All-State teams for the 2022 season will be dropping next week on FloridaHSFootball.com and in the led up to that, we have narrowed down the list of the five candidates that are in consideration for our Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year in each of the nine classifications as well as in the Sunshine State Athletic Conference. Also, one of the players between the Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year candidates will be named Overall Player of the Year for their classification.
And for the second year in a row, we are giving fans a vote to decide on who will win the fan vote for each of our three categories for Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the Year in every classification.
Voting will run through 9 PM EST / 8 PM CST on Thursday, February 16, 2023. You may vote unlimited times during the poll and the poll does have trackers to prevent bot voting.
Here are the candidates for the Class 1M Offensive Player of the Year, Class 1M Defensive Player of the Year, and Class 1M Coach of the Year along with polls for each section!
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
QB Cedrick Bailey, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – Bailey has now guided Chaminade-Madonna to two straight state championships and did so this year with 3,355 yards passing and 45 passing touchdowns.
RB Orel Gray, University Christian (Jacksonville) – The Jaguars PREP Player of the Year, Gray was a dominant force for the Fighting Christians’ offense with 2,064 yards rushing 30 touchdowns while helping University Christian defeat Trinity Christian for the first time in nearly 30 years and reaching the state semifinals.
RB Davion Gause, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – Another key offensive weapon for the Lions, Gause gashed opposing defenses with 1,142 yards of rushing and 15 touchdowns on 145 carries while helping the Lions finish as Class 1M state champion.
QB Jershaun Newton, Clearwater Central Catholic – Newton is a dual-threat quarterback that did a lot of damage with his arms and feat in the 2022 season with 2,319 yards passing with 23 TDs against just two interceptions and had 165 carries for 1,355 yards rushing and 15 more touchdowns. That effort guided the Marauders to the Class 1M state championship game and the team’s first state title game appearance in nearly a decade.
WR Jeremiah Smith, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – Smith was a ball-catching machine for the Lions catching 58 passes for 1,073 yards and a whopping 20 touchdowns while helping the team win the Class 1M title.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LB Cameron Anderson, Trinity Christian (Jacksonville)
DL Zach Crothers, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – Only a junior, Crothers made life miserable for opposing offenses with 60 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks while helping the Lions win the Class 1M state championship.
DB Andy Jaffe, Clearwater Central Catholic – A highly valuable piece of the Marauders’ defense the last three seasons, Jaffe was an instrumental piece of the defense in the run to the Class 1M title game. Jaffe racked up 123 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, two interceptions, four pass deflections, and had 12 kickoff returns for an average of 41.1 yards.
DB Jeno Junius, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) – Another menace of the Lions’ championship defense racking up 129 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks two interceptions, knocking down three passes, recovering a fumble, forcing two fumbles, and blocking a punt.
DL Desirrio Riles, University Christian (Jacksonville) – Arguably the Fighting Christians’ defensive leader, Riles, made a name for himself with 68 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, four quarterback hurries, and intercepting two passes while helping the team reach the state semifinals.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jack Daniels, Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) – Led the Crusaders to an undefeated regular season in his second year before falling to eventual state champion Chaminade-Madonna to finish the season at 11-1.
Chris Harvey, Clearwater Central Catholic – Guided the Marauders to their first state title game appearance since 2013 going 12-2 overall.
Dameon Jones, Chaminade-Madonna – Guided the Lions to the Class 1M title and to their fourth state championship victory in the last five years.
Greg Laffere, True North (Miami) – In only their fourth overall season of playing varsity football, True North reached the state semifinals for the first time, finishing the season with a 9-4 overall record.
David Penland III, University Christian (Jacksonville) – Guided University Christian to the state semifinals and defeated Trinity Christian for the first time in nearly three decades, finishing with an 11-2 overall record.
