Class A Private All-State

Welcome to another year of our All-State teams! Down below we have our team for Class A Private with a complete writeup and at the bottom of the page is a list of honorable mentions. We also have Player of the Year voting directly down below. There is no limit on voting – it will be a free-for-all and let’s hope this website can hold up. Voting will end Friday 1/15 at 10 pm.

Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and stay tuned for more classifications upcoming! – MORE ALL-STATE TEAMS






OFFENSE

QB – Brock Vandagriff, Prince Ave
RB – Murphy Reeves, Fellowship Christian
RB – Greg Daniel, Calvary Day
APB – John’ss Davis, Athens Christian
WR – Logan Johnson, Prince Ave.
WR – Zac Dyer, Prince Ave.
WR – Andrew Douglas, Mt. Vernon
SLOT – Nick Speros, Mt. Pisgah
OL – Charlie Patterson, Fellowship Christian
OL – Bryson Estes, ELCA
OL – Ben Hollars, North Cobb Christian
OL – Ryan Merklinger, Calvary Day
OL – John Ferguson, Athens Acd.
OL – Davis Watson, Darlington
K – Brooks Sturgeon, Wesleyan
ATH – Evan Lester, Christian Heritage


DEFENSE

DL – Nicholas Jackson, Mt. Pisgah
DL – Ian Matthews, Pacelli
DL – BJ Green, Prince Avenue
DL – Tanner Bivins, Wesleyan
DL – Charis Spence, ELCA
LB – Harrison Allen, Darlington
LB – Davis Ridings, Prince Avenue
LB – Caleb Lavallee, Whitefield Acd.
LB – Christian Hanson, Trinity Christian
DB – Aaron Gates, Trinity Christian
DB – Myles Redding, Whitefield Acd.
DB – Chas Scoggins, Prince Ave.
DB – Ben Jamison, Stratford Acd.
DB – Cameron Selders, Calvary Day
P – Marshall Nichols, Holy Innocents’
RET – Landon Owens, Prince Ave.

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What a season for the 3x All-State pick Brock Vandagriff. The UGA signee led Prince Avenue Christian to a Class A Private state title cruising through the playoffs in route to a 41-21 win over Trinity Christian in the championship. Vandagriff was nothing short of spectacular with a state-leading 4169 yards, 46 touchdowns, and just 7 interceptions. He also led the state with a 141.3 QBR, and ranks as one of the most efficient seasons passing over the last 5 years in the state.




Fellowship’s speedy Murphy Reeves led the state with a 14.3 yard per carry average (min 100 carries) and led the entire classification with 171 yards per game. His 23 touchdowns also led all running backs. The senior is fielding interest from D1 programs. Editors Note: Reeves actually finished the year with 1856 rushing yards, leading all of Class A. Calvary’s Day’s run to the semifinals surprised some, myself included, but with an extremely talented senior bunch was galvanized by running back Greg Daniel. The senior was a class leader with 1799 rushing yards and averaged the 3rd most yards per game at 138.4. Daniel is a relentless runner breaking arm tackles and dragging defenders 17 times into the endzone. John’ss Davis out of Athens Christian rushed for 1601 yards on just 161 carries. The powerful 210 lbs. junior running back earned region Offensive Player of the Year, and a junior prospect to watch closely. Davis should be fielding D1 offers all through the offseason.

PROSPECT FORM

Moving over to receivers, and spearheading this bunch has the be Class A leader in touchdowns, Prince Avenue’s Logan Johnson. The senior has two straight years of going over 1000 yards receiving. This season he recorded 1161 yards in the books. The 5’6″ Johnson is currently committed to Troy, but still has not signed. His teammate Zac Dyer cleaned up last fall as the class leader with 1318 yards receiving, and was also 3rd in touchdowns with 10. The senior made several tough catches throughout the year, his high-pointed pass against ELCA in the state playoffs on Peachtree TV that certainly caught our eye. Mount Vernon Presbyterian’s electric senior receiver was 2nd in the classification with 109.6 yards per game, and also 8 touchdowns, all of which he did in just 10 games. Douglas now has multiple 1000 yard receiving seasons in a row and will go down as one of the class of 2021’s leading receivers with 2617 career yards receiving. No other player fits their positional archetype better than Nick Speros at slot receiver. The Mount Pisgah did damage consistently with a class-leading 112 yards per game and 87 receptions. No one was even close to the senior in catches, and he showed some good open-field speed after the catch.




Charlie Patterson is one of the most physically imposing OL in the state standing at a legit 6’6″ and is the anchor of Fellowship’s powerful rushing attack. The senior is taking his strong base of fundamentals over to Virginia. Not many times will you see a lineman earn region Player of the Year, but ELCA senior Bryson Estes did exactly that. The powerful class of 2021 prospect will be playing next fall at FSU. Interesting note, he is one of the few football players in the state to power clean over 400 lbs. over the last few years. Ben Hollars was the driving force between North Cobb Christian’s dreaded rushing attack. The senior is very good at staying engaged and shows excellent leg drive through the defender. He earned Region Co-Lineman of the Year Calvary Day’s Ryan Merklinger paved the way for Greg Daniels’s dominating season on the ground. The senior left tackle has been starting for three years, and stands about 6’5″ 300 lbs. He is a good blocker in both the run and passing game. Athens Academy’s John Ferguson joins this talented-behemoths of OL. The 6’6″ senior had several FCS offers, including the likes of Ivy League programs, but decided to take a PWO for the hometown team UGA. The counterpart to Hollar’s Co-Lineman of the year is Darlington’s Davis Watson. The 6’5″ OT poured on weight over the last year, and quickly become a D1 target. Watson will be playing next fall at Cornell.

Brooks Sturgeon out of Wesleyan had one of the best seasons in the entire country. The junior knocked in 15-17 field goals with a long of 44 yards. Sturgeon is definitely a specialist to watch this offseason. Christian Heritage’s Evan Lester had a complete season on both sides of the football. On the offensive end, he received 932 yards with a 19.8 yards per catch average and one of the classification leaders with 8 touchdowns. On defense, he tallied 48 tackles while also causing several turnovers. Lester was named Region Player of the Year. The 6’3″ 220 lbs. athlete is still unsigned with several D1 offers to choose from, but (pure speculation) could end up being a Georgia State vs Georgia Southern recruiting showdown.




Moving over to the defensive side of the ball we jump back to a familiar name in Nicholas Jackson. The Mount Pisgah senior is making it for the 2nd time. The new Marist College football commit has a relentless motor lining up at DT, DE, and some OG, which earned him the rightful honor of region Lineman of the Year. Ian Matthews went from a relatively unknown basketball-turned-football player his junior year but took a huge leap and quickly became of the top DL in the classification. The Auburn commit used his immense 6’5″ frame to control the LOS and helped Pacelli to one of their best seasons in recent memory. No doubt, BJ Green was one of the most impactful defensive players in all of Class A. The powerful 6’2″ 250 lbs. versatile defender played some linebacker, but line up a lot on the DL, as well. He finished off the year with 20 tackles for loss and 12 sacks despite not even playing the first half of the regular season. Green was offered by FSU recently and has a lot more chatter about his recruitment coming into NSD 2.0. Wesleyan’s Tanner Bivins is another lineman to win Player of the Year in his region – playing on both the OL and DL. His biggest impact was on defense though, with 92 tackles, 23 tackles for a loss and 7 sacks too. Bivins is a true competitor out there on the field. Charis Spence out of ELCA was the Private leader with over 16 sacks on the year and earned defensive player of the year as well. Spence flies to the football, showing very good closing speed. Spence will be suiting up next fall at Dartmouth.

PROSPECT FORM

Harrison Allen is fresh off a region Defensive Player of the Year honors with a team-leading 92 tackles and multiple forced fumbles. Allen has a nose for the football, but also a good running back had almost 1300 yards rushing on the year. He will be joining his teammate Davis Watson at Cornell next fall. Davis Ridings out of Prince Avenue led the classification with 160 tackles, which follows 100 tackles seasons as a sophomore and junior. Ridings wreaked havoc in the opponent’s backfields with 16 tackles for a loss. Ridings is uncommitted and has an elite nose finding the football. Sophomore Caleb Lavallee announced his defensive dominance officially this fall to the rest of Private. Lavallee had 135 tackles with a classification leading 17 tackles for loss at the linebacker spot. The 2023 recruit truly gives some Luke Kuechly type vibes and will be a national recruit before it is all said and done. Christan Hanson out of Trinity Christian led his team in tackles with 119 on the season with 13 tackles for a loss. Hanson was the imposing force in the middle of the Trinity defense that helped his squad make it all the way to the state title game.




Another Trinity Christian athlete to make the list is sophomore Aaron Gates. The 2023 recruit honestly has some elite instincts out there on the field, playing some of the best CB play in Private. He ended as one of the leaders with 5 interceptions and also 12 PBU’s. Chas Scoggins from Prince Avenue Christian was the backfield support for the state champs. Scoggins ended the year with 80 tackles and 6 interceptions; he always just seemed to be at the right place at the right time. Ben Jamison out of Stratford Academy is what you look for in a strong safety. The recent Iron Man of the Year in his region, Jamison is a tough 6’2″ athlete who is both good in run support or against the pass. Calvary Day’s Cameron Selders was one of the leading tacklers at Calvary Day with 87 on the season and also had two interceptions. Whether he was lining up in man coverage or playing deeper zone coverage, Selders shows why he is one of the highest IQ football players in all of Class A Private.

Marshall Nichols once again makes our All-State punter spot. There is little to question with Nichols’ ability as a punter, he kicks the football high and long into the air. Nichols will suit up for Mississippi State next fall. The last spot on this All-State team is Landon Owens, who certainly had an argument to be on the offensive side of the ball at RB. Well, Owens just so happened to be one of the leaders in kickoff return yardage at 489 yards. His 37.6 return average ranked him 4th in the state and led all of Class A. The speedy Owens, who is signed with The Citadel, finished the year with over 2000 all-purpose yards at Prince Avenue.





Honorable Mention

A’Khori Jones, Mt. De Sales/Coleman Cauley, First Presbyterian Day/Josh Dallas, Trinity Christian/James Schlegel, Aquinas/Harrison Ohmsieder, Trinity Christian/Johnerio Holt, Athens Acd./Hugh Laughlin, Athens Acd./Shanard Banks, North Cobb Christian/Danny Baird, Trinity Christian/Kaleb Anthony, ELCA/Kobe Butts, Mount de Sales/Nathan Nardone, Fellowship Christian/JD Chipman, Wesleyan/Deion Colzie, Athens Acd./Jake Pittman, Prince Avenue/Cole Spence, Mt. Pisgah/Coleman Smith, Mt. Pisgah/George Futch, Savannah Christian/Jordan Jones First Presbyterian Day/Brogan Korta, Calvary Day/AJ Butts, Calvary Day/Cooper Blauser, Wesleyan/Jack Luttrell, Hebron Christian/Pierre Summers, Pacelli/Tyson Wall, Trinity Christian/Eric Little Jr, Whitefield Acd./Jack Ellerbee, George Walton/Andrew Ridings, Prince Avenue/Wyatt Hodges, Wesleyan/Cameron Matthews, Trinity Christian/Bryce Wilcox, Trinity Christian/Gianni Dorsey, St. Francis/John Andrew Newton, Brookstone/Peyton Cromwell, Savannah Christian/Spencer Robicheaux, Savannah Christian/Luke Lanier, Prince Avenue/Ben Hermann, Christian Heritage/Joseph Welch, Aquinas/Graham Meyer, First Presbyterian/Sam Kilgore, Brookstone/Jack Schondelmayer, Brookstone/Ethan Wilson, First Presbyterian/Hunter Walker, Pacelli/Jordan Brewer, Fellowship Christian/Juwan Johnson, Calvary Day/Ayden Duncanson, Whitefield Acd./Josh Flynn, King’s Ridge/Jaiden Stowers, Hebron Christian/Noah Maupin, Trinity Christian/Brinson Sumner, Darlington/David Dallas, Trinity Christian/Caleb Perry, Pacelli/Wyatt Anderson, Heritage/Barry Kleinpeter, Savannah Country Day/Jordan Hoffman, Savannah Christian/Fuches Lewis, Calvary Day/Erik Brown, Savannah Country Day/Parker Ingram, First Presbyterian/Zavion Hardy, Tattnall Square/Ethan Joseph, King’s Ridge/Josh Cole, Fellowship Christian/Jayven Hall, Fellowship Christian/Brett Brantly, Tattnall Square/Christian Thomas, Christian Heritage/Caleb Cannon, North Cobb Christian/Ben Williamson, Christian Heritage/Freddy Coleman, Mt. Paran Christian/Blake Kytle, Mt. Vernon/Colton Gauthier, Hebron Christian/Griffin Caldwell, Wesleyan/Andrew Van Wie, Wesleyan/Connor Swennumson, Holy Innocents’/Landon Kardian, Holy Innocents’/Denzel Alexandre-Louis, North Cobb Christian/Joseph Hodges, Tattnall Square/Palmer Bush, Athens Acd./Asa Callow, Athens Christian/Zecharia Owens, ELCA/Michael Clark, ELCA/Tre Robinson, Landmark/PJ Simmons, ELCA/Jake Whitten, George Walton/Linger Gao, Mt. Pisgah/James Ives, First Presbyterian/Adam Head, George Walton/Sincere Bell, Pacelli/Skyler Jordan, Providence Christian/Ayden Duncanson, Whitefield Acd./Ian Geffrard, Whitefield Acd./Phillip Massengale, ELCA/

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