivers: Brettlin Wiley, WO-S; James Williams, LC-M

Offensive line: Carter Cates, LC-M; Ja’Corry Brady, WO-S; Courtney Davis, WO-S; Manuel Gomez, Bridge City; Ammon Hutson, Vidor

 

DEFENSE

Defensive line: Mathew Lopez, LC-M; Kevin Ross, Bridge City; Monteray Valladares, LC-M; Ja’Corry Brady, WO-S

Linebackers: Heston Puckett, Orangefield; Brett Moss, LC-M; Blake Bradley, Orangefield

Defensive backs: Josh Wright, Vidor; Ethan McCollum, LC-M; Deiondr’e Hawthorne, WO-S; Kaiden DuBose, Orangefield