Ponder, Hudson named All-State
Published 10:57 pm Saturday, December 23, 2006
MOULTRIE — Colquitt County’s versatile running back-receiver-defensive back Orion Ponder and record-setting quarterback Channing Hudson were named to the 2006 Class AAAAA All-State football team.
Ponder received honorable mention on the elite team for the second year in a row. Hudson, making his first appearance on the all-state team, also received honorable mention.
Both were first team All-Region 1-AAAAA selections.
The two Packers were among the 19 players from Region 1-AAAAA who were selected for the all-state team in balloting by writers who covered high school football.
Houston County running back Eric O’Neal was named the Class AAAAA offensive player of the year.
Joining him on the first team from Region 1-AAAAA were Tift County receiver Israel Troupe, Houston County tight end Ben Collins, Tift County offensive lineman Zach Allen, Houston County offensive line Dylan Thompson, Warner Robins offensive lineman Robert Luciano, Tift County place-kicker Charlie Edwards, Tift County athlete Kaream Hess, Coffee defensive lineman Brooks Barbaree, Houston County defensive lineman Princeton Dean, Warner Robins linebacker Brian Buford, Lowndes defensive back Greg Reid, Coffee defensive back Quam Hancock and Tift County defensive back Jay Gaskins.
Also receiving honorable mention from Region 1-AAAAA were defensive back Leron Scott of Warner Robins, linebackers Josh Abbott and Jeffery Searcy of Tift County and linebacker Roderick Rose of Warner Robins.
Creekside defensive back Eric Berry, who recently commited to Tennessee, was the all-classification player of the year.
Peachtree Ridge’s Cameron Heywood was named the Class AAAAA defensive player of the year.
Blair Armstrong of Peachtree Ridge and Tim McFarlin of Roswell were the Class AAAAA co-coaches of the year. Peachtree Ridge and Roswell battled to a 14-14 tie in the state champinship game.
Hudson led the region in passing, completing 159-of-254 passes for 1,943 yards and 21 touchdowns.
While completing 62.3 percent of his passes, he threw just seven interceptions.
Ponder, who led the Packers in rushing, receiving and interceptions, finished with 52 catches for 545 yards and seven touchdowns.
He was a first-team all-region selection last year and received honorable mention on the all-state team. With 88 career receptions, Ponder is second on the Packers all-time receiving list.
