Six Ada football players nab 4A-4 honors

Jan. 14—When District 4A-2 postseason awards were handed out, two Ada High football seniors were selected as the best at their positions.

Andrew Hughes was named the District 4A-2 Co-Receiver of the Year and Kaden Gallagher was voted the 4A-2 Outside Linebacker of the Year.

Four other Ada seniors were named to the 4A-2 All-District team. Darias Gilmore was an all-district running back, Caden Balthrop was an all-district offensive lineman, Carter Freeland was an all-district quarterback and Jack Morris was an all-district wide receiver.

"I thought our seniors did a great job for us all year and it showed by some of them getting recognized in the all-district awards," Ada head coach Brad O'Steen told The Ada News. "I'm really proud of that group of seniors and they deserve those honors."

O'Steen said what made Ada's six postseason award winners even more impressive is how much senior talent there was in rugged District 4A-4.

"From top to bottom, our district may have been the toughest in the state," he said.

Hughes finished the season with 33 catches for 776 yards and an impressive 15 touchdown catches.

Balthrop, the team's center, was the unquestioned leader of an Ada offensive line that improved greatly throughout the season. Balthrop and company help clear the way for the Cougars to rush for nearly 1,400 yards.

Gallagher finished his senior campaign with 22 tackles and four quarterback sacks.

Despite missing a couple of games due to a knee injury, Freeland still completed 97-of-190 passes for 1,383 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Gilmore was the workhorse in the backfield for Ada, rushing for 671 yards and eight TDs.

Morris led the team in catches with 41 and finished a stellar senior campaign with 715 receiving yards and six scores.

Other 4A-4 Awards

Hilldale standout Eric Virgil was named the District 4A-2 Most Valuable Player. The Offensive MVP went to Christian Brumley of Broken Bow and the Defensive MVP was Wyatt Branscum of Hilldale.

Ty Rushing of Madill was named the 4A-4 Quarterback of the Year. Stilwell's Ethan Richards was picked as the Running Back of the Year and Stephen Sisco of Madill joined Hughes as Co-Receiver of the Year.

Hilldale's Lonzo Perez was chosen as the 4A-4 Special Teams MVP.

The 4A-4 Offensive Lineman of the Year was Evan Keefe of Hilldale. Madill standout River Shaw was named the Tight End of the Year.

Co-Defensive Lineman of the Year included Broken Bow's Leland Billy and Poteau's Cho Cho Ramirez.

Joining Gallagher as the Co-Outside Linebacker of the Year was Logan Harper of Hilldale. The two Co-Inside Linebackers of the Year were Kiowa Coffman of Sallisaw and John Lewis of Fort Gibson.

Madill's Yovanny Robles was named the District 4A-4 Defensive Back of the Year.