AISA Coverage Community highlighted in first Football Super 22

Story & Photos by CAScoreboard Staff

CENTRAL ALABAMA SCOREBOARD OFFICE – The High School football season is 12 weeks (give or take) between August and December. It’s never a direct path though; think of it as a labyrinth that high school coaches and student-athletes have to navigate leading to region wins, playoff berths and ultimately the prized AISA State Championship trophy hoisted high. One of the differences and challenges in building this first list highlighting the best and brightest within the Alabama Independent School Association is the approach. While our AHSAA list (https://centralalabamascoreboard.com/2022/12/24/coverage-community-highlighted-in-first-football-super-22/) focuses on the teams within a handful of counties surrounding the CAScoreboard Office (aka Tallassee) this list is conceptualized using more of a statewide approach as the student-athletes within the AISA are often overlooked by larger media outlets. The scope and breadth of the team may be larger, but the selection methods remained somewhat the same. Using a mixture of factors – on-field accomplishment, stats, postseason media awards, All-State selections – a list recognizing the best and the brightest from within our Coverage Community. 

With that said, we present Central Alabama Scoreboard’s inaugural Football Super 22. 

And away we go… 

Team of the Year: Patrician Academy

The Saints showed up and showed out as soon as the post was made. We asked on our Facebook community who should be the team of the year and within minutes it was clear we’d found our answer. And the Saints have something to celebrate running through the competition on their way to an AISA State Championship victory. 

The Saints finished the year 13-0 and ground out 533 rushing yards in a 60-0 win over Clarke Prep on a blustery November afternoon in Montgomery. On a team filled with ASWA All-State Selections, Carson Coody ran for 190 yards and Cecil Perry was a Back of the Year nominee. Tate Boykin threw for 128 and ran a couple in himself. The irony is both of those Saints were All-State defensive selections with Jay Lindsey and Clark Ezell. Jack Gibson (an anchor on the offensive line) was the team’s only offensive selection. The Class AA AISA State Championship is the final chapter in a book of destruction written weekly throughout the 2022 season. Patrician outscored their opponents 596-164 and held five opponents to a touchdown or less. 

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Coach of the Year: Shane Moye | Lowndes Academy

This was not an easy choice as a catalog of willing candidates began to build one resume at a time. After a while, the list looked like a who’s who of AISA Coaches: Joey Burch (Springwood), Darius Dixon (Evangel 8-Man), All-State Coach of the Year Buster Daniel (Lee-Scott), Ashley Carlisle (Clarke Prep) and Jonathan Lindsey (Patrician). After considering all the mitigating factors and looking at the more than impressive bodies of work the decision was made.

Shane Moye of Lowndes Academy is our Coach of the Year. Moye has a five-year legacy coaching the Rebels and after three middling seasons, he’s led them to back-to-back state championships and 11-win seasons. A year ago, Lowndes upset Jackson 21-8 to win the 2021 championship and then had the added pressure of defending that championship culminating in a rematch with the Eagles. This year though the Rebels were clearly in the driver’s seat. 

After the championship victory, Moye told the scrum of reporters gathered at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl: “The kids were sold on it and they played so hard with so much pride and so much heart. They give everything they’ve got for each other. It doesn’t matter at the end of the day who gets the limelight, who gets the ball, who scores the touchdowns, who makes the tackles – they don’t care. They pick each other up and that’s a big reason why we are where we are.”

That’s also going to be a big reason why the Rebels are going to be tough to beat in 2023. 

Super 22

No. 1 | Player of the Year: Austin Champion – Edgewood Academy (Quarterback)

Determining our first Player of the Year was not an easy task. The candidate line seemingly formed to the left of the coaches’ with just as impressive resumes. But going back and looking at the games we covered and asking ourselves where would this team without having the candidate on the field ultimately revealed the answer: Edgewood Academy’s Austin Champion. Compared to candidates considered, Austin’s selection was not overtly obvious. He ran for 231 and six touchdowns but then he threw for more than 1,600 yards. Now he had help and outlets – Gabe LeMaster and Bradley Boone for example – by no means was it a one-Wildcat-show. But without Champion lined up at quarterback calling the signals and running Chad Michael’s system, Edgewood would not have finished the year 6-6. 

Now that we’ve introduced you to the Player of the Year,. scroll down and meet the rest of the 2022 AISA Football Super 22

No. 2 | Carson Coody – Patrician

No. 3 | Clayton Hussey – Lowndes

No. 4 | Gabe LeMaster – Edgewood

No. 5 | Nii Addy – Evangel 8-Man

No. 6 | Jonathan Johnson – Springwood 8-Man

No. 7 | Joshua Bonner – Banks 

No. 8 | Bryson Boone – Edgewood

No. 9 | Wade Desmarais – Macon East

No. 10 | Cooper Dansy – Lowndes

No. 11 | Jay Lindsey – Patrician

No. 12 | Rhyne Williams – Morgan

No. 13 | Trace Strickland – Clarke Prep

No. 14 | Cecil Perry – Patrician

No. 15 | Bradley Boone – Edgewood

No. 16 | Kareem Hicks – Snook

No. 17 | Cameron Smith – Hooper

No. 18 | Isaiah Gildersleeve – Evangel 8-Man

No. 19 | Connor Bumpers – Clarke Prep

No. 20 | DeMarian Daniels – Banks

No. 21 | Gabe Spencer – Macon East

No. 22 | Wes Reeves – Edgewood