Cobb has 25 earn all-state nods from GACA
Feb. 17—Twenty-five Cobb County football players were honored by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association as part of its all-state teams.
The teams, broken into classifications and then selected for either the north or south were released this week. Teams from regions 1-4 were deemed south and those from regions 5-8 were designated the north
Allatoona, which won Region 6AAAAAA and advanced to the state quarterfinals, placed the most players on the Class AAAAAA North team with five. Three of the players came from the defensive side of the ball — defensive lineman James Watt, linebacker Vinny Canosa and defensive back Brett Blomquist — after the Buccaneers allowed only nine points per game for the season. Offensively, Allatoona put offensive lineman Gavin Tatum and tight end Bennett Christian on the squad.
North Cobb followed with four players on the Class AAAAAAA South team off a squad that won Region 3AAAAAAA and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. The Warriors had two on each side of the ball, but they were led by quarterback Malachi Singleton, who as a sophomore was the county breakout player of the year throwing for 1,691 yards and 15 touchdowns as well as running for 1,091 yards and 17 scores. He was recently ranked as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the country for the Class of 2023.
Singleton was joined by wide receiver Christian Moss, and linebackers Josh Joseph and Montrel Jenkins. Jenkins turned into a ball-hawk and had seven interceptions on the season, returning five of them for touchdowns.
Sprayberry won its first state playoff game in program history by defeating Creekview, and for the effort had three players selected to the Class AAAAAA north squad — running back Damarion Owens, who ran for 1,086 yards and 16 touchdowns, offensive lineman David Evbomenya and defensive lineman Christian Mergler.
Three teams in Class AAAAAAA had two selections each. McEachern was represented by offensive lineman Latrell Bullard and linebacker Ese Dubre. Harrison's selections were running back Jay Zigler and linebacker Marcus Bleazard, who finished the year with 133 tackles and county-leading 14 sacks. Kicker Conor Cummins and defensive back Marcus Allen each earned spots from Walton.
In Class AAAAAA, Kell's Jamal Hill earned a spot at wide receiver, while Deandre Creary was named at defensive back. They were joined by South Cobb linebacker Uchenna Nwoba.
Two Class A Private schools had two players selected. North Cobb Christian offensive lineman Ben Hollars and linebacker Sharnard Banks earned spots, as did Whitefield Academy linebacker Eric Little and county-leading wide receiver Myles Redding, who finished the season with 63 catches for 1,113 yards and seven touchdowns.
Class AAAAAAA South
Offense
QB Malachi Singleton, North Cobb
RB Jay Zigler, Harrison
OL Latrell Bullard, McEachern
K Connor Cummins, Walton
WR Christian Moss, North Cobb
Defense
LB Ese Dubre, McEachern
LB Montrel Jenkins, North Cobb
LB Marcus Bleazard, Harrison
LB Josh Josephs, North Cobb
DB Marcus Allen, Walton
Class AAAAAA North
Offense
RB Damarion Owens, Sprayberry
OL Gavin Tatum, Allatoona
OL David Evbomenya, Sprayberry
TE Bennett Christian, Allatoona
WR Jamal Hill, Kell
Defense
DL James Watts, Allatoona
DL Christian Mergler, Sprayberry
LB Vinny Canosa, Allatoona
LB Uchenna Nwoba, South Cobb
DB Deandre Creary, Kell
DB Bret Blomquist, Allatoona
Class A Private North
OL Ben Hollars, North Cobb Christian
LB Sharnard Banks, North Cobb Christian
Class A Private South
WR Miles Redding, Whitefield Academy
LB Eric Little, Whitefield Academy
