Nick Pitts and Amos Parmenter were named the most valuable players for the Sweet Home football team Tuesday night, Nov. 13, at the team’s awards dessert at Community Chapel.
The selections were made by a vote of team members and by coaches, Head Coach Rob Younger said.
“Any time your peers vote for you shows their respect for you not only as football players but as leaders, character, people beyond football players,” Younger said.
Parmenter, a 5-10, 200-pound junior tailback, led the Huskies in rushing with 1,103 yards on 215 carries for an average of 5.1 yards a carry and 110.3 per game. He scored 13 touchdowns, with only nine fumbles. He also was one of the leading tacklers on the team as a middle linebacker.
“I went to the all-league meeting and all the opposing coaches said they had to change their blocking schemes to get helmets on Amos,” Younger said.
He was named first-team all-Val-Co Conference as both a running back and linebacker.
Pitts, a senior, was second in rushing, with 399 yards on 71 carries for an average of 5.6 yards per carry. He was named to the all-conference first team as a defensive back and to the second team as a running back.
Greg Sipe, a senior defensive back who also played backup quarterback, was named most inspirational player and winner of the Black Lion Award, for courage and leadership. He was named second team all-league as a defensive back.
“You can’t get a better person than Greg,” Younger said. “He put the team ahead of his individual wants. He was very supportive of his teammates. Everybody has nothing but tremendous respect for him.”
Senior outside linebacker Dustin Horn and Parmenter were named the top defensive players, while Pitts was named best back.
“Amos, Dustin and Nick were definitely leaders,” Younger said.
Horn and junior lineman Logan Clark were named most improved players.
“We talked to the players and they told us these guys, from the end of last season to the end of this season, are the ones who improved the most,” the coach said. “They worked so hard and had great, great attitudes. It really carried over to the field and was a vital part of our success.”
Clark was named to the all-conference second team as a defensive lineman.
Senior Kelsey Fisher was named outstanding lineman. Fisher was named first-team all-conference as a defensive lineman and second-team as an offensive lineman.
“He plays great on both sides of the ball,” Younger said. “He’s not real big but he’s 90 percent heart. He’s a well-rounded young man whom everybody likes to be around.”
Steve Jones received the Dick Reynolds Coaches Award and was named to the all-conference honorable mention team.
The coaches award is exactly what it says – it’s given to the player who “typifies what we want in a football player,” Younger said. “Attitude, effort – everything but football. The winner is picked by coaches as that guy who you want to call your own.”
Also named to the all-conference first team were: junior defensive specialist Tino Puentes, a first-time football player who also averaged 33.4 yards per kick as a punter – and 41.3 yards on seven kicks during league games; junior offensive lineman Zane Wise; and junior tight end Josh Riggs.
Other Huskies named to the second team were: senior offensive lineman Za Ramsey and junior wide receiver Kevin McGuyre.
Junior quarterback Ryan Graville was named honorable mention as well.
Third-year letter winners were Jones, Fisher and Wise and manager Mary Bond.
Second-year letter winners were Pitts, Marcus Delong, Horn. Trevur Byers, Kyle Gutierrez, Riggs, Ramsey, Sipe, Clark and Theo Mai.
First-year winners were Graville, McGuyre, Josh Ward, Marc Callagan, Parmenter, Brock Cota, Brent Moyer, Daniel Coonc, Sam Macklin, Shelby Johnston, Kyle Holmes, Caleb Keeney, Puentes, Ethan Rowe, Levi Marchbanks and manager Polly Bond.
Younger said he is optimistic about 2008, given what he saw on the field this year from the Huskies. Nine seniors will be moving on, but 16 lettermen this year are juniors and three are sophomores.
“We’re excited,” Younger said. “We have a lot of experience coming back, though as a coach you know it depends on how everything falls into place.
“Our seniors did provide good leadership this year so we have a good core of ideals to build on for next year. I think this junior class can take what the seniors taught them this year and carry that over into success next year.
“You always wish you could win a few more football games,” he said. “Our goal was to win more than five. But these guys gave great effort and if you look at our improvement from Day One, you have to be very, very satisfied.”
Younger said the moral fiber of the team evident in whom they selected as one of their MVPs.
“Here’s a kid like Amos Parmenter, the new kid on the block, and the way the guys accepted him shows you the character of this football team,” he said. “That shows tremendous character and quality. These are good people.
“These guys are going to take what they learn from football and be great fathers, great husbands and great persons in the workforce.”