GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a successful 2021 season, FloridaHSFootball.com is happy to announce the award winners for the following awards in Class 1A.
CLASS 1A OVERALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LB Keshaun Mitchell, Sr., Madison County
One of the names heard often in connection with the Madison County defense, he racked up 147 tackles, 16 TFL, 2 sacks, intercepted 1 pass while also forcing a fumble. And if that wasn’t enough, Mitchell contributed on offense with over 400 yards rushing and 7 touchdowns while helping the Cowboys win the Class 1A State Championship.
CLASS 1A OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
RB Kayleb Wagner, Sr., Baker
The top running back in Class 1A this season, Wagner collected up a ton of yards along the way including breaking Derrick Henry’s single-game rushing record of 502 yards with 535 yards that were set on Sept. 17 in the Gators’ 49-48 victory over Santa Rosa Beach South Walton. In the end, Wagner rushed for 1,949 yards and scored 21 touchdowns to cap off his amazing career at the small-town school in Northwest Okaloosa County.
CLASS 1A DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DL Jailen Ruth, Jr., Hawthorne
The Hornets’ most dominant defensive player for the past two seasons, Ruth racked up 113 tackles on opposing offenses while having 31 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, forcing 4 fumbles, and recovering 6 fumbles while leading the team to their second straight Class 1A State Championship game appearance.
CLASS 1A CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
EDITOR’S NOTE: Given the circumstances that Madison County faced starting the 2021 season and then went on run through the state series and the fact that no one saw Chipley making the deep run they did made it hard to give the Coach of the Year award to just one coach this year.
Marcus Buchanan, Chipley
In his first season at the helm as head coach of the Tigers, Buchanan led the team to their best finish since their appearance in the 2011 Class 1A State Championship with a 9-4 overall record, the Class 1A-Region 1 Championship, and reaching the state semifinals where the season would come to close against eventual State Runner-Up Hawthorne.
Mike Coe, Madison County
With over a decade of leading the Cowboys, Coe helped guided his team to their fourth Class 1A State Championship in the last five years this season, facing a ton of adversity with suspensions and injuries during the first half of the season and then went on a winning streak in the second half of the season and never looking back. The Cowboys finished an 11-3 overall record, the Class 1A-Region 2 Championship, and the 2021 Class 1A State Championship.
FAN VOTE RESULTS
Baker’s Wagner led fan votes for Offensive Player of the Year
The fans voted overwhelmingly with 55.4% of the vote for Baker running back Kayleb Wagner who rushed for 1,949 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season followed by Port St. Joe athlete DJ Oliver who had 22.9% of the vote. Oliver rushed for 1,689 yards on just 124 carries, scoring 20 times while catching the ball 20 times for 378 yards and 5 more touchdowns. On defense Oliver collected up 107 tackles, forcing 2 fumbles while recovering 2 fumbles and scoring a total of 160 points overall as the Tigers Sharks. The voting rounded out with Starke Bradford quarterback Amari Jones earning 11.3% of the fan vote with Hawthorne quarterback Tyler Jefferson finishing fourth with 6.3% of the vote and Madison County running back Tommie House finishing last with 4% of the vote.
Union County’s Webb led fan votes for Defensive Player of the Year
Lake Butler Union County linebacker Curran Webb led the fan vote for Class 1A Defensive Player of the Year with 41.2% of the vote after racking up 99 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks while Hawthorne defensive lineman Jalen Ruth finished second in the voting with 26.1% of the vote. Ruth racked up 113 tackles on opposing offenses while having 31 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, forcing 4 fumbles, and recovering 6 fumbles. Madison County linebacker Keshaun Mitchell earned third place in the fan vote with 17.4% of the vote while Mitchell’s teammate, athlete Trevion Gillyard took fourth place with 8% of the vote. Pahokee defensive lineman Dwayne “DJ” Holmes rounded out the voting, earning 7.1% of the vote.
Buchanan runs away with Coach of the Year fan vote
In his first year, fans recognized the job that Chipley’s Marcus Buchanan did guiding the Tigers to their deepest playoff run since their 2011 run to the Class 1A State Championship, taking 49.7% of the vote while Hawthorne’s Cornelius Ingram took in 20.2% of the vote. Madison County’s Mike Coe took in 15.2% of the fan vote for third place while Lake Butler Union County’s Andrew Thomas finished fourth with 12% of the vote. Chiefland head coach Adam Gore finished fifth with just 3% of the vote.
