As the High School soccer season ended over the weekend, the coaches in Limestone County made their All-County Boys’ Soccer first and second team selections for the 2021 season.

First team

The Tanner Rattlers were well represented within the first team All-County selections. Tanner junior forward Manuel Felipe had 34 goals and 16 assists earning his spot. Senior midfielder Nehemias Vicente who finished with 20 goals and 13 assists and midfielder Oliver Gonzalez had 12 goals and 14 assists were also honored. A pair of defenders, senior Frankie Vicente and sophomore Franklin Vicente, were also first team selections from Tanner.

The Ardmore Tigers had three selections to the first team. Ardmore senior forward Connor Harbin led the way for the Tigers with 15 goals and five assists. Junior midfielder Xzander Atkins was not far behind Harbin tallying 12 goals and seven assists for the Tigers. Ardmore boys soccer head coach Kyle Owens also included sophomore defender Jeffrey Rodriguez, who he acknowledged was a very good defensive player that took all the free kicks and corner kicks.

The Clements Colts had two selections for the first team. Sophomore midfielder Junior Diaz had 17 goals and eight assists. Junior defender Chase Newman also made first team for the Colts as Clements head boys soccer head coach Brit Thompson acknowledged he was the heart of the team this season.

Elkmont Red Devils junior midfielder Astrul Irias made first team with 32 and 11 assists.

East Limestone Indians senior goalkeeper Parker Moran was the only goalie selected for the first team. He finished with 136 saves and four assists.

Second team

Elkmont had five selections for the second team. Senior captain Jeffrey Payne finished his final season as a Red Devil with 12 goals and seven assists. Senior defender Joshua Burrows, defensive captain for the Red Devils, only allowed one goal past him all season for the Red Devils. Defenders Andy Rosales and Tyler Ingram were also selected for Elkmont. Rounding out the selections for the second team selections for the Red Devils was center defensive midfielder Joel Marcial.

Also selected for the second team honors were West Limestone Wildcats junior midfielder Christian Smith who had five goals with two assists and junior defender Luis Romero, who according to West head coach Doug Ezekial, doesn’t let much get by him.

Tanner senior Rodrigo Lagunas finished with seven goals and five assists and Rattlers junior goalkeeper Emmanuel Gonzalez who finished the season with 121 saves and six shutouts also earned second team honors.

Second team selections from East were senior midfielder Angel Reyes who tallied nine goals with seven assists and sophomore Angel Cortes who finished with nine goals and five assists on the season.

Honorable mention selections included Elkmont junior Henry Amaya, East senior Garrett King, Clements junior Juan Soriano, West junior Alex Alvarado and last but not least, Clements senior goalkeeper Dominique Coleman. Coleman was a senior in the classroom and a rookie on the pitch. He finished with an 87.5% save percentage in the last half of the season. He had 183 total saves, two shutouts and four one-goal games.

Of these outstanding players, The News Courier has selected Tanner Rattlers eighth grader Randy Cortez for 2021 All-County Boys soccer MVP. He had 48 goals with 17 assists. He had 12 games with three or more goals. He tied for third most all-time in AHSAA history with five consecutive hat tricks. The leader is J.J. Williams of Alabama Christian with seven back in 2016.

The 2021 All-County Boys Soccer coach of the year, chosen by the News Courier, is Tanner Rattlers Matt Smith. Smith finished up his eighth year as head coach, led his team to a 19-5-1 overall record on the season with a 9-2 record in Area play. Tanner advanced to the second round of the 2021 AHSAA State Boys Soccer Tournament.