ALL-SOUTH FOOTBALL TEAM

We released our first ever South Charlotte Sports Report All-South Football Team on Monday.

view team here

In looking over the list, it is amazing to see how many talented football players we have in the area. Just at quarterback alone, we have 2 of the top QB's in the country, Latin's Braden Hanson and Butler's Jacob Charest. So many kids on the team will line up on Saturday's next year and continue to make our area very proud.

As with any all-star team, great players are sure to fall through the cracks. We have no doubt that we missed on a few kids and maybe selected a few kids folks will disagree with us on. Our philosophy here at The South Charlotte Sports Report is that all student-athletes are winners and should be commended for their time and effort. This list is simply a way to provide a little extra recognition to the players that stood out in a crowd this season.


It was interesting to round up all the votes and nominations for our awards. Braden Hanson was a clear cut winner as offensive player of the year. Robert Blanton of Butler edged out some fine football players for Defensive Player of the Year. Robert heads to Notre Dame next season!

Our Coach of the Year award had a clear winner in Marty Woolbright at Ardrey Kell. Going from one win to nine required great coaching.

Brad Wornick, Ardrey Kell QB was one of many players that were valuable to their teams. Brad won the award based on his ability to run and pass the ball as well as his leadership ability. On so many nights, Brad carried the Knights to victory. Brad played WR for the team last year and had a super year. Instead of focusing on his individual future as a WR, Brad agreed to play QB for the team and was magnificent. Whatever team signs Brad to a scholarship will be rewarded.

We met Christian Culicerto nearly a year ago and came away so impressed by his leadership and character. Christian is the kind of kid we should all be proud of. He is well liked by his teammates and always brings a smile to the table. He stepped up to play QB this season and has Catholic within 2 games of another state title. In the Catholic offense, it requires a leader to step forward, Christian was that person this season.


His teammate RJ Sweeney is truly tough as nails. He is a hard worker that fights dyslexia on a daily basis. With hours of tutoring everyday, RJ has become a successful student and will play lacrosse in college next season. He has the ability to play college football, but his lacrosse talent is even greater. RJ always found a way to help the Cougars gain the tough yardage and has been awarded our Tough As Nails Award for 2007.

We didn't mention it in the paper, but I want to send out a special heads-up for Ardrey Kell senior Brent Vinson. Brent injured his knee just days before the season started and missed the entire year. Brent was headed for an all-star season and a college scholarship, probably at a D-1 school. Brent stayed true to his teammates and was there for them all season long, even though it had to be tough to watch each game. We spoke to Brent a few weeks ago and he weighing his options of prep school vs a smaller college. We send out our best wishes to Brent on the future.

Congratulations to all the kids on the All-South Team!