County lands 10 all-stars
- Updated: October 25, 2020
Ohatchee, Wellborn each land 3 players on North roster, Wellborn’s Smith (he’d make 11) coaching Dec. 18 game in Mobile
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
If he were so inclined, Wellborn coach Jeff Smith could almost start a team entirely of Calhoun County players when he directs the North squad in this year’s 62nd North-South All-Star Football Classic.
The county has 10 players on the North roster for this year’s game, Dec. 18 at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium. With many of them two-way players from Class 3A Region 5, Smith could put an all-Calhoun County team on the field at one time, a testament to the county’s overall strength and abundance of talent.
The North squad was finalized last Tuesday but released by the AHSAA Sunday. More than 200 players were nominated.
“I don’t think this area has ever had that many,” Smith said. “I try to keep up with the all-star teams every year but I doubt we’ve ever had 10. The last couple years we had some really good football teams up here; look at how many teams went to the semifinals last year and how many are doing well this year.
“I advocated hard for them. I think they need recognition. I wasn’t the final say on this – there were about 15 of us in on it – but the one thing I was able to do was the ones I knew about I was really able to talk about them. All those kids other than the young man from Oxford I’ve seen play personally.
“It ain’t like I put them on the team because I like them. We put them on the team because we felt they’re some of the best from this area … There will be 37 players from the North and 37 from the South. With recruiting as it’s been with COVID we feel all these young men are going to get looked at.”
Last year’s game had six Calhoun County players on the original roster. The game was canceled due to COVID-19, but Smith and his all-star coaching staff were retained for this year’s game.
The 10 players from Calhoun County on this year’s roster represent five playoff-bound programs: three each from Wellborn (QB-S Jett Smith, OL Kaden Goodwin, RB Calvin Spinks) and Ohatchee (DL-DE Aiden Simpson, RB Noah Fuller, OL Gregory King); two from Piedmont (DE-TE Sean Smith, DB Jakari Foster); and one each from Oxford (OL Brandon Kirksey) and Saks (DL Trey Bolton).
There could be even more county players included before the game is played because several others are said to be on the alternate list.
“I’m very proud of all those players that made the game and the others on the team that make it possible for those few to succeed,” Ohatchee coach Scott Martin said. “We look at it as a ‘team honor’ when players are chosen.”
Several of the players will see action on both sides of the ball, which lends itself to the idea of a nearly all-Calhoun County starting 11.
Foster is listed as a punter on the all-star roster, but he’ll be used as a defensive back in the game. Bolton will play some on the offensive line, Fuller will play some running back and Simpson will “probably” play some at fullback as well. Jett Smith, the coach’s son, will play safety and be at quarterback when the offense goes under center.
Smith, an all-state player a year ago, has 1,060 yards rushing and 116 tackles on defense in nine games this season. He had 104 yards and 16 tackles in Friday’s last-minute loss to Piedmont.
“(My) kid or no kid, I’ve never had one like that ever that can play both side of the ball like him,” the elder Smith said. “At that pace he plays and I’ve never had a kid with the football mind he has.
“He has a mechanical mind. I have to study. I’m a studier. I have to watch and watch and watch; Jett knows where it all fits. He put the trampoline together when he was 10. If we get anything in the house like an entertainment center, he puts it together.”
The game in most recent years had been played as part of the All-Star Sports Week in July. The 61st annual game was cancelled due to COVID-19 and the series was scheduled to move to December, closer to the end of football season with eligible seniors still in football shape.
The South leads the series 31-27-2 having won the last meeting ending a four-game North winning streak.
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