Crowning the year's top gridiron performers
by Pete Cunningham
*As printed October 31, 2007 in The Homer Index 

The football season has officially come to a close, and, sadly, I have to find something to do with my life on Friday night again. Before being forced to reconnect with my social side, allow me to present “Pete’s Playmakers,” a compilation of the top gridiron performers from the 2007 Litchfield and Homer football teams.

Coach of the year award: Coach Joe Williamson (Litchfield)

It seems an obvious choice to go with Williamson for coach of the year, given the Terriers’ 5-4 record compared to Homer’s 2-7. Couple this with the fact that it was Williamson’s first year and that Litchfield was an abysmal 1-8 in 2006, and again the choice seems clear. This is far from the case given his Homer counterpart. 

True, Rob Heeke’s squad missed the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and very much had a disappointing year, especially on the defensive side of the ball. But, high school coaching is about much more than simply wins and losses. Heeke’s squad may have lost the majority of their games, but the coach himself never lost his players. They never showed an ounce of quit, which is a credit to Heeke and his staff’s commitment to character development. 

Back to Williamson, who did more with a 24 man roster than most coaches do with twice that. By the midway point of the season, Williamson was working with about 19 healthy players. Those relegated to the sideline included first and second string running backs Kory Kidder and Matt Chamberlain, and arguably Litchfield’s best raw talent in lineman Terry Lawler. It’s not a criticism but merely a statement of fact that many of Litchfield’s players belonged on JV where they could have developed against players their own age, and size. 

Despite these limitations, Litchfield finished one win shy of the playoffs, largely due to Williamson’s offensives schemes and demanding the most out of every player who donned the red and white, making him my choice for coach of the year. 

Individual performance of the year: Matt Plemmons (Homer), Homer vs. Concord, October 5, 32 carries for 429 yards.

A cynic might point to the fact that Concord is just a flat-out bad team. They haven’t won a game in more than three years, and when you see them play it’s pretty obvious why. 

That would overlook the fact that countless running backs have gone up against similarly horrid defenses since the MHSAA’s founding in 1925, yet only nine have ever bested Plemmons’ total. So give credit where credit’s due in recognizing that the Big Eight and Homer High School record-breaking performance was one for the ages and deserving of praise. 

Plemmons pounded away at the Yellow Jacket defense and, despite a bad case of cramps brought on by an unseasonably humid October night, turned in a jaw-dropping performance.

Offensive player of the year: Brian McIntosh, receiver (Litchfield)

There were a lot of players to choose from in this category, most notably McIntosh’s quarterback Mark Schneider. Homer had a plethora of offensive weapons as well, particularly Plemmons who had 854 rushing yards on the season even after missing a game and half with a concussion. His backfield partner Jordan Robinson also had impressive numbers with 523 yards rushing and a team high 74 points scored. 

No one, however, had the flat out nastiness of McIntosh, who would have caught BBs in the dark if Schneider was shooting them in his direction. When the senior was split out wide, I would simply march 30 yards down the field and wait for the Kodak moment to unravel. 

The refs should have checked his gloves for Superglue with some of the grabs that kid made, making him an easy choice for the honor. 

Defensive player of the year: Jimmy Hawkins, linebacker (Litchfield)

Although Homer linebacker David Miller had substantially more tackles - 99 to Hawkins’ *75 - it would be difficult to give the defensive player of the year award to a player on a team that surrendered an average of 41.56 points per game. Hawkins may have had fewer total tackles, but they had an outright ferociousness to them that catapulted him to the top of the defensive performers list. Plus, the Terriers only surrendered an average of 11.4 points in their five victories, making Hawkins’ bone-jarring hits more essential to his team’s overall success, adding to their significance. 

 

There’s no “I” in team award: Mason Novess, QB (Homer)

Novess stepped in when the chips were down for the Trojans. The senior wide receiver had sights on the school’s career receiving record when the season began, but his hopes of reaching the mark were all but crushed along with quarterback Zach Allen’s collarbone in the second game of the year.

Mason was forced to make the switch to QB and with it eliminated the Trojans’ best downfield threat. Teams stacked the box and were able to beat up on Novess because - without him out wide or Allen under center - the offense became very one dimensional. 

He took more than his fair share of lumps and guided his team through a very disappointing seven loss campaign. Through it all, you may have been able to find better quarterbacks on the field most Fridays, but I’d challenge anyone to show me a greater leader than the Trojans’ converted signal caller. 

Injury of the year: Zach Allen, broken collarbone (Homer)

This is not as much of an award as much as it is recognition of the devastation the team suffered from Zach’s absence. A strong case may be made for Litchfield’s trio of Chamberlain, Kidder and Lawler, but it is weakened by the fact that Litchfield’s four losses were by 51, 49, 27 and 33 points respectively. It’s doubtful any of those players’ presence or absence made too much of a difference in any of those games.

Homer’s contests against Springport, Quincy and Athens, however (losses of 11, 7 and 6 points) were very much winnable games. With Allen in the lineup, the Trojans should have been able to win every one of them, as his absence on both sides of the ball was easily a 10 point swing, maybe more.

“High fiveable” moment of the year: **Alex Cornish (Litchfield), Litchfield vs. Waldron, October 12, wedge buster

With the game still tied at seven in the first half, Cornish rushed downfield on a kickoff as if the Waldron returner had just stole his lunch money. He single-handedly blew up the Waldron wedge, making two would-be blockers and the ball carrier wish they had unplugged their alarm clocks that morning. The hit echoed into the stands, as did the eruption of the Litchfield sideline. It appeared, for the time being, that the Terriers might be able to ride that momentum wave all the way to the playoffs.

Waldron soon took over en route to a 34-7 drubbing, but that couldn’t take away from the fact that the hit had made every redblooded football fan at Simpson field that night look search desperately for a high five partner.

The bottom line

As for standout linemen and performances, let’s face it, the big men in the trenches don’t get - or need - accolades. They’re mean, ugly, smelly brutes who will spit, kick, claw and bite opponents to protect they’re pretty-boy teammates. While backs and receivers get their names and pictures in the paper every week, lineman can take solace in the fact that without them, the offensive explosions that make headlines simply wouldn’t happen, and therein lies their award. Always keep in mind, however, that behind every great man, is a great woman, and in front of every great back is a better line.

 

Stars on the rise: Calvin Bugbee and Zach Nipper, (Litchfield Middle School)

In the race to puberty that is middle school football, this quarterback-wide receiver combo connected on deep routes uncharacteristic of players their age and size. Seventh and eighth grade football is normally a matter of handing the ball off to the player who already has to shave, and watching him plow over his squeaky-voiced counterparts.

Watching Bugbee sling the ball to Nipper in an unprecedented aerial attack was like witnessing someone re-invent the wheel. Look for these two to make a mark at the next level in years to come.

With all the winners crowned the only question remaining is what am I supposed to do with all this free time on Friday nights? How long until basketball season starts?

*Further review of Hawkins' statistics revealed he actually had 91 tackles. He also had two blocked punts, an interception, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a safety. Kid's a beast.

**Misidentified in original article as Sam Cornish, a member of Litchfield's volleyball team.