Academic All-State Football Teams Announced

List Has Distinct East Texas Flavor

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

EAST TEXAS – The Texas Army National Guard and the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) released their Academic All-State Football Team on Dec. 1 and it has quite a few East Texas players on it.

Seven area schools were represented on the list. These schools are: the Alto Yellow Jackets; the Crockett Bulldogs; the Elkhart Elks; the Grapeland Sandies; the Lovelady Lions; the Madisonville Mustangs; and the Palestine Wildcats. 

According to the THSCA website, “We understand that students’ performance in the classroom can sometimes be difficult to manage while participating in athletics, but their hard work has not gone unnoticed.”

The website added, “The THSCA Academic All-State Teams recognize high school athletes who excel in the following categories: GPA,class rank and ACT/SAT score. The listed students are being recognized as a team member based on their scores in these categories. We applaud them for their commitment and dedication to perform with the highest of excellence academically and on the field or court.” 

The teams and their players are as follows:

Alto Yellow Jackets – Lane Jackson, Honorable Mention and Corbin Threadgill, Second Team.

Crockett Bulldogs – Jeremiah Stewart, First Team.

Elkhart Elks – Seth Hoffman, Second Team; Phillip Lufsey, Honorable Mention; and Landry Mays Second Team.

Grapeland Sandies – Josh Ackley, Honorable Mention; Rick Frauenberger, Second Team; Blake Howard, Second Team; and Tyrin Wiley,Honorable Mention.

Lovelady Lions – Greyson Bachynsky, Second Team and Logan Lowery, Second Team.

Madisonville Mustangs – Marcus Dorman, Honorable Mention; Garrett Johnson, Honorable Mention; and Brandon Larson, Honorable Mention

Palestine Wildcats – Dylan Hollums, Honorable Mention and Antonio Mancilla, Second Team.

The Palestine Cross Country Teams also had players named to the Academic All-State squads. They are: Yaneli Casas, Girls’ Second Team;Jesus Garcia, Boys’ Second Team; and Salma Ruiz Girls’ Honorable Mention.

In addition, the Groveton Lady Indians were represented on the Academic All-State Volleyball teams. The players are: Rebecca Brooks, First Team; Jordan Brooks, Honorable Mention; and Eden Dillard, Honorable Mention.

To be nominated for Academic All-State, a student must meet three criteria. These are:

• They must be in good standing with the team.
• They must be of good moral character.
• They must be a senior.
• They must have an overall grade point average of 92. Weighted GPAs are accepted.

Nominations are made by the head coach of the sport and the coach must have become a member of the THSCA by Oct. 15.  Once the nominations were submitted – and the deadline passed – the nominations were sent to the THSCA for review.

Even though the student might initially meet the criteria for a nomination, it does not guarantee the student earned a spot the team.

“When reviewing the nominations,” the THSCA website indicated, “the THSCA considers each students’ GPA, class rank, SAT and/or ACT score. The students receive points based on each criteria. The total number of points they receive determines which team they are placed on. The classification of the school is not a factor, and there is not a limit on how many players can make a team.”

The best team a player can make is the Elite Team. It is a great honor to make the Elite team, as a player must have near perfect scores in all categories. The hierarchy then follows in this order: First Team; Second Team; and Honorable Mention, the website indicated.

Will Johnson may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].