Voting by 12-5A’s eight head football coaches placed Davis, a junior, on the first-team offense at fullback and on the first-team defense as an inside linebacker (87 regular-season tackles).
The 245-pound Davis didn’t play offense as Temple lost its first five games, but he rushed for 493 yards and 11 touchdowns to give the Wing-T offense a spark as the Wildcats won their final five district games and made their second straight playoff trip.
Temple senior center Brett Gunn was a unanimous choice on the first-team offense, which also included junior running back Lache Seastrunk (1,511 rushing yards, 14 TDs) and junior lineman Travis Pitrucha.
The Wildcats joining Davis on the first-team defense were junior outside linebacker Stedman Moore (114 regular-season tackles) and senior end D.J. Daniels.
“We had very good representation and I feel very good about it,” Temple coach Bryce Monsen said. “We’re right where we need to be. We were 5-2 in district and we had five or six kids on each side make first team or second team, so we’re very happy.”
Temple’s second-team picks were five seniors - wide receiver Tevin Reese, defensive lineman Garfield Hawk, inside linebacker Patrick Johnson, safety James Sanders and deep snapper Ben Rieves.
Ash (6-3, 195) was the triggerman of Belton’s pass-happy offense, completing 203 of 323 throws for 2,517 yards and 16 scores against nine interceptions. Ash tied Killeen Shoemaker junior Jameill Showers - 12-5A’s Offensive MVP - for the position of first-team quarterback.
“I think he’s very deserving because he played very well throughout district,” Belton coach Rodney Southern said of Ash. “He improved every week and that’s just what an all-district player should do.”
Belton’s other first-team players were junior receiver Kevin Thornton (58 receptions for 634 yards), senior linebacker/utility player Kyle Voss and junior defensive lineman Zac Sakaria.
The Tigers’ second-team selections were senior center Cody Gangloff, junior outside linebacker Michael Padgett and punter Ash.
District champion Copperas Cove had 10 first-team players - receiver/kick returner Josh Boyce, receiver/utility back Brelan Chancellor, offensive lineman Kiefer Price, inside linebacker Tanner Brock, outside linebacker Phillip Tedder, inside linebacker Donnell Hawkins, defensive lineman Josh Schmidt, safety Rashad Hardy, cornerback Chris Miller and kicker Michael Roell. All were seniors except for juniors Chancellor and Hawkins.
Offensive MVP Showers passed for 1,897 yards and 18 touchdowns as Shoemaker’s Grey Wolves captured their first-ever playoff berth.
The Defensive MVP was Cove linebacker Brock, a two-time all-state player who’s made more than 600 career tackles and helped lead the 13-2 Bulldawgs to at least the state semifinals for the third consecutive season.
Killeen Ellison sophomore linebacker Devon Hocutt was voted Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Cove’s Jack Welch was his peers’ pick as Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldawgs - who came back up after two years in Class 4A - to a 6-1 district record for the outright league title.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
