Coach of the Year named; Pritchett heads All-County football team

When Marengo High School went on the road and knocked off Loachapoka, it marked the first playoff win for the school since 2000. That’s a remarkable feat for anyone, but it was especially surprising for a team that lost an impressive crop of seniors and consistently relied upon middle schoolers and inexperienced athletes in several key spots. So how did that team manage to make a run to a 7-5 season and the second round of the Class 1A state playoffs? The answer, in large part, rests on the shoulders of quarterback/defensive back/do-it-all threat Cordarius Pritchett.

Only 5-9 and 151 pounds, Pritchett plays well beyond his size on both sides of the ball. He was the county’s leading passer in 2015, throwing for 1,668 yards and 19 touchdowns. He was his team’s leading rusher with 606 yards and 14 touchdowns. And as good as he was at the quarterback position for the Panthers, Pritchett really shined at his safety spot on defense. He had a respectable 56 total tackles on the year, including 51 solos. But his eight interceptions is the second highest mark in the county.

Make no mistake. Pritchett is talented and would have started somewhere on any team in the county. For his efforts, Pritchett is the 2015 West Alabama Watchman Football Player of the Year.

The Watchman’s Coach of the Year honors go to Marengo Academy’s Webb Tutt. The Longhorns embarked on the unenviable task of replacing legendary head man Robby James and went through a remarkably tumultuous offseason in the process. Through three coaching changes in the offseason, it seemed the Longhorns were set when another change came just two games into the 2015 campaign. With all the inconsistency at the program’s helm, Tutt went back to basics when he assumed the head job before the team’s third game. He reintroduced the Wing-T that proved so successful for the ‘Horns in previous years and managed to help keep his team steady over the long haul.

Marengo made its third trip to the AISA title round in as many seasons and came within a play of ending Edgewood’s storied winning streak.

The West Alabama Watchman All-County Football Team appears below in its entirety.

OFFENSE

QB – Jamarcus Ezell, Demopolis

RB – Jay Craig, Demopolis

RB – Hayden Huckabee, Marengo Academy

RB – Desmond Mair, A.L. Johnson

WR – Michael Kennedy, Marengo High

WR – Dequan Charleston, Linden

TE – DeVonta Poole, Linden

TE – Tyler Jones, Demopolis

OL – Jacob Rodrigues, Demopolis

OL – Wynn Thompson, Sweet Water

OL – Brandon Bates, Linden

OL – Thomas Etheridge, Marengo Academy

OL – Ca’Terious Hinton, Linden

K – Austin Daye, Marengo Academy

P – Isaiah Scott, Linden

DEFENSE

DL – Cason Cook, Marengo Academy

DL – Rahmeel Cook, Demopolis

DL – De’Angelos Crispin, Marengo High

DL – Travares Hall, Demopolis

LB – Luke Davis, Sweet Water

LB – Russ Logan, Demopolis

LB – Lewis Anderson, A.L. Johnson

LB – R.J. Cox, Demopolis

DB – Logan McVay, Demopolis

DB – Andrew Martin, Marengo Academy

DB – Cordarius Pritchett, Marengo High

DB – Will Huckabee, Sweet Water

ATH – C.J. Robinson, Linden

ATH – A.J. Collier, Demopolis