The All-Region football teams for Region 8 of Class AAAAAA were released on Friday and Habersham Central High School was well represented with 15 Raiders honored.
“I think it shows our kids are respected by our opponents we play,” said HCHS Head Coach Benji Harrison. “I make no bones about it: we play in a very tough region. When we get there and we start nominating players, our players are respected that they’re good football players.”
BEST OF THE BEST
Topping the list is the Region 8-AAAAAA (8-6A) Athlete of the Year, which went to junior wide receiver Zeke Whittington.
Whittington finished the season with 63 catches for 862 yards and nine touchdowns. He had four games with over 100 yards receiving, including the playoff game against Douglas County High School.
“When you mention Number 5 (Whittington) in the region meeting, they all know who he is. They know he’s a competitor,” Harrison said. “They joked and couldn’t believe he has another year. There wasn’t much debate in the room when we nominated him. They knew what kind of player he is and not only does he do it on the offensive side, he goes over and does it on the defensive side when we need him to.
“He’s very deserving. When you look at who we play in our region, I think it even stands out as more of an honor [to be Athlete of the Year],” he continued.
Whittington’s 63 catches this season pushed his career total to 219, setting the new school record at that mark. He has another season in 2024 to push that number to near unreachable.
The Raiders also had the region’s Defensive Player of the Year in senior Carter Barrett.
Barrett is listed as a free safety on HCHS’s roster. He finished his 2023 campaign with 110 total tackles (55 solo, 55 assists) and 10.5 tackles for loss.
Barrett also tacked on four passes defended, three fumble recoveries and one forced fumble to his stat totals.
“Coaches are different than players. They all know their names, we all know their numbers. When you talk about Carter, number 23, [the coaches in the region] knows who number 23 is,” Harrison said of the senior. “What he does defensively causes offensive coaches to have a plan for him. A lot of times, that’s not the case. You don’t really have a plan for a safety. For him to force you to do that…he deserves it.”
FIRST TEAM
Fellow seniors Braden Henslee and Somdee Satiphone were First Team Defense honorees.
Henslee had 84 total tackles (22 solo, 64 assists), nine tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback hurries and a pass defended from his linebacker spot.
Satiphone finished with 22 total tackles (16 solo, 6 assists), one tackle for loss, three interceptions and nine passes defended. He also returned kicks for the Raiders, which saw him amass 339 return yards on nine returns with kickoff return touchdowns against Stephens County and Jackson County high schools.
Senior guard Brad Chosewood was the lone Raider on the First Team Offense.
Senior Hayden Gailey was named First Team Punter.
Gailey punted the ball 22 times in the final seven games of the year, covering 814 yards and pinning four inside the 20-yard line.
SECOND TEAM
The Raiders had three representatives on the Second Team Offense.
Junior running back Antonio Cantrell finished his next-to-last season with 158 carries for 695 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Wide receiver Landyn Savage had 15 catches for 155 yards for HCHS.
Senior offensive lineman Jacob Adams was also named to the Second Team Offense.
Senior linebacker Jarred White and senior defensive lineman Alex Ethridge made their way to the Second Team Defense.
White’s 2023 campaign saw him total 85 total tackles (27 solo, 58 assists), 5.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, one pass defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Ethridge notched 34 total tackles (9 solo, 25 assists), 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Sophomore Michael Hill was named the Second Team Kicker.
Hill covered 1,476 yards on 33 kickoffs for the Raiders this season. Hill hit 27-of-29 point after touchdown (PATs) tries and 3-of-5 field goal tries for a total of 36 points scored.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Seniors Jonah Wilson, Aidan Cianci and Davey Sanders were all honorable mentions.
Wilson, listed as a safety, finished the year with 53 total tackles (23 solo, 30 assists), 1.5 tackles for loss, two passes defended, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
As a defensive lineman, Cianci totaled 35 total tackles (9 solo, 26 assists), one tackle for loss, three quarterback hurries, and one forced fumble.
