The Arkansas Activities Association has released football honors for the 2017 season. For the Southside Southerners,
2-4A All-Conference Honorable mentions were awarded to:
- Senior Running Back/Linebacker Drew Hicks who in 6 carries had 24 yards and 2touchdowns, 4 receptions for 125 yards and 3 touchdowns, 38 tackles – 3 for lost yardage and 1 sack
- Senior Offensive Lineman Justin Fike was one of the anchors of the offensive line
- Junior Offensive/Defensive Lineman Quinton Russell had 55 tackles – 9 for lost yardage with 1 sack and 1 fumble recovery
Making the 4A-2 All-Conference Team was:
- Senior Running Back/Linebacker Daniel Barnard who had 58 carries for 338 yards and a touchdown, 6 receptions for 45 yards, 48 tackles – 7 for lost yardage with 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 5 pass deflections and 3 interceptions
- Junior Running Back Brayden Duncan had 147 carries for 1,025 yards and 7 touchdowns, 18 catches for 229 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. He also returned 6 kick off’s for a total of 222 return yards and 2 touchdowns
- Junior Quarterback Koby Rich ended the season with 127 completions on 199 attempts (63.8% completion percentage) and a school record of 25 passing touchdowns. He had 29 carries for 98 yards and 3 touchdowns, punted 15 times for a total of 440 yards and landed 3 inside the 20 yard line
- Junior Offensive/Defensive Lineman Tanner Pitts had 12 tackles – 3 for lost yardage and was another anchor for the offensive line
- Senior Offensive Lineman Conley Richie was one of the linemen responsible for one of the most successful passing seasons in school history. His blocking helped produce a school record of 27 touchdown passes on a total of 2,234 yards.
- Junior Linebacker Jeron McDonald ended the season with 123 tackles – 3 for lost yardage, 1 sack and 2 fumble recoveries
- Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Marshall Wyatt had 95 tackles – 2 for lost yardage, 4 pass deflections and 2 interceptions. He also had 5 catches for 54 yards
- Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Dawson Cook had 32 catches for 447 yards and 4 touchdowns. He ended the season with 34 tackles, 3 fumble recoveries, 5 pass deflections, 5 interceptions and a touchdown. He also had 7 punt returns for a total of 193 yards and a touchdown with 5 kickoff returns for 70 yards
For the first time in school history the Southside football team was awarded positions on the 4A All-State Team. Those members included:
- Junior Running Back/Defensive Back Cayden Huskey who had 109 carries for 648 yards with 13 touchdowns, 17 Receptions for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns, 116 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 8 pass deflects and 4 interceptions
AND
- Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back Dawson Blevins who had 42 catches for 786 yards with 11 touchdowns, 20 carries for 121 yards, 4 kickoff returns for 70 yards, 48 tackles – 3 for lost yardage, 5 pass deflections and 4 interceptions
The Southside southerners had the most wins this football season with a record of 10-2 under the direction of head coach Kenny Simpson who was selected as the 4A-2 Conference Coach of the Year and was also one of 3 finalists for the Farm Bureau 4A Arkansas State Coach of the Year award.
