While the Long County Blue Tide football team did not finish the 2019 season how they expected, they still did have a lot to celebrate this season. On Thursday, December 5, the team held its annual sports banquet and recognized their players for their hard work and success this year.

Senior Kai Loehnert welcomed everyone to the special night and Long County Touchdown Booster Club President Eric Crawford took the mic to thank some of the sponsors that supported the program throughout the season.

Keynote speaker of the night was James Davis, father of former Blue Tide football player Jamin Davis, now playing at the University of Kentucky, and current senior Treyon Davis. He gave an inspirational speech about the players’ future after football has come to an end.

“The question is not what you will become. The question is: Who will you become after football is over?” Davis said.

During the awards part of the banquet, the team recognized 33 players who earned a varsity letter throughout the year. The team also honored four players with the Academic Achievement Award.

“For the first time since I have been here, we have four players with 4.0 GPAs,” head coach JT Pollock said. Those four players, all sophomores, were Kyle Young, Jayson Mack, Cole Moss, and Joseph Cammack.

Two players were awarded Co-JV Player of the Year. Freshmen running backs Quintin Golden and Zion Gillard both received the award. Both Golden and Gillard were key players on the varsity squad as well.

Another freshman, Lane Edwards, was honored with the Most Improved Player Award. Edwards started nine games at center for the varsity team and will have a bright future for the Blue Tide.

Senior Trajan Weatherspoon was named Wide Receiver of the Year.  Sophomore Tony Phillips was named Running Back of the Year. Weatherspoon and Phillips were the two biggest offensive weapons for the Tide. Weatherspoon had over 300 yards receiving and five touchdowns while Phillips rushed for over 700 yards and six touchdowns.

Three other seniors were honored with individual awards: Kai Loehnert as Offensive Lineman of the Year, Maurice Carter as Defensive Back of the Year, and Chris Robinette as Defensive Lineman of the Year. Junior E’ben Thomas was the Linebacker of the Year.

Senior Treyon Davis was named Team Captain. Pollock heralded this as the most important award and said that he does “not hand this out lightly.” Davis missed a majority of the season due to a knee injury, but always kept an upbeat and positive attitude to keep his team working hard.

12 total players were named to the Region 2-AAA All-Region teams. Davis was named Comeback Player of the Year. Honorable Mention went to Phillips, Young, Robinette, Carter, senior Malik Berry, and sophomore Cameryn Johnson.