North Lincoln & West Lincoln both lost their 3rd round playoff games Friday night (Nov. 29th). That meant the All-Conference selections for 2019 could be announced.
North Lincoln had nine players named All-Conference. Maiden & Newton-Conover each had eight. West Lincoln and East Lincoln had six, Bandys four, Lincolnton three, and Lake Norman Charter two.
The Offensive Player of the Year award went to Dylan Abernethy of Maiden. Abernethy accounted for 1738 total yards for his team, 1135 of them as a receiver (he caught 67 passes), 218 of them returning kickoffs and 119 returning punts, and 167 rushing. He scored 17 touchdowns and a total of 104 points (two on an EP conversion).
Ethan Martin of East Lincoln was selected as the Defensive Player of the Year. Martin had 21 solo tackles and was in on 126 more, an average of 12.3 tackles per game.
Brandon Johnson of Newton-Conover was named the Specialist of the Year. He returned 13 kickoffs for 235 yards, 16 punts for 182 yards. He was also a top receiver on offense, catching 38 passes for 662 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, he returned a fumble and an interception for TDs. He had 26 solo tackles and was in on 13 more.
Coach of the Year was Nick Bazzle of North Lincoln. In his second season at North Lincoln, Bazzle guided his team to its best record ever, finally losing in overtime in the third round of the playoffs.
Nicky (as he was known in high school and until the last couple of years) grew up about three miles from where NLHS is now located, but NL didn't exist then, and he played at East Lincoln where he graduated in 1980. Beginning in 1999, Bazzle coached Newton-Conover for 13 seasons; then coached Alexander Central from 2012 to 2015, before retiring from coaching. Then in 2018, he came to North Lincoln when Steven Pack went to Newton-Conover.
The All-Conference selections for the 2019 season are:
North Lincoln
conference champs, 12-2 overall, 7-0 conference
- Ty Williams
- Jake Sorrus
- Landon Beard
- Joseph Elberti
- Wyatt Painter
- Sam Brady
- Jacob Cline
- Daniel Carter
- Travali Price
Maiden
2nd place in the league, 9-4 overall, 5-2 in the conference
- Dylan Abernethy
- Chris Morgan
- Daniel Harris
- Brennan James
- Carson Hansley
- Presley Poovey
- Amarion Craig
- Ethan Rhodes
Newton-Conover
8-5 overall, 5-2 in the conference
- Allen Wilfong
- Brandon Johnson
- Garrett Kurz
- Sakarri Morrison
- Xavion Coulter
- Justice Craig
- Allan Shade
- Zane Redmond
East Lincoln
8-4 overall, 4-3 in the conference
- Justin Barnett
- Ethan Martin
- Spencer Sinyard
- Cole Barber
- Paulie Menegay
- Trent Smith
West Lincoln
10-4 overall, 4-3 in the conference
- Canon Bridges
- Xander Pendergrass
- Mason Huitt
- Harley Scronce
- Chandler Carpenter
- Alex Hall
Bandys
5-7 overall, 2-5 in the conference
- Josh Williams
- Josh Ellis
- Hunter Jones
- Wayne Carroll
Lincolnton
3-8 overall, 1-6 in the conference
- Dejarious Gash
- Doobie Bryant
- C.J. Borders
Lake Norman Charter
1-10 overall, 0-7 in the conference
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