By BY BRUCE HIXON – SPORTS EDITOR
One of T.R. Miller's largest football senior classes was the backbone of the Tigers' region championship, a three-week stay atop the Class 4A polls, advancement to the second round of the playoffs and a 10-2 overall record.
Marlon Alvarado: &#8220Marlon played a lot of defensive tackle. He has good hands and developed into a good pass rusher,” said Riggs.
Kyle Baggett: &#8220Kyle brought a great work ethic and attitude to practice every day. Kyle saw a lot of time on special teams,” said Riggs.
Andrew Chavers: &#8220Andrew moved from offensive tackle to tight end this season. He also saw a lot of time at defensive tackle,” said Riggs. &#8220We ran a lot behind Andrew this season and he made some key catches. He also did a good job of stopping the run inside.”
Becker Denton: &#8220Becker was our starting center until late in the season when we moved him over to guard. We also moved him to linebacker this season and he did a good job,” said Riggs. &#8220Becker brought tremendous enthusiasm and effort with him every game.”
Justin Gomez: &#8220Justin was playing nearly every down by the time the season ended. He had one of the best noses for the end zone of anybody I've coached,” said Riggs.” He also did a tremendous job at inside and outside linebacker.”
Paul Wayne Hayes: &#8220Paul Wayne saw a lot of time at defensive tackle and did a good job there,” said Riggs.
Travis Holland: &#8220Travis was one of our most consistent players. He improved a lot as a defensive back and had a lot of big runs at running back. Travis did a tremendous job of taking care of the ball,” said Riggs.
Mackie Jackson: &#8220Mackie came out this year and got injured during the preseason,” said Riggs. &#8220He came back about midseason and saw some time at outside linebacker.”
Karl Kast: &#8220Karl was a backup defensive back and got in some games as a substitute. He helped us prepare a lot in practice,” said Riggs.
Kendall Land: &#8220Kendall
spent a lot of time at defensive back,” said Riggs. &#8220Kendall got as much as he could out of his ability and played with a lot of football smarts.”
Brice Martin: &#8220Brice had a great year on both sides of the ball. He was a deep threat as a receiver and had many clutch catches. Brice also had some big interceptions,” said Riggs.
Jamal Middleton: &#8220This was Jamal's first season and he made a big impact at cornerback,” said Riggs. &#8220Jamal had one of our biggest defensive plays of the season when he intercepted a pass and ran it back for a touchdown against Trinity. He also had some good runs at running back.”
Baxley Raines: Baxley did a nice job throwing the ball for us this season. His ability to throw the deep ball helped keep the defense honest when it came to defending our running game,” said Riggs. &#8220Baxley also did a good job with our kicking game.”
Seron Samuel: &#8220Seron came out this season and saw some time at defensive end,” said Riggs. &#8220Seron was injured late in the regular season, but came back and played in the playoffs.”
Tanner Shehan: &#8220Tanner came up with several big plays for us this season running and catching the ball. It seemed like most of Tanner's biggest plays came on third down,” said Riggs.
Jim Simmons: &#8220Jim saw some time at defensive end and helped us with our depth in that area. He also got in some time on special teams,” said Riggs.
Alex Singleton: &#8220Alex didn't play last year,” said Riggs. &#8220He came out this year and saw some time as a defensive lineman.”
Brad Smith: &#8220Brad was one of our best offensive linemen. He was also one of our most versatile linemen. He saw a lot of time at guard before we had to move him to tackle,” said Riggs.
Ed Taylor: &#8220Ed saw most of his time at nose guard and offensive guard. He wound up starting most of the year after Christopher Griffin got injured. He did a good job filling in for him,” said Riggs.
Rashad Taylor: &#8220Rashad missed a lot of the year, but he still came up with some good defensive plays,” said Riggs.
Terrence Walker: &#8220Terrence had a great year on defense. He saw time at outside linebacker, cornerback and safety and was one of our top tacklers for the season,” said Riggs.
Thomas Watson: &#8220This was Thomas' first year with us. He saw some time as a substitute running back,” said Riggs.