Five players from the Chattanooga area are among the finalists for this year's Tennessee Titans Mr. Football award in their respective classifications. That group emerged from the original list of semifinalists, which had been announced two weeks ago.
Three finalists in each of the state's nine classifications, plus three finalists for the overall Kicker of the Year award were announced by the TSSAA during Tuesday evening's Titans coach's show.
Among the local players who earned a spot as finalists are Baylor's Briggs Cherry and David Gabriel Georges in Division II-AAA, Boyd Buchanan's David Green in DII-AA, South Pittsburg's Dayon Cooper in Class 1A and Notre Dame's Owen Maddox for Kicker of the Year.
Three other local athletes — East Hamilton's Jaden Haywood (5A), Chattanooga Prep's Marquis Gardner (3A) and South Pittsburg's Ja'Mychal Buckner (1A) — were semifinalists.
Award winners will be announced during a Dec. 9 ceremony at Nashville's Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL's Titans.
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Although three of the five local finalists — Baylor's Cherry and Gabriel Georges and South Pitt's Cooper — are on teams still alive in the playoffs, only the regular season is factored into determining both the finalists and overall winners, as playoff statistics and performances are not part of the selection process.
Gabriel Georges, a junior, is the only one among the group who was a finalist last year, and he went on to win the DII-AAA award.
This year, DGG rushed for 1,022 yards — averaging 11.6 yards per carry in just seven regular-season games played. Meanwhile Cherry completed 70% of his passes for 2,388 yards with 24 touchdowns and no interceptions in 175 attempts.
Each of those players played a key role in helping the Red Raiders return to the DII-AAA BlueCross Bowl, where they will face Brentwood Academy at Finley Stadium on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m.
"We are incredibly proud of Briggs and David for the recognition of their outstanding seasons," said Baylor coach Erik Kimrey, who has guided the Red Raiders to the state championship game each of his four seasons with the program and will be looking to claim a second title during that span.
"Both young men not only excel on the field but also exemplify the greatness of spirit we value at Baylor School."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com.
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