Eagles cap season with honors, strong legacy

MAYFLOWER Although the 14-6 loss to Charleston in the quarterfinals of the state Class 3A playoffs was not what Mayflower was hoping for, the Eagles took home a bunch of coveted hardware.

The Eagles, who finished with one of the best records in school history with a 10-2 mark, ended up with four players being named all-state. There were also 11 players who received all-conference honors.

For Mayflower, Stuart Hollon, who ended up with 77 tackles, 12 of which were sacks, was named as the 2-3A defensive lineman of the year. Deshaun Bagby, who finished with 1,103 yards rushing and 15 touchdowns, has earned back of the year honors for the second time in three years. Bagby's 700 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns also went a long way for him being chosen as the back of the year in the league. Mayflower coach Jed Davis was voted as the coach of the year for the conference.

"That's just a tribute to our assistant coaches and players," Mayflower coach Jed Davis said. "That award just shows how hard the assistants coaches worked this season. Of course, when you have four all-state players, then it makes my job a lot easier. I felt honored to be chosen by my peers as the coach of the year."

The four players who were named all-state included Bagby, Hollon, Gavin Pace and Kerry Ussery, who was second on the team in tackles with 94 before last week's game.

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"It was hard to come to work this week," Davis said. "But when I look back, this team has accomplished a lot. We were able to win 10 games in a row. We beat the defending state champions twice in the same season. This group of guys accomplished a lot this season."

The Eagles won their first outright conference title since 1989. Davis said he was proud that the team was able to bring home such a title in 19 years. Mayflower did finish in a three-way tie for the conference crown in 1999, but the Eagles didn't receive a No. 1 seed for the state playoffs.

"We had good balance this year," Davis said. "We were about 58-42 or 60-40 in favor of the pass. Anytime you can be able to pass that many times and be able to run the ball in high school then it says a lot about the team."

Three out of the 11 players who were named all-conference were juniors and the rest were seniors. The Eagles had the biggest senior class in the conference with 22. The athletes who received the all-conference honors were John Dale Willis, Robert Dycus, Marcus Williams, Tyler Cagle, Jordan Dycus, Demetrius Lasker, Daniel Addie, Andrew Harrison, Dominique Simpson, Preston Hurt, and Matt Raney.

"The legacy that the seniors have left is that they've won more games in three years than any other class in the history of Mayflower football," Davis said. "This group of guys also did it the right way. They showed how far hard work and dedication can get you."