Champion Cats, Carlsbad dominate all-district football team
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The Clovis Wildcats used a well-balanced approach to win the District 4-5A title.
Juniors John Props, Phillip Williams and a senior-dominated offensive line helped the Wildcats average better than 30 points this season while a defense keyed by a strong front five and a ball-hawking secondary resulted in two shutouts in four district games.
Senior kicker Jason Seefeld was another weapon for the Wildcats (8-3), who capped off an unbeaten district season with a 31-24 triple overtime win over runnerup Carlsbad.
As a result, nine Wildcats were first-team picks on the All-District 4-5A football unit, including four on offense and four on defense in a vote by district coaches.
Clovis senior running back/defensive back Rodney Ferguson was named Player of the Year and Hobbs sophomore running back Eddie Jackson was chosen Newcomer of the Year.
Props, who took over at quarterback one game into the season, and the speedy Williams at running back gave the Wildcats a potent one-two punch in the backfield. Props passed for 832 yards and 11 touchdowns and also rushed for eight scores while Williams danced and darted his way to 968 yards and 10 touchdowns behind an offensive line led by senior tackles Steven Gulley and Scott Fahsholtz.
On defense, the first unit included junior defensive tackle Jason Burns and senior defense end Jared Baldwin, plus seniors Carlos Gallo and Mark Young in the secondary.
Burns was second on the team in tackles with 108 while the speedy Baldwin had six quarterback sacks. Gallo and Young combined for six of the Wildcats’ 16 interceptions.
The strong-legged Seefeld made his last seven field goal attempts in district play and finished 10-of-12 for the season. He also converted 34-of-36 extra-point attempts.
Carlsbad led the district with 11 first-team selections.
All-District 4-5A
First team
Offense
QB John Props, Jr. Clovis
OL Scott Fahsholtz, Sr. Clovis
OL Steven Gulley, Sr. Clovis
OL Justin Yandell, Sr. Carlsbad
OL Jesse Rayos, Sr. Carlsbad
OL Wesley Clayton, Jr. Manzano
WR Nathan Meek, Sr. Carlsbad
WR Adam Martin, Sr. Manzano
RB Rodney Ferguson, Sr. Manzano
RB Phillip Williams, Jr. Clovis
RB Michael Munoz, Sr. Carlsbad
TE Riley Netherlin, Sr. Carlsbad
PK Jason Seefeld, Sr. Clovis
KR Rodney Ferguson, Sr. Manzano
Defense
DL Hosea Graziano, Sr. Carlsbad
DL Joseph Vera, Sr. Carlsbad
DL Matt Gutierrez, Sr. Manzano
DL Jason Burns, Jr. Clovis
DE Jared Baldwin, Sr. Clovis
DE Steven Martinez, Sr. Carlsbad
DE Mario Hidalgo, Sr. Manzano
LB Dathan Brown, Sr. Manzano
LB J.J. Chavez, Sr. Carlsbad
LB Leon Cavazos, Sr. Hobbs
DB Carlos Gallo, Sr. Clovis
DB Mark Young, Sr. Clovis
DB Rodney Ferguson, Sr. Manzano
DB Daniel Wysong, Sr. Manzano
DB Nathan Meek, Sr. Carlsbad
P Ryan Stephens, Sr. Carlsbad
Player of the Year — Rodney Ferguson, RB/DB, Manzano, Sr.
Newcomer of the year — Eddie Jackson, Hobbs, So.
Second team
Offense
Quarterback — Breck Vernon, Manzano, Sr. Line — Jordan Hinze, Carlsbad, Sr.; Richard Oliver, Manzano, Sr.; Shayne Patterson, Hobbs, Sr.; Randy Howard, Carlsbad, Sr.; Chris Belis, Carlsbad, Sr.; Vinny Williams, Clovis, Sr. Receivers — Ben Teconchuk, Cloivis, Sr.; Randy Gatewood, Manzano, Sr.; Justin Yanez, Carlsbad, Sr. Running backs — Eddie Jackson, Hobbs, So.; Joseph Vera, Carlsbad, Sr.; Jared Metzger, Manzano, Sr. Tight end — Mario Caswell, Clovis, Sr. Placekicker — Joey Ongaga, Carlsbad, Sr.
Defense
Line — Justin Wright, Carlsbad, Sr.; Josh Becenti, Manzano, Sr.; Grant Mabrey, Carlsbad, Sr.; Shayne Patterson, Hobbs, Sr. Ends — Linebackers — Jeff Epps, Clovis, Sr.; Noel Ponce, Hobbs, Sr.; Travis Kelley, Manzano, Jr. Secondary — Shane Davis, Eldorado, Sr.; Angelo Sandoval, Clovis, Sr.; Jacob Jones, Clovis, Sr.; Justin Yaniz, Carlsbad, Sr.; Ryan Stephens, Carlsbad, Sr. Punter — Josh Martinez, Hobbs, Sr.
Special teams — Nathan Meek, Carlsbad, Sr.
Honorable mention
Offense
Quarterbacks — Seth Fuller, Carlsbad, Jr.; Brandon Griffith, Carlsbad, Jr. Line — Jon Hanna, Manzano, Sr.; Jon Fails, Clovis, Jr.; Phillip Salazar, Clovis, Sr.; Tom Long, Manzano, Sr. Receivers — Austin Mount, Eldorado, Jr.; Fil Martinez, Manzano, Sr.; Adam Garcia, Carlsbad, Sr. Running backs — Dathan Brown, Manzano, Sr.; William Waldron, Hobbs, Sr. Tight ends — Daniel Wysong, Manzano, Sr. Placekicker — Kim Febo, Eldorado, Sr. Special teams — Josh Martinez, Hobbs, Sr.
Defense
Line — Wade Lopez, Clovis, Sr.; Alex Everett, Clovis, Jr. Ends — David Whatley, Eldorado, Sr.; Ryan Rohlte, Eldorado, Sr.; Josh Conway, Manzano, Jr.; Travis Loomis, Clovis, Sr.; Herschal Brown, Hobbs, Sr.; Linebackers — Jason Fine, Eldorado, Sr. Secondary — Marcos Lechuga, Hobbs, Sr.; Josh Farraman, Manzano, Jr.; Deshon Sanders, Hobbs, Sr.; Glen Avison, Carlsbad, Sr.; Mark Replogle, Clovis, Sr.; Elliott Hita, Clovis, Jr. Punter — Mario Caswell, Clovis, Sr.
