It’s hard to ignore a player who stands out on both sides of the ball. Throw special teams into the mix and some players stand out even more.

Brantley’s Anthony Gulley was one of those players this week as he earned the Alabama Sports Writers Association defense/special teams player of the week honors.

Gulley had an interception on defense in a 48-8 win over Providence Christian. But the 80-yard kickoff return and 60-yard punt return – both for touchdowns – dovetailed nicely with his 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns on offense.

Gulley beat out two fine efforts in Gardendale linebacker Tyrone Bowie, who had 17 solo tackles with six assists along with a forced fumble in a 29-13 loss to Vestavia Hills, and from Shelby County’s Dustin Wood, whose sack and two interceptions keyed the Wildcats’ 26-3 upset over Class 5A’s No. 2 team Briarwood Christian. The Wildcats held Briarwood to less than 100 yards in total offense.

The ASWA offensive player of the week is Fairview junior quarterback Trett Hardman, who threw for 394 yards with seven touchdowns in a 65-34 win over Douglas. He completed 22-of-34 passes with one interception, six TDs in the first half and only played two series in the second half. Hardman has thrown seven TDs twice since last year. He also did it again rival Holly Pond last season.

Two other finalists were also considered. Flomaton’s Tony Ellis rushed for 340 yards on 25 carries and scored five touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Red Level. Ellis scored on runs of 7, 32, 2, 12 and 50 yards. Springville’s Jeremy Richardson had nine catches, three touchdowns and 207 yards against Pleasant Grove for a 23-yard per catch average and 44-yard per catch average on the TDs.

Some 56 players from around the state were nominated by ASWA newspapers in Birmingham, Centre, Cullman, Decatur, Dothan, Florence, Fort Payne, Gadsden, Gardendale, Grove Hill, Huntsville, Montgomery and Oneonta, with the winners selected by an ASWA panel . The other finalists were:

OFFENSE

• Heath Harrelson, Morgan Academy: The senior running back had 205 yards on 20 carries and 3 rushing touchdowns and a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that followed Kingwood’s only score in a 41-7 win on Friday.

• Wesley Barrell, Geraldine: Rushed 18 times for just 109 yards but delivered with the game-winning touchdown in Geraldine’s 14-10 upset of Class 2A, No. 3 Fyffe.

• Tevin McNair, New Brockton: Rushed for 212 yards and all four touchdowns and six tackles on defense in the Gamecocks' 28-27 win over G.W. Long. McNair scored on runs of 1, 2, 9 and 2 yards.

• Jermaine "Juicy" Williams, Slocomb: The running back rushed for 212 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Red Tops to a 36-12 win over Headland.

• Marcus Jackson, Goshen: Rushed for 265 yards on 25 carries and all three Eagle touchdowns in a 21-7 win over Zion Chapel. He scored on runs of 1, 2 and 70 yards.

• Kent Hallman, Phillips: Scored five touchdowns and had two 2-point conversions in a 56-7 victory over Marion County. Hallman caught four passes for 121 yards and two scores, rushed eight times for 68 yards and two scores, and returned a kickoff 87 yards for another score.

• Stephen Rivers, Austin: Austin fell to Thompson 20-19, but he completed 25 of 40 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns.

• Tim Barnette, Clarke County: Senior back helped the Bulldogs to a 49-12 win over W.S. Neal with 306 yards total offense and scored four touchdowns, three rushing (12, 49 and 68) and one (87) receiving.

• Maurice Tate, Linden: Ran for 224 yards and five TDs in a 64-20 win over Akron.

• Jordan Fee, Plainview: The running back carried 25 times for 200 yards and five touchdowns in a 42-14 victory over Columbia. Fee scored on runs of 9, 9, 31, 4 and 11 yards for the Bears, who were making their Class 4A debut after spending years in 3A.

• Elliot Wilson, Pell City: Wilson rushed for 122 yards on 25 carries and was 17-of-38 passing for 220 yards in a 17-14 win over Shades Valley.

• Jemarcus Embry, Ragland: The running back had two touchdowns and 234 yards rushing in a 20-17 win over Victory Christian.

Dre Tucker, Parrish: The running back had a pair of touchdowns and 274 yards in 30 attempts in a 40-20 loss to Hubbertville.

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS

• Devondrick Richardson, Barbour County: Had 15 tackles on defense and rushed for 180 yards and the Jaguars' two touchdowns, pacing Barbour County to a 12-6 win over Samson.

• Kyle Shaw, Trinity: Shaw recorded nine tackles and returned an interception 24 yards for a touchdown. The defensive lineman has 23 tackles in the first two games.

• Justin Smith, Charles Henderson: Connected on four field goals, pacing the Trojans to a 25-7 win over Tallassee. Smith had kicks of 23, 33, 27 and 25 yards.

• Hunter Jones, Opp: Kicked a 23-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Bobcats to a 24-21 win over Holtville. The Bobcats held the Bulldogs on the opening possession of the overtime and after three plays, turned it over to Jones. Jones was also perfect on three extra points in the game.

• Jamorris Ricks, Colbert County: Returned two punts for touchdowns (79, 45 yards) to help Colbert County to a 41-0 win against West Limestone.

• Justin Robinson, Clarke County: Senior defensive end had two interceptions, including one returned for a score as Bulldogs beat W.S. Neal 49-12 in 4A Region 1 contest.

• Ryan Williams, Pelham: The junior had a kickoff return for a 65-yard touchdown, a 68-yard touchdown run that counted in a win over Spain Park and a 99-yard interception for a TD called back.

• Jimmy Eye, Huntsville: The defensive end had 11 tackles, two sacks and one hurry as Huntsville pitched its second straight shutout, a 28-0 win over archrival Grissom.