Several Garvin County eight-man football players recently received football honors in Class C and District 4.
Noah Alviso, a senior from Maysville, will play in the Eight-Man All-State game and was named All-District Offensive Lineman of the Year.
“I’ve always been a lineman,” Alviso said. “It’s easy in the trenches sometimes, and sometimes I get hurt, but I’ve got to protect my quarterback.”
He is hoping to play at the college level.
“The biggest challenge in football is trying to get strong enough when there are other guys bigger than me,” he said.
Ryan Johnson, the Maysville quarterback, will play in the All-State Game and was named to the First Team All-District.
“I got noticed for all the times I broke free in the open field and took it home, which I couldn’t have done without my line. All the credit goes to them,” Johnson said.
After graduation, the senior plans to work in the oil field.
“Football has meant a lot to me,” he said. “I love it because the people I was surrounded by are like my family and a great coach.”
Gavin Martin, a Maysville running back, was named an alternate for the All-State team and to the First Team All-District.
“My strength is being very versatile at different positions,” Martin said. “I had a lot of fight in me and didn’t give up.”
Martin is studying CNC machinery at Mid-America Vo-Tech and plans to go to work after high school.
“Football is the only reason I’m still in school, and it has given me friends that surround me,” Martin said. “We have a great atmosphere that gives everyone the chance to play, no matter what it comes down to.”
Chase Sumner, a Paoli senior, was named an alternate for the Eight-Man All-State Game and First Team All-District Offensive Line.
“I mostly play center, and it’s one of the hardest positions. One miss could kill the play,” he said. “When you have a bad play, you have to move on. It takes a lot not to get mad with someone above you talking back and forth.”
Sumner comes from a family of football players. In addition to his uncle as his current coach, his cousins, Jason Sumner and Jaylin Jones, play for Division I colleges.
“The sport runs in our genes,” Sumner said.
He has been studying cybersecurity at Mid-America. Sumner will be attending East Central University, where he is considering walking on the football team or competing in e-sports.
“I’ve made a lot of memories and connections,” Sumner said. “If we need something in the future, then we can call our teammates or our coaches, and they will have our backs.”
Tyler Collins from Paoli was named District Running Back of the Year, as well as to the First Team All-District as running back and defensive line.
The sophomore set a goal to gain at least 1,000 yards this season and can often be found in the weight room throughout the offseason.
“All I do is work out and play football,” Collins said. “It’s what I love. There’s something about it that I like.”
The work paid off as Collins accomplished 1,625 yards gained, 17 touchdowns and 100 total tackles this season.
Next season, he hopes to gain 2,000 yards and lead his team to a playoff berth.
“I can’t wait until next year,” Collins said. “It will be my biggest year to prove myself.”
Jordan Watson of Paoli was named to the First Team All-District Defensive Line.
Watson began playing football after his parents’ divorce and his grandfather’s cancer diagnosis.
“I play football because I went into dark times in my life,” he said. “I took my anger out.”
Watson appreciates the saying, “Not everything has to be good for something good to come out of it.”
“That is especially on the D-line,” he said. “Just because you don’t make a good step, you can be a stepping stone for teammates to make a play. If I fill the gap but don’t get the tackle, then that gives my teammates the opportunity to make the play.”
The senior is a Certified Nursing Assistant, thanks to Mid-America, and plans to pursue playing college basketball.
Gabe Arroyo from Maysville was named to the First Team All-District. His most common position to play is wide receiver, where he caught several touchdown passes.
“It’s my speed. I’ve always been fast,” Arroyo said.
The freshman also sprints for the Warrior track team.
His goals include beating Maud next season and playing college football.
“I want to do better than I did last year,” Arroyo said. “I want to get stronger, faster and not make the same mistakes I made this year.”
Kei’Aundre Cook from Paoli was named to the Second Team All-District Offensive Line.
“I protect the people behind me, and the contact is nice,” he said. “I like when the ball comes to my side a lot because I get to show out and show I can block for my teammates and help us score.”
The junior, who is originally from Texas, grew up playing football and has several family members involved in the sport. Cook grew up playing with his cousin Jaylin Jones, now a linebacker at Baylor University.
“He’s my inspiration for football,” Cook said.
Other Second Team All-District players were Paoli’s Cobey Williamson and John Fowler, and Maysville’s Bleu Anderson, Killian Lindig, Emilio Rios and Alex Tillery.