HAHIRA — State championship teams tend to benefit in end-of-season awards. That is certainly the case for Valwood this year with the announcement of the GIAA Class 3A’s All-State team.
First year leader Brad Wells was named Coach of the Year after leading the Valiants to an 11-1 record and ending John Milledge Academy’s 62-game winning streak in a 42-21 demolition in the state finale.
Seven Valwood players earned All-State first team: quarterback Tayt Snellgrove, offensive lineman Connor Hutto, linebacker Dallas Hatfield, defensive back Landen Ryan, cornerback Andrew Belcher and athletes De’Mar Riley and Marquis Fennell.
Fennell is the only freshman on the 3A list; Snellgrove is the only sophomore.
Snellgrove threw for 1,148 yards this year, according to official stats posted on MaxPreps, completing 73 of 129 attempts. He threw for 15 touchdowns. Far from only being a passer, Snellgrove ran for 525 yards and 10 scores.
Riley and Fennell were only part of a loaded Valwood backfield attack, each putting up astonishing numbers. Riley ran for 1,365 yards, averaging an unbelievable 13.8 yards per carry. He combined for 20 rushing and receiving touchdowns, plus scored four two-point conversions.
Fennell will be a valuable part of the offense for years to come. Like Riley, he gained more than a first down per carry — 12.9 yards.
Fennell just missed 1,000 yards on the ground, totaling 931, though he did have the team lead in rushing scores at 19.
He added three receiving touchdowns on 469 yards and also was responsible for four two-point conversions.
Ryan and Hatfield were the Valiants’ tackles leaders. Through the semifinals, they had 71 and 70, respectively. Belcher had 51 stops in the first 11 games. Belcher and Ryan had two interceptions each in the same span. Hatfield had 10 tackles for lost yardage.
Overall Player of the Year went to Frederica Academy’s Jordan Triplett, who smashed the state rushing yards record.