It is hard to argue with success, and that is why the Back, Lineman and Coach of the Year on the The Times All-Area Football Team all come from the same football school.

Cullman High entered the 2007 season as a contender for the Class 5A, Region 6 championship, but the Bearcats ended it as a contender for the state title with a 13-1 record and an appearance in the Class 5A North Semifinal.

A lot of the success came from the legs of Mike Timmons, who ran for 2,001 yards — good enough for second in school history — and 28 touchdowns. And he did all that while virtually not playing in three games.

“Two thousand yards was something I wanted to do, and I even joked around with (offensive coordinator Kenny) Coach Gleaton about letting me get that many,” Timmons said. “But I had a lot of confidence in the line to get the blocks and I would get the yardage I needed on the plays.”

Charlie Sanford was the anchor of the line that helped Timmons end the season as the leading rusher in Class 5A, and their combined efforts helped the duo garner this year’s honor of The Times’ Back and Lineman of the Year.

Sanford follows a virtual dynasty of linemen at Cullman High that have gained statewide accolades and played at high-profile college programs.

“I don’t know what it is about Cullman and linemen,” Sanford said. “Other than they just grow us big here. Seriously, I think every few years there are just groups of big guys who work well together and are tough players.”

Mark Britton is quick to point out the Bearcats’ entire coaching staff had a hand in the success Cullman enjoyed in its ride to the semifinals, but one person had to bring the coaches together.

Britton’s job as the head man walking the sidelines for Cullman earned him honor of this season’s Coach of the Year.

“Anything this team accomplished this season was not because of one coach or one player, but everybody in the program,” Britton said. “I have plenty of good men on this staff that care about the players and this team, and they had them well-prepared each week.”

Timmons was one of the key players that led Cullman to its first three wins of the season, and then adversity showed up in the form of a bad landing when diving into the endzone on the first play from scrimmage at Curry. The senior sat out the rest of the game, and then had to watch the next two games against Hartselle and Hayden.

Timmons is currently talking with Memphis, Troy, Arkansas, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Louisville about possibly playing at the next level, and he said playing through the injury actually might have helped his stock rise with college scouts.

“They all know about it and know that I will be having surgery to scope and fix my torn labrum,” Timmons said. “They said they can see that I am willing to keep playing through injuries, which I could possibly have in college.”

Sanford is also getting his share of attention from colleges because of his work on the field and in the classroom. The senior currently has a 4.1 grade-point average and was selected as the NBC 13 Scholar Athlete of the Week in November. Sanford is currently talking to Mississippi State, Auburn, Samford and Harvard about playing college football.

For now, the senior is grateful for his final season at Cullman.

“I remember before my sophomore season, Coach Britton took me and Josh (Bagwell) aside and told us to hang on to this because it would be gone before we knew it,” Sanford said. “And now it is, and it seems like the Hanceville game (in week one) was yesterday.

“We were able to accomplish every one of our goals except one, and that was win the state championship. Other than that, I am happy with everything we were able to do this season.”



FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

QB Trett Hardman So. Fairview

QB Tyler Caldwell Jr. Cullman

RB Andrew Privett So. Addison

RB Corey Stephens Sr. JB. Pennington

RB Preston Fuchs Sr. St. Bernard

OL Patrick Whitehead Sr. Good Hope

OL Charlie Sanford Sr. Cullman

OL Josh Bagwell Sr. Cullman

OL Kyle Kugler Sr. Cullman

OL Casey Keller Sr. Fairview

WR Gavin Ellis Sr. Cullman

WR Nathan Weldon Sr. Fairview

WR Colton Alston Sr. Addison

ATH Taylor Baker Sr. Holly Pond

PK Dennis Mynatt Jr. St. Bernard



FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

DB Devyn Murphree So. J.B. Pennington

DB Justin Self Jr. Cullman

DB Justin Woljovach Sr. Cullman

LB Colton Turner Sr. Cullman

LB Justin Barger Sr. Cold Springs

LB Pat Duke So. Holly Pond

LB Jesse Wiggins Sr. Addison

DL Joe Billiot Sr. Good Hope

DL Daniel Mann Sr. Addison

DL James Jordan Sr. J.B. Pennington

DL Tyler Rutledge Jr. Good Hope

ATH Jesse Freeman Sr. Meek

P Zach Smith Sr. Fairview



OFFENSIVE HONORABLE MENTIONS

QB Marcus Kay Sr. Hanceville

RB Josh Millwood Jr. Fairview

RB Jake King Jr. Good Hope

RB Tony Myrex Sr. Good Hope

OL Kaleb Tilley Sr. West Point

OL Martin Horton Jr. Holly Pond

OL Dustin Neal Sr. J.B. Pennington

OL Justin Lynch Sr. Cold Springs

WR Patrick Clowers Jr. West Point

WR Steven Lindsey Sr. Falkville

WR Chris Fisher Sr. Cullman

WR Skyler Twitty Jr. Hanceville

ATH Jonathan McNatt Jr. Falkville

PK Will Barnes Sr. Cullman



DEFENSIVE HONORABLE MENTIONS

DB K.J. Simmons So. Hanceville

DB Reno Jones So. Vinemont

DB Elliot Carpenter Sr. Addison

LB Joe Raines Sr. Holly Pond

LB Gage Hilt Sr. J.B. Pennington

LB Micah Dickerson Jr. Meek

LB Cody Hodge Jr. J.B. Pennington

DL James Fullard Jr. West Point

DL Nathan Yarbrough Sr. Vinemont

DL Ethan Yarbrough Sr. Vinemont

DL Donnie Parker Sr. Cullman

ATH Matt Blackmon Sr. Good Hope

PK Brandon Clark Sr. Falkville