The Times' All-Area Football Team

Parker Martin electrified Aggie fans — and tormented opposing defenses — all season long.

The two-way standout completed 116 of 185 passes for 1,571 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while adding 801 yards and 18 touchdowns on 135 carries. Those eye-popping contributions helped Fairview average 41.7 points per contest.

Martin was just as impressive defensively, totaling 44 tackles (two for loss), nine interceptions and seven pass breakups.

Those around the state who saw the senior playmaker in action took notice, and the awards soon followed.

— All-County Overall MVP.

— Class 5A, Region 7 Overall MVP.

— Class 5A All-State First-Team Athlete.

— Class 5A Back of the Year Finalist.

Go ahead and add The Times’ All-Area Player of the Year to that list.

Good Hope’s Tanner Malin (Offensive Player of the Year), Cullman’s Drew Ball (Defensive Player of the Year) and Fairview’s George Redding (Coach of the Year) are the other top honorees.

But let’s get back to Martin for just a moment.

His talent, no doubt, shone through on Friday nights — as fans, teammates and coaches can all attest to, no problem.

But for Redding, it was more than just Martin’s physical attributes that led to his success on the gridiron this past season.

It was his “competitive confidence.”

“At every challenge, he’s willing to meet it head-on,” Redding said. “And he’s willing to meet it head-on without an ounce of fear or even considering the possibility of failing. Too many of us think about things that could go wrong. Parker looks at it and wants to make it right. And that’s pretty impressive for him. It’s a very rare trait.”

The longtime coach recalled one particular moment in Fairview’s playoff run that encapsulated everything Martin is about.

The Aggies were in Russellville for a second-round matchup, and the game was tied at 14-apiece early in the third quarter.

Faced with a 4th-and-goal from the 12-yard line, Redding had initially planned to send out Elijah Guyton for a potential go-ahead field goal.

That is, until Martin came to the sideline during a timeout.

“The guys are walking over, and Parker looks me dead in the eye and says, ‘Coach, give me the ball — and I’ll get it.’ He said to run naked — a bootleg, play-action pass to the backside. We as coaches had a brief discussion, but we really didn’t even think about it.”

Redding’s unassailable belief in his quarterback paid off, too, as Martin delivered a touchdown pass — threading the ball perfectly between two defenders — to Jameson Goble to give his team a lead they’d never relinquish.

“He has a confidence in himself and his abilities,” Redding concluded. “He just wants to make the plays.”

See below for capsules on the other top honorees.

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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Name: Tanner Malin

School: Good Hope

Class: Senior

Highlights: Completed 68 of 120 passes for 902 yards, seven touchdowns and five interceptions. Had 135 carries for 1,390 yards and 16 touchdowns. All-County Offensive MVP. Class 4A, Region 6 Offensive Player of the Year. Class 4A All-State First-Team Athlete. Finished his high school career with 6,793 yards and 70 touchdowns.

Coach Speak: “He’s the hardest-working kid I’ve ever had, and he’s extremely athletic. You just wanted to give him the ball and let him make a decision. I know he made me look a lot better than I am (laughs). With Tanner, you always had a chance. He lived in the weight room, was confident in himself and grew each year after his sophomore season. But the biggest thing was his leadership — getting kids on the same page, getting kids to lift, calling up kids and throwing routes with them on his own. He’s extremely talented, but he’s also a really unselfish player. I know he’s going to be missed around here.” — Good Hope offensive coordinator Mitch Witcher

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DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Name: Drew Ball

School: Cullman

Class: Senior

Highlights: Collected 67 solo tackles, 41 assisted tackles, eight hammers, three fourth-down stops, two forced fumbles, two sacks, a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery for the fifth-best scoring defense (15.6 points per game) in his team’s classification. Class 6A All-State First-Team Linebacker.

Coach Speak: “I’d put Drew as one of the top linebackers we’ve had around here in a long time. He might be one of the best practice players that I have coached. He was wide open Monday through Thursday. If you ever took Drew out of a drill or a 7-on-7, he’d get mad at you. He wanted to be in there, and he wanted to compete. There were many games I’d let him call what we were doing based on tendencies and formations. He would get us in the right fronts, in the right blitzes, check us in and out of coverages. He was a film rat, too. He wanted to win. When we lost, you could tell it meant something to Drew.” — Cullman defensive coordinator Matt Hopper

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COACH OF THE YEAR

Name: George Redding

School: Fairview

Highlights: Guided Fairview to a 12-2 season. The Aggies reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1994 and the semifinals for the first time in program history. Set single-season records in wins (12) and points scored (584). Alabama Football Coaches Association (ALFCA) and Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Class 5A Coach of the Year.

Coach Speak: “Fairview got a lot of recognition this season, but that season was a culmination of the previous two years. If you were paying attention, you could see they had something good going on. And that’s not going away anytime soon. They’ve really catered to their strengths and adapted to their personnel. And George has always done a great job with that — understanding what is going to give his team the best chance to win and staying with it.” — West Point coach Don Farley

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Editor’s Note

The All-Area Football Team, which also includes a second team and honorable mentions, was handpicked myself after reviewing the 2021 season and relying on the valuable input of numerous local football coaches. However, with a limited number of spots and a wealth of talented players, it’s possible some deserving candidates were left out.

See below for The Times’ complete All-Area Football Team.

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Overall Player of the Year: Parker Martin, Fairview

Offensive Player of the Year: Tanner Malin, Good Hope

Defensive Player of the Year: Drew Ball, Cullman

Coach of the Year: George Redding, Fairview

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First-Team Offense

QB: Parker Martin, Fairview

RB: Eli Frost, Fairview

RB: Ethan Anderson, Good Hope

RB: Kelton Washington, West Point

WR: Jameson Goble, Fairview

WR: Dalton Payne, Fairview

UTIL: Kaleb Heatherly, Cullman

UTIL: Kaleb Jones, Good Hope

OL: Carson Hill, Cullman

OL: Evan Richards, Cullman

OL: Carson Jennings, Fairview

OL: Morgan Cook, Good Hope

OL: Alex Salazar, Vinemont

OL: Josh Suarez, West Point

ATH: Tanner Malin, Good Hope

ATH: Zach Campbell, Hanceville

ATH: Colby Miller, Vinemont

K: Elijah Guyton, Fairview

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First-Team Defense

DL: Kaleb Bates, Cullman

DL: Ethan Bice, Fairview

DL: Cale Foster, Fairview

DL: Clayton Herring, Good Hope

LB: Drew Ball, Cullman

LB: Tyler Simmons, Fairview

LB: Jager Burns, Good Hope

LB: JD Cochran, West Point

DB: Justin Mather, Addison

DB: Jamar Kay, Cullman

DB: Dylan Sessions, Cullman

DB: Paydon Bagwell, Good Hope

DB: Suyeta DrowningBear, West Point

P: Preston McClerren, Hanceville

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Second-Team Offense

QB: Ryan Skinner, Cullman

RB: Jake Dueland, Cullman

RB: Brosnan Ward, Hanceville

RB: Brody Speer, Vinemont

WR: Bryson Chamness, Fairview

WR: Charlie O’Neil, Good Hope

UTIL: L.J. Smith, Hanceville

UTIL: Gabe Friedrich, Vinemont

OL: Lucas Crow, Addison

OL: Tyde Bagwell, Fairview

OL: Zane Roberts, Fairview

OL: Kelson Moore, Hanceville

OL: Tyler Mayfield, Vinemont

OL: Aiden Dujoud, West Point

ATH: Christian Roberts, Addison

ATH: Landon Perkins, Holly Pond

ATH: Eli Folds, West Point

K: Nate Zills, Cullman

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Second-Team Defense

DL: Zeke White, Cold Springs

DL: Ben Washburn, Cullman

DL: Caleb Willis, Good Hope

DL: Ashton Thrailkill, West Point

LB: Patton Elkins, Cullman

LB: Taz Bartlett, Good Hope

LB: Braden Boner, Vinemont

LB: Kylan Richards, Vinemont

DB: Sawyer Trimble, Cullman

DB: Caden Jennings, Fairview

DB: Andrew Easterwood, Good Hope

DB: Briley Mattox, Good Hope

DB: Jarrett Friedrich, Vinemont

P: Eli Howse, Addison

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Honorable Mention

Addison: Tommy Lee Daniel, Brody Dollar, Jed Wilkins, Mark Williams, Jack Wilson

Cold Springs: Hank Harrison, Sawyer Swann, Seth Williams, Josh Winfrey

Cullman: Drew Carter, Layne Dial, Max Gambrill, Noah Kee

Fairview: Michael Chambers, Eric Gonzalez, Jayden Pineda, Bradley Smith

Good Hope: Eli Clements, Jed Clements, Jude Johnson, Braxton Marshall, Russ Wooten

Hanceville: Braxton Broad, Marvin Gonzalez, Connor Pitts

Holly Pond: Isaac Chambers, Christian Couch, Andy Light, Damian Raymond, Kadin Suryono

Vinemont: Marcus Callingwood, Kayden Henderson, Isaac Moody, Ayden Thomason, Dawson Wilhite

West Point: Hunter Hensley, Garit Roberson, Omar Segundo, Nathaniel Swann, Riley Wayne