There may not be a more deserving player not participating in a postseason All-Star game than Blackville-Hilda’s Joe Thomas.
Passed over for the Shrine Bowl and the North-South All-Star game, Thomas was not overlooked recently when the South Carolina Football Coaches Association voted him to its Palmetto Champions All-Star team.
“We are glad that Joe is receiving this,” Blackville-Hilda head coach David Berry said. “But, this is not all about Joe. This is about those people up front. It’s just as much their reward as it is his.”
Thomas, an Elite 11 selection the past two seasons, has rushed for 1,700-plus yards and 30 touchdowns thus far this season.
Calhoun County head coach Walt Wilson was selected as the Class A Lower State Coach of the Year. His Saints recently concluded their season with an 11-1 record, losing 40-34 to Bamberg-Ehrhardt Saturday.
Wilson and Thomas will now participate in a banquet to honor the players and coaches selected to the team on Dec. 4 in Columbia. There were 25 players and 10 coaches selected to the team, and from that list an All-Star lineman, back, special teams player and coach of the year will be named.
Other players and coaches named to the team are listed below.
BACKS AND LINEMEN
Big 16
Upper State
Back: Walt Canty, Dorman
Lineman: Brandon Thomas, Dorman
Lower State
Back: Roderick McDowell, Sumter
Lineman: Michael Miller, Sumter
4A Upper State
Back: Stephon Gilmore, South Pointe
Lineman: Hakeem Adams, Northwestern
Lower State
Back: Michael Frazier, Conway
Lineman: Mailiciah Goodman, West Florence
3A
Upper State
Back: Justin Trapp, Fairfield Central
Lineman: Tyler Felt, J.L. Mann
Lower State
Back: Terrance Wilson, Crestwood
Lineman: Donquill McElveen, Lake City
2A
Upper State
Back: Channing Kennedy, Abbeville
Lineman: Justice Cunningham, Central
Lower State
Back: Rockarius King, Timberland
Lineman: Quinton Washington, Timberland
1A
Upper State
Back: Joe Thomas, Blackville-Hilda
Lineman: J.K. Jay, Christ Church
Lower State
Back: Antonio Mitchum, Hemingway
Lineman: Kwame Geathers, Carvers Bay
SPECIALISTS
Big 16: Dylan Zimmerman, Summerville
4A: Aaron Mayes, Blythewood
3A: Grant Clayton, A.C. Flora
2A: Zach Sears, Pendleton
1A: Chandler Catanzaro, Christ Church
COACHES
Big 16
Upper State: Dave Gutshall, Dorman
Lower State: Paul Sorrells, Sumter
AAAA
Upper State: Bobby Carroll, South Pointe
Lower State: Dan Pippen, North Augusta
AAA
Upper State: Will Young, Greer
Lower State: Rick Knight, Midland Valley
AA
Upper State: Joey Mangum, Pageland Central
Lower State: Art Craig, Timberland
A
Upper State: Don Frost, Christ Church
Lower State: Walt Wilson, Calhoun County