Centreville, WCCA players named All-MAIS

Published 12:01 am Saturday, December 15, 2012

Centreville — Centreville Academy’s Colby Shaw had big shoes to fill.

Shaw’s father, Slade Shaw, was named MAIS All-State during his playing days at Centreville Academy. Both the father and son had the opportunity to play under head coach Bill Hurst, and now they both have something else in common.

Colby, along with teammates Randy Bell and Frasier Hogan, were selected as second-team All-MAIS.

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“It’s something I’ve been working toward for a long time,” Colby said. “I know I made my dad proud. He wasn’t really pushing it on me, but it was in the back of my mind. When you’re little, you look up to people and see what they did, and you say, ‘That’d be cool (to do).’”

Predominantly a tight end for the Tigers, Colby said his duties included both blocking and catching passes, depending on which formation Centreville was in.

“I enjoyed doing both,” Colby said. “Sometimes when you catch someone off guard and hit him, it’s fun.”

Hogan, who was named second-team linebacker, said he didn’t expect to be named All-MAIS, but he was excited when he found out. He was also happy to learn his two teammates were named to the team with him.

“It says a lot about the work the coaches put in with us,” Hogan said. “Randy and Colby were great players, and they made a big difference on our team.”

Hogan alternated between linebacker, offensive guard and tight end for the Tigers. Although offensive linemen normally play defensive line if they play both ways, Hogan said the team’s conditioning allowed him to play linebacker with ease.

“We did 50 sprints every Monday and Tuesday,” Hogan said. “The conditioning they gave us made us in shape to go both ways.”

Bell was named second-team return specialist. He was unavailable for comment.

Wilkinson County Christian Academy

WOODVILLE — Two WCCA defenders were also named second-team All-MAIS, with Quincy Thompson getting tabbed as second-team linebacker and Tyler Radley as second-team defensive line.

Radley said he had his hopes up about getting named All-MAIS but didn’t know how realistic a shot he had.

“It felt great, knowing all the days I had to be there early in the summer were worth it,” Radley said.

“I have to thank my team. If not for everyone helping, me and Quincy couldn’t have achieved this. Everyone on our team made our job a whole lot easier.”

Thompson said he also was aiming for All-MAIS and was grateful when he found out he was selected.

“It means a lot to me,” Thompson said. “It’s one of my dreams I accomplished, and since it’s my last year of football, I wanted to finish great.”

Even though he was aiming for All-MAIS, Thompson said it wasn’t something that was constantly on his mind.

“It was on my mind some of the time, but not most of the time,” Thompson said. “I just wanted to play well for me and my team.”

There was also a certain level of pride that came with being part of the Rams’ defense. WCCA gave up less than nine points per game, and only Centreville scored more than 20 on the Rams this season.

“We played assignment football and knew where to line up,” Thompson said of his team’s success.