Cedar Bluff running back D’Shawn Fife had his eyes opened following his junior year. By his own admission, he said he had “a lot of adversity going against me, and a lot of bad decisions I made.”
Fife was anxious for the fresh start the 2014 football season provided. And, while it was a roller-coaster ride at times, Fife came through when his teammates needed him to the most.
Following an embarrassing 42-0 loss at Sand Rock in their regular season finale, Fife and the rest of the Tigers had a gut check. Hopes of a share of the Class 1A, Region 7 championship were gone, and their margin for error to keep their season alive was also erased. A road playoff game at Berry of Fayette was looming, and Fife didn’t want his career end on a sour note.
Fife responded with his best game of the season to open the playoffs. He carried the ball 38 times for 315 yards and four touchdowns in a 46-34 victory.
Fife followed that performance up with a 224-yard, six-touchdown outing in a 56-48 win.
However, the Tigers’ season fell short of a state title in the quarterfinals with a 56-22 loss to Marion County.
“When the playoffs came around, we just all turned into a big family,” Fife said. “Really, what kicked us into that was when we lost to Sand Rock. We all knew we couldn’t play around anymore. We all had to see where we were. We all come back to practice that Monday, put in the work and became a better team, a better family. We all trusted each other.”
Fife finished the season with 1,774 yards on 260 totes with 32 touchdowns. For his career, he ended with 3,594 yards and 55 touchdowns on the ground, but it was his effort during the 2014 season that helped Fife earn the All-Cherokee County Offensive Most Valuable Player honor.
“Itӽ紫ý something I worked hard for to achieve,” Fife said. “This year, I feel like I grew up and tried to be more of a leader, and things just fell into place. Itӽ紫ý pretty special to win it in my last year.”
Joining Fife for the top honor on the defensive side of the ball is fellow teammate and senior defensive lineman Jake Mintz. Mintz posted 112 total tackles, including nine for lost yardage, three sacks, three pass breakups, two fumbles recovered (1 for a 10-yard touchdown) and two interceptions (1 for a 75-yard touchdown) to earn the All-County Defensive Most Valuable Player award.
“Any award like that is really a team effort,” Mintz said. “My teammates really make my job easy. I’m just really honored to be a part of that and be blessed with the ability God has given me.”
Like Fife, Mintz said the Tigers matured following the regular season.
“We decided we have the talent level to compete,” he said. “I feel like we found our identity and what kind of team we were. We really peaked at the right time.”
Cedar Bluff coach Jonathan McWhorter said one major attribute Mintz and Fife had for their team this season was leadership.
“Both kids put in a lot of time and effort into this season, and I’m proud of them,” he said. “We knew coming in we had a fairly young team. We had a small senior class. We were counting on a lot of guys. It was a work in progress. We struggled early, made of lot of mistakes, but we got better as the year went along. From a coaching standpoint, thatӽ紫ý what you want. Those two guys were a big part of our success.”
Speaking of McWhorter, he was chosen along with Spring Gardenӽ紫ý Jason Howard as County Co-Coaches of the Year.
McWhorter guided the Tigers to a 7-6 overall record, including the teamӽ紫ý first berth in the Class 1A state quarterfinals since 2006. Howard led the Panthers to a 7-4 mark and the teamӽ紫ý first home playoff game in school history.
Joining Fife and Mintz on the All-County team from Cedar Bluff are senior wide receiver/defensive back Blake Terry, junior wide receiver/defensive back DJ Chapman, junior offensive/defensive lineman D’Andre Autry, junior wide receiver/linebacker Jordan McElroy, junior running back/linebacker Haylan Bailey, junior running back/linebacker Logan Shinn and sophomore quarterback/linebacker Josh Decker.
The Tigers also have a pair of honorable mention players in junior wide receiver/defensive back Jamie Abernathy and freshman wide receiver/defensive back Davion Fife.
Representing Spring Garden is senior tight end/defensive lineman Dalton Kerr, sophomore running back Dakota Lambert, sophomore fullback Quintin Downey, junior offensive/defensive lineman Sam Parris, senior offensive lineman/linebacker Kris Holcomb, sophomore quarterback Ben Ivey, senior running back Andrew McLarty and junior offensive/defensive lineman Ethan Rogers.
The Panthers also have a pair of honorable mention players in junior linebacker/wide receiver Dylan Short and junior offensive lineman/linebacker Corey Williams.
Sand Rock (5-5) has seven representatives in senior quarterback/defensive back Chase Garrett, junior wide receiver/defensive back Zack Ellison, junior running back/linebacker Alex McMahan, senior offensive/defensive lineman Ryon Gibson, senior offensive/defensive lineman Andrew Rowland, senior offensive/defensive lineman Zac Bobo and senior offensive lineman/linebacker Matthew Tinsley.
The Wildcats also have six honorable mention players in junior offensive/defensive lineman Jacob mayo, senior tight end/linebacker Will Cole, senior wide receiver/defensive back Lucas Garmany, junior wide receiver/linebacker Joel Brock, junior running back/linebacker Jared Blackwell and sophomore running back/safety Braden Carver.
The Cherokee County Warriors (4-6) have nine players on the All-County squad in senior offensive/defensive lineman Andrew Johnson, senior offensive/defensive lineman Jacob Green, junior tight end/defensive end Nahum Horton, senior running back/safety J.T. Hill, sophomore wide receiver/defensive back Jacob Graves, freshman quarterback/safety Tyren Dupree, sophomore offensive lineman/linebacker Dawson Foshee, senior tight end/linebacker Austin Mallett and sophomore offensive lineman/linebacker Kaleb Ransum.
The Warriors also have three honorable mention players in sophomore receiver/safety Justin McKnight, freshman tight end/linebacker Riley Russell and freshman wide receiver/linebacker Desmond Blair.
The Gaylesville Trojans (2-7) have six All-County selections in senior offensive/defensive lineman Seth Dawson, senior offensive lineman/linebacker Allen Lafavor, junior offensive lineman/linebacker Logan Hurley, senior offensive/defensive lineman Nick Moore, senior wide receiver/defensive back Tristan Stalker and senior running back/defensive back Dillon Evans.
The Trojans also have three honorable mention players in sophomore tight end/linebacker Landon Lawson, senior quarterback/linebacker CJ Williamson and senior running back/safety Gordon Walters.
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