DigitalSports Baltimore City Offensive Player of The Year
Tavon Austin, Dunbar
Click here for Tavon Austin Interview about earning Maryland State Player of The Year
Click here for highlights of Dunbar’s Class 1A state championship win over Allegany
Click here for Tavon Austin’s post-game interview following state championship victory over Allegany
Click here for highlights of Dunbar’s Class 1A North Regional title victory over Surrattsville
Click here for Austin’s post-game interview following Surrattsville
Click here for highlights of Dunbar’s Class 1A South Regional semifinal win over Forestville
The 5-foot-9, 175-pounder ran for a school-record 2,553 yards and a school-record 32 touchdowns, averaging 12.89 yards per carry on 198 attempts.
Austin scored 39 touchdowns on the year overall, raising his career touchdown total to a state record 92, surpassing, by five, the old mark of 87 prevously held by Old Mill’s Ryan Callahan.
An athlete who has clocked a 4.4-second 40-yard dash, Austin led the Poets to their second consecutive Class 1A state title, and their program’s fifth overall, when added to the back-to-back crowns won in 1994, and ’95 in the Class 2A and Class 3A, and to that earned in Class 1A in 2004.
For the Poets, who were a school-record 14-0 this year, Austin also caught touchdowns on three of his 17 receptions totaling 335 yards, and returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns.
Defensively, Austin had 33 solo tackles and 52 overall as well as three forced fumbles, returning one of his four interceptions for a school-record 101-yard touchdown, and also one of his two fumble recoveries for another score.
Austin, who also completed 3-of-4 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, has 5,287 career rushing yards to bring him within 633 yards of tying the state’s all-time carreer rushing yardage total of 5,920 presently held by Auburn University’s Ben Tate, who played at both Stephen Decatur and Snow Hill from 2003 to 2005.
Austin, whose 12 two-point conversions raised his scoring totals to 258 points, rushed for a career-high 344 yards in a 49-24 victory over last year’s Class 2A state champion Edmondson.
Austin always was quick to credit the play of his offensive line, comprised of first-team All-City picks Antonio Brown, Malcolm Speller and Anthony Watters, and also Matthew Odezugo and Devin Clark.
And when Austin went down with a rib injury early in the Poets’ state semifinal rout of South Carroll of Carroll County, Austin credited his teammates, junior quarterback Jonathan Perry and junior receiver Sean Farr for their offensive dominance.
Austin wore a flack jacket as protection for the injury during the Poets’ title-winning, 58-34 victory over previously unbeaten Allegany of Cumberland.
In the state title game, Austin scored three of Dunbar’s first four touchdowns on runs of 9, 32 and 59 yards to help his team to build a 40-12 halfime lead.
Boston College, Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia and Wake Forest have offered full scholarships to Austin, and Florida, Florida State, Illinois, North Carolina, Ohio State and Texas are highly interested in Austin’s skills.
DigitalSports Baltimore City Defensive Player of The Year
Keon Redhead, Dunbar
Click here for interview with Keon Redhead following Dunbar’s Class 1A North Regional title win over Surrattsville
The 5-foot-9, 220-pound senior has been a four-year starter for the Poets, who, during that time were Class 1A state titlists in 2004, 2006 and this year — the latter at a school-record 14-0.
Redhead totaled a team-high 158 tackles, 90 of which were unassisted. Redhead made 13 tackles for lost yardage and had four each in fumble recoveries, forced fumbles and sacks.
This season, Redhead made a career-high 13 tackles for lost yardage, nearly half of the total of 28 he accumulated over his four years in the starting role.
Over the course of his career, Redhead totaled 23 sacks, with his career-high being a a sophomore with eight.
Redhead recovered a career-high five fumbles as a junior, and has 15 over the course of his four years.
Redhead also caused a career-high five fumbles as a junior, finishing with 13 of those for his career.
Redhead bench presses 330 pounds, can squat 550 and has clocked a 4.7-second 40-yard dash.
Behind Redhead, the Poets allowed an average of just over 11 points per game overall, and, just over eight points in Baltimore City League A Conference play.
Redhead, who totaled 409 tackles (an average of more than 102 perseason), has been offered scholarships to Bowie, Virginia State, Albright and Johnson C. Smith.
DigitalSports Baltimore City Coach of The Year
Lawrence Smith, Dunbar
Click here for Lawrence Smith’s post-game speech following Dunbar’s Class 1A state semifinal win over South Carroll
Click here for Smith and the Poets following their Class 1A South Regional title win over Surrattsville
Click here for Smith’s interview following Dunbar’s Class 1A South Regional victory over Surrattsville
A former assistant, Smith was thrust into the role of head coach when
Ben Eaton died suddenly in late August. The entire season, however,
Smith kept the goals, hopes and methods of Eaton at the forefront of
the players and the other coaches.
Smith, offensive coordinator Travis Blackston and defensive coordinator
Anderson Powell kept the Poets’ performing at an optimum level, guiding
Dunbar to a school-record 14-0 mark that ended with their second
consecutive Class 1A state title victory, 58-34, over Allegany of
Cumberland.
The win was Dunbar’s school-record 24th straight, earning the program’s
fifth overall state title, when added to the back-to-back crowns earned
in 1994 and ’95 in Class 2A and Class 3A, and that in Class 1A that was
won in 2004.
Along the way, the Poets’ defeated Baltimore City League B Division
champ, Digital Harbor, and also routed Class 2A North regional
semifinalist City and Class 2A North regional semifinalist Poly as well
as last year’s Class 2A state champion, Edmondson, on the way to
earning the Baltimore City League’s A Conferene crown.
In winning the Class 1A South Region title, Dunbar routed Prince
George’s County teams Forestville and Surrattsville, overcoming
programs which boasted University of Maryland-bound players Kevin
Dorsey and Davin Meggett.
Dunbar scored a state record 196 points in four playoff games, erasing
the old mark (141) held by state champion Urbana in 1999.
The Poets’ 58 points in the state championship game tied the record
established by Valley High in 1977, when it routed Snow Hill, 58-16,
for a state title.
Junior running back Tavon Austin raised his career touchdown totals to a state record, 92, surpassing the old record by five.
Junior quarterback Jonathan Perry, a transfer from 1-9 Samuel Banks,
threw for 2,290 yards and 23 touchdowns. Junior receiver Sean Farr
caught 49 passes for 1,408 yards and 18 touchdowns.
Smith, named interim coach throughout the season, has been installed as the head coach for next year’s Poets.
The Poets should return Austin, Perry, Farr, Tevin Brown, Horace
Miller, Antonio Brown, Davon Muse, Michael McNeil and Gary Oneukwusi
for their senior seasons, and Devin Clark for his junior year.
First-Team Offense
Jonathan Perry, Dunbar, quarterback
Carroll Washington, Edmondson, quarterback
Tavon Austin, Dunbar, running back
Lee Reynolds, Poly, running back
Richard Rodwell, City, running back
Terrence West, Northwestern, running back
Sean Farr, Dunbar, wide receiver
Gary Oneukwusi, Dunbar, tight end
Antonio Brown, Dunbar, lineman
Charles Johnson, Poly, lineman
Joshua Kittrell, Edmonson, lineman
Stanley Savoy, Edmondson, lineman
Malcolm Speller, Dunbar, lineman
Anthony Watters, Dunbar, lineman
Davon Muse, Dunbar, Placekicker/Punter
First-Team Defense
James Carmon, City, lineman
Arnold Farmer, Poly, lineman
Kenyon Kinnard, Dunbar, lineman
David Mackall, Edmondson, lineman
Michael Mayo, Digital Harbor, lineman*
Horace Miller, Dunbar, lineman
Matthew Odezugo, Dunbar, lineman
Anthony Rice, Edmondson, defensive lineman
Donnell Brown, Poly, linebacker
Tevin Brown, Dunbar, linebacker
Keon Redhead, Dunbar, linebacker
Michael Wadsworth, Poly, linebacker
Chrstopher Green, Edmondson, defensive back
D’andre Green, Edmondson, defensive back
Terrell Gregory, Digital Harbor, defensive back*
Honorable mention offensve: QB- Ellis Foster, City, Antwan Goodson, Poly; RB- Jamal Fields, Edmondson, Stephen Johnson, City, Terrence Wilson, Edmondson, WR- Carlos Smith, Forest Park, Ralph Todd, Edmondson, OL- Enoch Brown, Southside, Greg Nixon, Poly, Corey Spencer, Poly; Ath-Corie Kendall, Southside.
Honorable mention defense: DL- Jeron Lewis, Digital Harbor*, Darius Douglass, Edmondson, Darius Johnson, Digital Harbor*, Darius Morris, Edmondson. LB- Michael Wadsworth, Poly. DB- Larry McNair, Forest Park, Michael Mott, Poly.
*All but the Digital Harbor players were nominated by their coaches.
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