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 4S Offensive Player of the Year, Class 4S Defensive Player of the Year, and Class 4S Coach of the Year along with polls for each section!
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
QB Brooks Bentley, Venice – Bentley excelled in the passing game for Venice throwing for 1,835 yards and 21 touchdowns against three interceptions. He also had nine rushing touchdowns for 473 more yards helping the Indians reach the Class 4S title game.
RB John Celestin, Lake Minneola – Celestin helped guide the Hawks back to the playoffs and reached the regional finals with over 1,500 yards rushing and 33 touchdowns on the ground.
RB Taevion Swint, Osceola (Kissimmee) – The Kowboys engine that never stopped, Swint was a force with his 1,666 yards of rushing and 20 touchdowns in helping the team reach the state semifinals. Swint also had four receiving touchdowns and had 366 return yards along with one more touchdown.
QB Creed Whittemore, Buchholz (Gainesville) – An athlete on both sides of the ball, Whittemore did most of his damage on the offense with 2,693 yards passing with 35 touchdowns against just seven interceptions. In addition to that he added 1,285 yards of rushing with 17 more touchdowns. On defense, he had 23 tackles and intercepted six passes in the run to a second consecutive state semifinal appearance.
RB Richard Young, Lehigh (Lehigh Acres) – In his final season, Young rushed for 1,102 yards and 9 touchdowns on 164 carries. If it were not for Hurricane Ian, Young’s numbers would have been much higher as the Lighting had three games canceled due to the devastation in Southwest Florida.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DB Sharif Denson, Bartram Trail (St. Johns) – An athlete many teams avoided during the season, Denson collected 23 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, intercepted two passes, and forced a fumble while helping the Bears reach the regional finals.
DL Larry Jones, Lakeland – A huge factor on the defensive line for the Dreadnaughts’ Class 4S state championship-winning team, Jones had 60 tackles to go along with 30.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks.
DB Bo Masco, Osceola (Kissimmee) – Masco has been a vital part of the Osceola defense and teams avoided him this year which lowered his stat numbers but still at the end of the day, Masco had 65 tackles, three interceptions, and six pass breakups. He also added 268 yards receiving and four scores on offense.
DB Cormani McClain, Lakeland – The top-rated defensive back in the nation, teams avoided McClain all season long as he took out good chunks of the field for opposing offenses in leading the Dreadnaughts to their first state championship since 2018. McClain finished the season with 16 tackles, two tackles for loss, a half sack, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and forcing a fumble.
DL Damon Wilson, Venice – Wilson was arguably the best defensive player on the line for the Indians and he made it known to opposing offenses with his menace style of play with 94 tackles, 10 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, forcing two fumbles and recovering two fumbles in helping the Indians appear in a second consecutive state championship game.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Bill Castle, Lakeland – Ended a 47-year head coaching career at the same school with his final act being that of an undefeated season at 14-0 and the Class 4S state championship trophy.
John Peacock, Venice – Led the Indians to their second straight state championship game appearance in as many seasons before falling to Lakeland and finishing the season with a 9-4 overall record.
Eric Pinellas, Osceola (Kissimmee) – With a tough schedule the Kowboys were a tough team to face going 10-4 overall and reaching the state semifinals before falling to eventual champion Lakeland.
Darrell Sutherland, Bartram Trail (St. Johns) – In his final season as the only head coach in Bears history, Sutherland guided the Bears to a 10-0 regular season before falling to Buchholz in the regional finals.
Mark Whittemore, Buchholz (Gainesville) – Whittemore guided the Bobcats to their second straight state semifinal appearance in his final season before retiring as a coach, finishing the 2022 season with a 10-3 record overall.
