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From left, Pulaski's Alex Abner and Zach Eastham were named Co-Players of the year in The Commonwealth Journal All-County Football Team.


Somerset — The sports staff of The Commonwealth Journal have put our collective heads together, the votes are in and have been tabulated, so it’s now time to unveil the 2010 All-County Football Team.

The 2010 season was a tremendous success on the local front, as Robbie Lucas led the Somerset Briar Jumpers to a 13-1 record, advancing all the way to the Semi State round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Meanwhile, coach Johnny Hines and the Pulaski County Maroons were one of the top teams in Class 5 A all year long, winning a second straight district title, while playing for a regional crown for the second consecutive year as well, on their way to an 11-2 year.

Southwestern was once again in the playoffs in 2010, making this season a good one indeed for all three local squads.

Having said that, it’s now time to unveil The Commonwealth Journal’s 2010 All-County Football Team.

Leading the way this season is a pair of Pulaski County Maroons who share the honor of being our Co-Players of the Year. They are PC’s ‘Dynamic Duo’ of Zach Eastham and Alex Abner.

Eastham finished an outstanding PC career in 2010, as he led all of Class 5 A with 2,806 yards passing, as well as leading the way in his class with 38 touchdown passes.

On the ground, Eastham also proved he could beat teams with his legs, as he rushed for 980 yards, to go along with 12 TD’s.

Eastham leaves PC with many individual school records.

The PC quarterback is Pulaski’s all-time leader in completions in one game (23), passing yardage in one game (426), touchdown passes in one game (7), attempts in a season (284), completions in a season (167), yards in a season (2,806), TD passes in one season (38), completion percentage in a season (66%), and completion percentage for a career (65%).

Eastham was also named as the Class 5 A, District 7 Player of the Year this season, making it two years in a row that he received that honor.

Not a bad career indeed for a kid that started the ‘09 season playing as a wide receiver.

Abner meanwhile leaves Pulaski County as arguably, one of the best players to ever suit up in a Maroon uniform.

This season alone, PC’s versatile tailback amassed 1,042 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns, averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

Abner also was his club’s leading receiver, notching 46 catches for 864 yards and 14 touchdowns, giving him 33 scores for the year.

Much like Eastham, Abner leaves Pulaski County High School as the holder of many school records.

He caught 11 passes in one game this year against Henry Clay which is an all time record for the Maroons, and he also tied for the record for the most TD catches in one game (3), and is the holder for the most TD’s in a season (14), most receptions in a career (108), most receiving yards in a career (1,719), most TD catches for a career (24), most TD’s scored in a single season (33), and most touchdowns scored in a career (70).

And, just to show you what a complete package number 11 was and what he meant to the Maroons, Abner recorded 60 tackles this season, with eight of those going for a loss.

In Pulaski County’s 2008 game at Southwestern, Abner had 273 yards on four kickoff returns which is an all-time school record at PC, with two of those four returns going for touchdowns — also a school record.

Now, for the rest of our team beginning with the Offense.

Our Offensive Player of the Year Award goes to Somerset quarterback Erik Manning.

Manning had a tremendous senior season in leading the Briar Jumpers to a 13-1 campaign.

Manning completed 133 of 222 pass attempts for 2,450 yards to go along with 30 TD passes.

On the ground, the SHS quarterback ran for 608 yards on 91 carries with 4 more touchdowns.

Our two running backs are Somerset’s Zack Bastin and Southwestern’s Zack Fowler.

Bastin had a stellar junior season for the Jumpers, running for 389 yards and finishing second on his team in rushing TD’s with 14.

Bastin also recorded 12 receptions for the season for 264 yards and 3 TD’s.

Fowler meanwhile didn’t get that many touches in the Southwestern backfield, but when he did, he made teams pay the price.

The SWHS senior averaged 4.9 yards per carry while scoring 5 TD’s.

When he wasn’t carrying the ball as the Warriors fullback, he paved the way for Southwestern’s other backs to chew up big hunks of yardage as a tremendous blocker.

Our three wide receivers on our team are Pulaski County’s Aaron Hall, Somerset’s Storm Wilson, and Southwestern’s Alan Williams.

Hall burst on the scene in 2010 for coach Johnny Hines and Pulaski County, hauling in 30 receptions for 356 yards, to go along with 4 touchdowns.

Wilson meanwhile had a phenomenal junior year for Somerset, leading the Briar Jumpers in both receptions (40), and yardage (742), while also posting a club-best, 14 touchdowns.

Williams was Southwestern’s leading receiver, catching 44 passes for 803 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 18.3 yards per catch.

Our tight end is Pulaski County’s Cody Wesley, who like Hall, burst on the scene this season at PC to have a monster year.

Wesley hauled in 39 receptions for 516 yards this season, to go along with 6 TD catches.

Our five Offensive Lineman on this year’s team are Tyler Abney and Tanner Burnett of Pulaski County, Taylor Speeks of Somerset, and Christian Childers and Willie Dungan from Southwestern.

Our choice for the county’s top kicker goes to Somerset’s Colby Hall.

The Jumper senior connected on 3 field goals in 2010, notched 83 extra points, posting 92 points for the season.

Now for the Defense.

Two players lead the way as or Defensive Co-Players of the Year. They are Pulaski County’s Mason Flynn and Somerset’s Trey Slaughter.

Flynn put his name in the PC record books, becoming the Maroons all-time leading tackler in 2010.

Flynn had a remarkable senior year, notching a team-best 83 solo tackles, while assisting on 75 more, giving him 158 tackles for the season.

Flynn also recorded 10 tackles for loss, notched 3 quarterback sacks, and recovered 2 fumbles.

Slaughter meanwhile led the Jumpers with 104 tackles on the year, with 42 solo tackles and assisting on 62 more.

Slaughter also recorded a team-best 25 tackles for loss while leading Somerset with 12 quarterback sacks.

Making our squad on the Defensive Line are Dylan Beshears and Justin Cornett from Pulaski County, Somerset’s Clayton Stringer, and Southwestern’s Robbie Lewis.

Beshears tallied 76 tackles for PC, with 14 of those going for a loss, while Cornett proved each time out that he was as solid a defensive lineman as anybody in the state of Kentucky.

The Maroon junior posted 72 tackles on the year, with 12 of those going for a loss. Cornett also led PC with a 5 quarterback sacks for the season.

Stringer recorded 38 tackles on the year for the Jumpers, finished with 7 tackles for a loss, and finished second to Slaughter with 9 quarterback sacks.

Lewis meanwhile posted 41 solo tackles, and had 18 assists, for a total of 59 stops. He also finished second on his club in quarterback sacks with 5.

Our linebacking corp. is comprised of Pulaski County’s Logan Joseph, and a pair of Briar Jumpers, Rob Stevenson and Derrick Jackson.

Joseph finished second to Flynn in tackles for PC this season, recording 62 solo tackles and 49 assists, for a total of 111 tackles.

He also had 11 tackles for a loss and finished with 3 quarterback sacks.

Jackson finished the season with 80 tackles for the year, recorded 8 stops for loss, and added 2 1/2 quarterback sacks, while scoring a defensive touchdown.

Stevenson meanwhile notched 81 tackles for the year, had 4 tackles for loss, and finished tied for club honors with 3 interceptions, and added a defensive score as well.

Our secondary is led by Pulaski County’s Steven McQueen, along with his teammate Tyler Jackson, and a pair of Briar Jumpers, Taylor Sears and J.P. Henderlight.

McQueen could have easily made our team as a wide receiver, but he was even more important to his club at the cornerback position.

McQueen tallied 69 tackles for the season, had four stops for a loss, and led the Maroons with 4 interceptions for the year.

Jackson meanwhile picked off 3 passes for PC, while coming up with 25 solo tackles and 16 assists.

Sears recorded 57 tackles for Somerset, while adding 6 tackles for loss and 2 fumble recoveries.

Henderlight had 14 tackles for the season and picked off one pass for the Jumpers.

Our punter on this year’s squad is Somerset’s Alex Lange.

Lange proved to be a solid punter all season long for the Briar Jumpers, and for good measure, he recorded three defensive touchdowns, leading the Briar Jumpers in that category.

Rounding out this year’s All-County Team is our Co-Special Teams Players of the Year Award, which for this season is shared between Pulaski County’s Brannen Wheeldon and Southwestern’s Logan Starnes.

Wheeldon was a star on special teams all season long for coach Johnny Hines, notching 55 tackles for the season, with many of those coming in the kicking game.

Wheeldon also tied for team honors with 4 fumble recoveries.

Starnes meanwhile, averaged 31 yards per punt for the Warriors, and converted on 3 of his 4 field goal attempts, while also converting on 22 extra point kicks.

In the return game, the Warrior sophomore returned 14 kickoffs in 2010, averaging 24 yards per return.

Congratulations to all of these outstanding football players for making the 2010 football season an enjoyable one indeed.

http://somerset-kentucky.com/localsports...tball-Team