PREP ROUNDUP: Holly Pond’s Gambrill tabbed state finalist for High School Heisman; 9 local football players noticed by AHSAA

Published 8:47 pm Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Holly Pond girls basketball star Meg Gambrill was picked Monday as one of 20 state finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman award, an accolade annually bestowed upon seniors who excel on the field of play and in the classroom and community.

Gambrill, a North-South All-Star and All-State second-team selection, will now wait for state winners, one boy and one girl, to be announced Nov. 10. The field will then be pared down to 12 national finalists, with the national winners being named Dec. 12 at a ESPN2-televised banquet in New York City.

Cullman’s Seth Donaldson, West Point’s Riley Voce and Addison’s Carly Westmoreland joined Gambrill as high school winners, which were revealed on Halloween.

Gambrill will lead the Lady Broncos, who’re looking to build on two straight appearances in the Class 3A state championship, into next Tuesday’s season opener at Cullman.

Prep Football

Nine players from The Times’ coverage area were spotlighted Tuesday in the “other top performances” section of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s weekly release.

Hanceville (Dant’e Reese and Kaine Yates), Good Hope (Reese Harbison and Kainan Smith), Cold Springs (Collin Day and Fisher Willoughby) and West Point (Will Wrenn and Tristin Skinner) each notched a pair of representatives, while Fairview had one (Austin Harris).

Yates, Harbison, Smith, Willoughby, Wrenn and Skinner were also included in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Player of the Week package.

Reese ran for 168 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries in the Bulldogs’ wild 22-21 comeback at Good Hope. The senior’s 11-yard scoring scamper and subsequent 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference for the Purple and Gold.

Yates aided the victory by blocking a punt and recovering a late fumble inside the Dawgs’ own 5-yard line.

Harbison wrapped up a fine freshman campaign with five catches for 120 yards in the Raiders’ narrow loss.

Smith returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and hauled in a trio of receptions for 44 yards and another score. His two TDs came in a span of a minute and a half.

Day had his way with seven tackles, including two for loss and a pair of sacks, in Cold Springs’ 39-13 road rout of Holly Pond. The senior drove the Broncos back a combined 28 yards on his two sacks.

Willoughby also made his impact for the Eagles on defense, picking off a pair of second-half passes, breaking up another and making five tackles as Cold Springs completed an 8-2 regular season record, its best since 2003.

Wrenn made the most of Senior Night with three catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns (27 and 66 yards) in the Warriors’ 52-21 win over Priceville. He also snagged his sixth interception of the season before West Point’s starters were shelved shortly after halftime.

Skinner’s right leg capped off all seven Maroon and White touchdowns and was responsible for a late 37-yard field goal.

Harris rumbled for 164 yards and a trio of touchdowns on 20 carries in the Aggies’ 34-27 comeback on the road at county-rival Vinemont. The junior, who’d missed three games with an injury, scored the game-winner on a 42-yard tote.

Guntersville grabbed the AHSAA Spotlight by finishing off a perfect regular season with a 21-16 triumph over Albertville in the 100th meeting between the longtime rivals.