By, John Goolsby, Prep Editor and Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE – 2023 was another banner year for Tribune coverage area teams. We witnessed a 6A state championship and saw seven of our eight teams reach the playoffs (Pinson kept Shades Valley out). Four teams advanced to the second round.
Three teams, Hewitt Trussville, Moody, and Clay Chalkville made it past the second round. Hewitt making it to the 7A third round and Clay Chalkville capped off the year by hoisting the blue map as the 6A state champions.
With the teams’ success, it is no wonder that numerous players signed letters of intent to play at Division One colleges, played in all-star games, and coaches who are coaching in all-star games.
Below, you will find the Tribune’s Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, and first-team and second-team All-Tribune Teams, as well as some honorable mentions for very deserving players.
Coach of the Year: As mentioned previously, the Tribune coverage area boasts many great coaches. The coach that we have selected for coach of the year is the man we believe did the best job of coaching his team.
Our selection is Jon Clements of Springville. He did not win a state championship, and he did not make it out of the first round of the playoffs as the Tigers lost to Guntersville. However, what Clements did with this football team is nothing short of spectacular.
Clements and Matt Partridge (the ALFCA 5A Assistant Coach of the Year) went to the Air Force Academy in Colorado, learned the triple option offense, and brought it back to a 1-9 Springville football team as their new way of scoring points.
Some did not like it, so they quit or transferred to other schools. But a group stayed, and getting these kids to buy into what they were doing makes this a great accomplishment for Coach Clements.
The offense was not going to be flashy or fancy, but it produced more wins for the Tigers than they had won in quite some time and put them into the playoffs for the first time since this senior class was approximately four years old.
Congratulations to Coach Jon Clements for being named The Trussville Tribune’s 2023 Coach of the Year.
Player of the Year: This selection will be no surprise to anyone as the young man we have selected has been in the spotlight quite a bit and won more weekly Player of the Week awards in our publication than any other.
Jaylen Mbakwe was Clay Chalkville’s cheat code this year. Coming into the 2023 season, Mbakwe would move from being Clay’s go-to wide receiver and defensive back to the team’s starting quarterback.
That is quite the change-up for a young man headed to Alabama to play defensive back for Nick Saban. He could have easily refused or quit, but he embraced his new role and absolutely dominated, even becoming a prolific passer.
If Coach Saban is reading this, I hope he and Tommy Rees are developing a package that puts the ball in this young man’s hands on the offensive side of the ball.
Mbakwe finished the year with 140 of 196 passing for a 71% completion percentage for 2007 yards and 20 touchdowns. Mbakwe also ran the ball 148 times for 1065 yards and 20 trips into the end zone.
In crucial games such as the Thompson game earlier in the season and the championship game against Saraland, the young man even went back to his old position at defensive back and made critical tackles in both games.
Congratulations to Jaylen Mbakwe for being named the Trussville Tribune’s 2023 Player of the Year.
Now, we are proud to introduce you to the 2023 All-Tribune Team:
First Team Offense:
QB – Peyton Floyd – Hewitt-Trussville
RB – Aaron Osley – Clay-Chalkville
RB – Mahlon Alverson – Springville
WR – KD Barnes – Moody
WR – Jadon Loving – Hewitt-Trussville
WR – Mario Craver – Clay-Chalkville
OL – Brodie Ginn – Springville
OL – Parker Knight – Pinson Valley
OL – Jac’Qawn McRoy – Clay-Chalkville
OL – Jackson Randall – Moody
OL – Jaylyn Rainey – Center Point
TE – Donovan Price – Hewitt-Trussville
ATH – Jaylen Mbakwe – Clay-Chalkville
K – Antone Ellison – Clay-Chalkville
First Team Defense:
DL – Cam Mallory – Moody
DL – Kavion Henderson – Leeds
DL – Chris Burge – Leeds
DL – Ba’Roc Willis – Moody
LB – DJ Barber – Clay-Chalkville
LB – Ethan Johnson – Shades Valley
LB – Zane Smith – Moody
DB – AJ Madison – Moody
DB – Rod Ivy – Clay-Chalkville
DB – Riggs Dun – Hewitt-Trussville
DB – Kaden Edwards – Pinson Valley
Punter – Caleb Goff – Moody
Second Team Offense:
QB – Charlie Johnston – Moody
RB – Joshua Woods – Pinson Valley
RB – David Ware – Shades Valley
WR – Derrick Freeman – Pinson Valley
WR – Mekhi Brown – Center Point
WR – Ji’Quez Daniel – Shades Valley
OL – James Edwards – Center Point
OL – Kade Martin – Hewitt-Trussville
OL – Carlos Placencia – Leeds
OL – Nathan Baldwin – Springville
OL – Spencer Stewart – Springville
ATH – Deon Moore – Center Point/Jake Conner – Springville
K – Tripp Ward – Hewitt-Trussville
Second Team Defense:
DL – Jamarcus Thomas – Pinson Valley
DL – Tyrell Averhart – Hewitt-Trussville
DL – Nick Davis – Leeds
DL – Joseph Stone – Leeds
LB – Cole Tittle – Springville
LB – Kayden Hanrahan – Springville
LB – Malik Brown – Center Point
DB – Camron Bonner – Center Point
DB – Jeremiah Hall – Leeds
DB – Xavier Starks – Clay-Chalkville
DB – Michael Igbinoghene – Hewitt-Trussville
Punter – Noel Cox – Springville
Honorable Mention:
QB – Conner Nelson – Leeds; Steve Brown – Shades Valley
RB – ZJ Dale – Leeds; Blaine Burke – Moody
WR – Braden Wright – Moody; Jacob Serena – Hewitt-Trussville; Marlon Compton – Clay-Chalkville; Aidan Robinson – Moody
OL – Brennan King – Moody; Taft Price – Pinson Valley; Drew Johnson – Hewitt-Trussville
DL – Ayden Moore – Hewitt-Trussville; Logan Hall – Moody
LB – Gavyn Baker – Moody; Kaden Edwards – Pinson Valley; Marshall Teofilo – Moody
DB – Sidney Walton – Moody; Deion Gunn – Clay-Chalkville; Jalijah Rutledge – Moody; Jaquoryae Busby – Center Point;
Amon Lane-Ganus – Moody*; Chase Jackson – Moody*; Tevis Metcalf – Clay-Chalkville*
(*Indicates players who were injured for much of the season but deserving of recognition)