SBLive Florida 2024 All-North Suncoast Football Team

DJ Pickett takes home Player of the Year honors in his final season as a Bulldog

Dave Walters, Zephyrhills Free Press

SBLive Florida 2024 All-North Suncoast Football Team 

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

DJ Pickett, Zephyrhills

This was honestly a tough decision, not because of the overall talent Pickett possesses but because of the other guys throughout the tri-county region he was up against for the honors. Having been named Player of the Year multiple times before, Pickett's value to his team compared to some other players we could've named, means so much more.

Without Pickett, we're unsure if his team even makes the playoffs or sits above .500. With him, they made it to the region semifinal round and hung around with eventual Class 4A runnerup Jones for a half. The LSU signee finishes off his high school career hauling in 35 passes for 658 yards and scoring eight touchdowns on offense. Defensively at safety, Pickett racked up 29 tackles, five going for a loss and picked off five passes. Added two more touchdowns to round out at 10 total on the season. Combining value when on the field plus his statistics is what factored into Pickett being named POTY.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Mark Kantor, Wiregrass Ranch

Kantor pulled off something that had never been done in program history and that's reach a region final. The Bulls went 9-1 in the regular season and won two playoff games against Royal Palm Beach and Largo before falling to the eventual state champion West Boca Raton in the Class 6A, Region 3 final, 17-0.

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OFFENSE 

QB — JT Tipton, Jr., Lecanto: The junior had a sensational season for the Panthers, completing 158-of-225 for 2,430 yards and 27 touchdowns and just three interceptions. Also rushed for 472 yards and scored three times. 

RB — Nathan McNeil, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The Iowa signee was the workhorse back for the Bulls, rushing for 1,072 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. Also caught 21 passes for 483 yards and scored four times. 

RB — Corey Simms, Jr., Mitchell: Simms rushed for 1,590 yards and scored 21 touchdowns for the 11-1 Mustangs. 

RB — TJ Morrow, Sr., Land O' Lakes: Morrow did everything on the ground for the Gators, rushing for 1,329 yards and scoring 15 touchdowns. 

RB — Sean Brown, Sr., Fivay: The Falcons' running back rushed for 1,116 yards on 153 carries and scored 12 touchdowns. 

WR — Bryce Randolph, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The Liberty signee scored eight touchdowns on 46 receptions for 811 yards to lead the Bulls in receiving. 

WR — Bryce Backus, Jr., Mitchell: Backus was crucial in the passing game once again for Mitchell, catching 38 passes for 800 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

WR — Xavier Clemente, Jr., Land O' Lakes: Clemente had himself a breakout season for the Gators, catching 42 passes for 766 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns. 

WR — Braylen Moore, Jr., Lecanto: The junior pass catcher had a big season for the Panthers. Moore caught 47 passes for 720 yards and eight touchdowns. Also made 30 tackles and picked off a pass on defense.

TE — Grant Lanning, Sr., Nature Coast: The tight end was impressive all throughout the season blocking and catching the rock. Lanning finished with 15 receptions for 252 yards and four touchdowns.

OL — Gavin Blanchard, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The Clemson signee anchored a Bulls' offensive line and totaled a team-high 28 pancake blocks. Also played a major role on the defensive line for the region finalists.

OL — Elvis Mahoum-Nassar, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The 6-foot, 285-pound linemen led the way on the offensive line for the Bulls and finished tallying 24 pancake blocks.

OL — Andrew Clarkson, Sr., Springstead: The senior Springstead lineman led the way up front for the Eagles' offense that rushed for 1,843 yards and had 32 pancake blocks. 

OL — Christian Canarte, Jr., Sunlake: Canarte had a solid junior season leading Sunlake’s offensive line. The second-year starter played at left tackle and didn't yield a sack.

OL — Pedro Silva, Sr., Mitchell: Silva had a solid senior season leading the Mustangs up front. The FACA All-District 10 selection helped pave the way for over 2,000 yards on the ground.

ATH — Tristan Lennon, Sr., Zephyrhills: Lennon did a little bit of everything for the district champion Bulldogs. The two-way player racked up 77 tackles, 11 for loss, two sacks and picked off two passes. The senior then flipped over to offense and accounted for 818 yards, scoring eight touchdowns. 

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DEFENSE 

DL — Grayson Gilmore, Sr., Sunlake: The James Madison signee was a force coming off the edge, with Gilmore finishing with 51 tackles, eight for loss and five sacks.  

DL — Stephen Berg, Sr., River Ridge: The defensive lineman could played inside or out and led the Royal Knights' front seven with 27 tackles, two sacks and 10 tackles for loss. 

DL — Jason Davis, Sr., Anclote: The Sharks' best player made quite the impression this past season, esepcially aat the recent Pasco County All-Star practices. Davis tallied 98 tackles, 12 for a loss and three sacks on Anclote's defensive line. 

DL — Aidan Holewski, Sr., Gulf: The Dartmouth signee was a menace coming off the edge for the Buccaneers. The edge rusher racked up 63 tackles, 28.5 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks. 

LB — Dylan Leighton, Sr., Mitchell: The Mustangs’ linebacker had 114 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and four sacks. 

LB — Jadon Jaimes, Sr., Springstead: Jaimes had a strong senior season for the Eagles, racking up 145 tackles, seven for loss and six sacks. 

LB — Lukas Colella, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: Recorded 106 tackles and had three tackles for loss and an interception.

LB — Manasseh Alexis, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: Was one of the Bulls' top defensive players, with the linebacker making 108 tackles, eight for loss and three sacks. 

DB — Graceson Littleton, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The Texas signee intercepted two passes, deflected eight and made 30 tackles. 

DB — Monte Hudson, Jr., Wiregrass Ranch: Hudson picked off six passes and made 46 tackles for the Bulls.

DB — RJ Peabody, Jr., Mitchell: Hard to leave off the junior that really made a difference on both sides of the ball. Peabody on defense broke up 13 passes and also had over 700 yards receiving.

DB — Gavin Gilyard, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: The Bulls' senior cornerback made 40 tackles and picked off six passes. 

DB — Joe Crosby, Sr., River Ridge: The Roayl Knight made 60 tackles, picked off three passes and batted away four others.

ATH — LJ Warren, Sr., Hudson: Warren meant a lot to everything Hudson did this season on defense. The senior was everywhere defensively and made 98 tackles and 19 went for a loss.

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SPECIALISTS 

P — Evan Hinz, Sr., Sunlake: Averaged 41.3 yards per punt and also had eight touchbacks on kickoffs. Also went 4-for-4 on field goal attempts.

K — Reid Grek, Sr., Wiregrass Ranch: Grek connected on all 50 extra point attempts and made 1-of-2 field goal attempts, with a long of 29 yards.

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi