DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
MATT HEACOCK
Loyola
On a team that allowed just 6.9 points a game and set a school record for wins (11-0), Heacock was not only the leader on the field but also off it.
"He is obviously Loyola's inspirational leader," Mount St. Joseph coach Chip Armstrong said of the linebacker, a three-year starter.
As Loyola faced the challenge of dealing with the death of kicker Dennis Woolford in a car accident the morning of Sept. 26 and playing that afternoon against Archbishop Curley, Heacock stepped before his teammates and delivered an uplifting speech.
"I didn't know he'd step into the leadership role the way he did," Loyola coach Brian Abbott said. "But it was his idea to speak to the team. He was the reason we were able to get through that game that day. He just spoke so well, you could see every kid in the room looking up to him. He talked about our responsibility to play for Dennis the remainder of the year.
"It's just his nature to make sure others feel good around him. He's like the protector of everyone."
On the field, the 6-foot-2, 210-pound senior led the Dons in tackles with 101. He added one sack, five tackles for losses, two interceptions and a blocked punt. He also scored four offensive touchdowns. From his middle linebacker position, Heacock was adept at defending against the run and the pass.
The Dons' coaches also sent him on the blitz. It meant fewer substitutions and more versatility for the already strong defense.
"I've been coaching in this league 10 years," Calvert Hall coach Donald Davis said. "Loyola is the best football team I've ever coached against, and Matt Heacock is the key to their defense."
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
TAVON AUSTIN
Dunbar
Austin, the Offensive Player of the Year for the third consecutive season, finishes his high school career as one of the most accomplished and decorated football players in the metro area.
"Three years, it's an honor," said Austin, 5 feet 9 and 170 pounds. "My whole time at Dunbar, I've had great players around me. My teammates, my coaches. Every day at practice they were, 'Tavon, harder, harder.' And I couldn't have done anything that I did without them."
What he did last season as a junior, setting the state record for career touchdowns at 92, was only the beginning. He ended his career with four state records. After leading Dunbar to its third straight Class 1A state title, Austin has state career marks for points (790), touchdowns (123), total offensive yards (9,258) and rushing yards (7,460).
This season, he had 218 carries for 2,660 yards and 34 touchdowns, 10 catches for 122 yards, 12 punt returns for 446 yards and two touchdowns, and eight kickoff returns for 409 yards. He also had six two-point conversions. All told, he scored 228 points.
Dunbar coach Lawrence Smith said Austin's greatest asset is his desire.
"He wants to win every game," Smith said. "When you have a player like that, one who puts his team first and works well with others, and all the skill and talent he has, it makes your whole team better because everyone on the team has to take their game up to his level."
Austin has narrowed college choices to West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina. He said he will wait to decide until the Feb. 4 signing date.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Tony Shermeyer
Century
Last summer, Century coach Tony Shermeyer made a bold, season-altering decision after eight months of consideration that took a team that had never had a winning record in eight years of existence to a 12-1 record and the Class 2A state semifinals. He moved starting quarterback Luke Wright to wide receiver and installed junior wide receiver Josh Bordner and his strong arm at quarterback.
"I worried over what I was going to do from January to Aug. 15," Shermeyer said. "It was absolutely the reason we won. Only one team was able to shut down both our running and our passing, and that was River Hill [in the state semifinals]."
Shermeyer, 35, played high school football and one year in college at Kutztown University before returning to McSherrystown, Pa., his hometown, to coach his former team at DeLone Catholic High for two years. That was all his coaching experience before coming to Century as an assistant the year the school opened in 2001. He became head coach four years ago, and in the three previous seasons his Knights went 1-9, 5-5 and 4-6.
"I'd like to thank my assistant coaches, Tony Griner and Jim Holzman, who took care of the defensive side of the ball," Shermeyer said. "And I'd like to credit Luke, who never complained and accepted his role even though it put him in a less involved position."
ALL-BALTIMORE CITY
Offensive Player
Tavon Austin, Dunbar
Austin, The Baltimore Sun's Offensive Player of the Year for a third straight season, finished with 7,947 career rushing yards, eclipsing the previous state mark of 5,920. He also had 92 career touchdowns.
Austin, 5 feet 9 and 170 pounds, also had three interceptions as a defensive back.
Scores of colleges are recruiting Austin, including West Virginia, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina, which have made his short list.
Defensive Player
Horace Miller, Dunbar
No defensive player in the metro area spent more time in opposing backfields this season than Miller, who made 133 tackles, including 29 sacks, and forced six fumbles, recovering three, to help lead the Poets to their third straight Class 1A state title.
Splitting his time between defensive end and linebacker, the 6-2, 220-pound senior used his agility and speed off the end to consistently beat pass protectors, recording 46 sacks over the past two seasons.
Coach of the year
Eric Woodson, Northwestern
In his four years as coach, Woodson has taken Northwestern from the edge of the abyss to the top of the heap. He took over a program that was in disarray, having won just five games in three years, and built it into a disciplined unit that this fall finished 9-2, including 8-0 in Baltimore City's Division II, to earn the school's first trip to the state playoffs.
Offense
Name School Class Position
Davey Emala Gilman Senior Quarterback
Jerry Lovelocke Edmondson Junior Quarterback
Tavon Austin Dunbar Senior Running back
Terrance West Northwestern Senior Running back
Adrian Coxson City Junior Wide receiver
Sean Farr Dunbar Senior Wide receiver
Renard Robinson Mount St. Joseph Senior Wide receiver
Joe Petrides Archbishop Curley Senior Tight end
Brandon Copeland Gilman Senior Offensive line
Charles Johnson Poly Senior Offensive line
Anthony Watters Dunbar Senior Offensive line
Gabriel Neiba W.E.B. Du Bois Senior Kicker
Defense
Name School Class Position
Antonio Brown Dunbar Senior Defensive line
Arnold Farmer Poly Senior Defensive line
Horace Miller Dunbar Senior Defensive line
David Mackall Edmondson Senior Linebacker
Gary Onuekwusi Dunbar Senior Linebacker
Jim Poggi Gilman Junior Linebacker
Cedric Rollins Reginald Lewis Senior Linebacker
Courtney Bridget Dunbar Senior Defensive back
Eric Franklin Archbishop Curley Senior Defensive back
Artis Holt Mount St. Joseph Senior Defensive back
Blake Thompson Cardinal Gibbons Senior Defensive back
Jacob Peery Archbishop Curley Senior Punter
Note: Teams selected by Rich Scherr after consultation with
The Baltimore Sun staff and area coaches.
ALL-BALTIMORE CO.
Offensive Player
Nick DePaola, Hereford
With his quickness to the hole and ability to break tackles, DePaola was the centerpiece of an offense that averaged more than 33 points. He ran for nearly 8 yards per carry and scored 18 touchdowns for the 10-3 Bulls, who advanced to the Class 3A state semifinals.
The 6-foot, 200-pound fullback rushed for 1,619 yards on 208 carries with 14 touchdowns.
CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS
Aaron Wilson, Eastern Tech
and Matt Heacock, Loyola
Eastern Tech coach Marc Mesaros moved Wilson's primary position from defensive line to linebacker around midseason, hoping to give the senior more room to make plays.
Wilson, 5-11, 190 pounds, finished with a team-leading 98 tackles and 11 sacks.
Heacock, The Baltimore Sun's Defensive Player of the Year, led the Dons with 101 tackles.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Brian Abbott, Loyola
Seldom has a high school coach dealt with so much adversity in a season and still led his team to such high peaks.
First, there was the death of junior kicker Dennis Woolford, who was killed in a head-on collision on his way to school in late September. Then, just weeks later, the Dons' All-Metro quarterback, Leon Kinnard, suffered a season-ending leg injury.
Through it all, Abbott's squad outscored opponents by an average of 40-7.
Offense
Name School Class Position
Kevin Fulton Milford Mill Senior Quarterback
Leon Kinnard Loyola Senior Quarterback
Darian Conners Eastern Tech Senior Running back
Nick DePaola Hereford Senior Running back
Terence Garvin Loyola Senior Running back
Brandon Floyd Loyola Senior Wide receiver
Curtis Holmes McDonogh Senior Wide receiver
Dave Stinebaugh Perry Hall Senior Tight end
Alex Kirsch Eastern Tech Senior Offensive line
Josh Powers Hereford Senior Offensive line
Doug Shaw Loyola Senior Offensive line
Brett Ullman Perry Hall Senior Kicker
Defense
Name School Class Position
Emmanuel Gbor Eastern Tech Junior Defensive line
Shafiyq Hinton Eastern Tech Senior Defensive line
Elliott Poehlman Loyola Senior Defensive line
Matt Heacock Loyola Senior Linebacker
Brent Kluge Hereford Sophomore Linebacker
Jeff Kryglik Eastern Tech Senior Linebacker
Tyler Weedon Catonsville Sophomore Linebacker
Aaron Wilson Eastern Tech Senior Linebacker
Austin Crabill St. Paul's Senior Defensive back
Carl Fleming Franklin Senior Defensive back
Joey Jones Eastern Tech Junior Defensive back
Brian Prater St. Paul's Senior Punter
Note: Teams selected by Rich Scherr after consultation with
The Baltimore Sun staff and area coaches.