Blankenship named 4A Back of the Year
Published 4:37 pm Wednesday, January 18, 2017
- Class 4A back of the year Reed Blankenship of West Limestone, right, poses with AHSADCA director Alvin Briggs Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2017, during the Alabama Sports Writers Association Mr. Football banquet in Montgomery, Ala. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
West Limestone senior Reed Blankenship was named the Class 4A Back of the Year Wednesday at the
Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Mr. Football Award Banquet at the Renaissance Hotel at the Convention Center in Montgomery.
Blankenship is the first West Limestone player to win or even be a finalist for the award. He was one of 14 players to win awards at the event.
The Back of the Year and Lineman of the Year awards were presented to players in each of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s seven classifications.
James Clemens defensive end LaBryan Ray won the 7A Lineman of the Year award for the second straight year while Tanner’s Chadarius Townsend was a finalist, but did not win the 2A Back of the Year award.
The award caps an unbelievable senior year for Blankenship, who is a verbal commitment to the University of Middle Tennessee State. The award is fitting for Blankenship, who played quarterback, running back and wide receiver for the Wildcats this season. He finished with 874 passing yards with eight touchdowns, 1,311 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns and 251 receiving yards with six touchdowns.
He is a two-time first-team All-State selection and two-time All-County Player of the Year. Blankenship beat out Michael Matthews of UMS-Wright and Brady Sherrill of Haleyville for the award.
Ray is a 5-star recruit and the top-rated player in the state of Alabama for 2017, according to 247 sports. The James Clemens defensive end had a team-high 13 sacks, one fumble recovery for a touchdown, 25 tackles-for-loss and two forced fumbles.
Also at Wednesday’s banquet, Beauregard’s La’Damian Webb was named the 35th recipient of the ASWA’s Mr. Football Award, given to the top overall player in the state.
Webb — a 5-foot-8, 184-pound junior running back — added his name to the AHSAA record books this season, setting a single-season touchdown record with 47, and rushed for the second-highest season total in AHSAA history with 3,242 yards.
In two years, Webb has rushed for 74 touchdowns and rushed for 5,017 yards; in the Class 5A championship game against Wenonah, Webb set Super 7 records in all classifications with 51 carries for 359 yards and five touchdowns in his team’s 33-13 win.
