2012 All-Cabarrus News football team

For the last 25 years, either A.L. Brown or Concord has won the South Piedmont Conference.

This year, in the final season of the All-Cabarrus County version of the league, the Hickory Ridge Ragin’ Bulls broke the streak – taking out both teams in the regular season to finish 11-2 (7-0 in the SPC) to claim the regular-season crown.

The Ragin’ Bulls made it to the second round of the 3AA playoffs, where A.L. Brown Wonders ousted them. The Wonders were eliminated in the next round by state runner-up Charlotte Catholic.

Concord (13-3) made the deepest playoff run, coming up just one win short of a 3A state title.

Cabarrus News offensive player of the year: B.J. Beecher, Concord

When B.J. Beecher first earned the Concord starting quarterback job his freshman year, the Spiders were 0-6 and searching for answers. After guiding his Spider to six wins in their next seven games that year, Beecher proved that he could be a leader.

More than 10,700 yards and 127 touchdown passes later, Beecher had his Concord team playing for a 3A state title in his final game in a Spider uniform.

Beecher threw for 4,116 yards and 50 touchdowns this year to earn SPC offensive player of the year honors.

Beecher has interest from ACC and SEC schools, among others, but his decision on where he will go is still to come.

Cabarrus News defensive player of the year: Jerry Burk, Concord

Jerry Burk had big expectations coming into his junior campaign at Concord. After 139 tackles as a sophomore, Burk wanted to be even better this year.

While the 6-foot-3, 215-pound junior didn’t put up quite as big numbers with 119 tackles, he still had another standout season, being named SPC defensive player of the year for his work. The linebacker also had 2.5 sacks and an interception this season.

Burk was also used offensively at times, scoring two touchdowns – including a 21-yard catch from Beecher in the 3A championship this season.

Cabarrus News coach of the year: Marty Paxton, Hickory Ridge

Marty Paxton knows all about the challenge of beating A.L. Brown and Concord.

Paxton, a 1994 Concord graduate, helped break the tradition of Wonder and Spider conference domination, becoming the first team other than Brown and Concord to win an SPC title since 1987.

The Ragin’ Bulls (11-2, 7-0) also became the first Cabarrus County team to beat A.L. Brown, other than Concord, since 1976. This comes a season after his team struggled to go 6-6.

All-Cabarrus News football team

Offense

• QB – B.J. Beecher, Concord: The senior became only the third player in N.C. history to pass for more than 10,000 career yards.

• QB – Nick Tyson, Hickory Ridge: Bulls’ All-SPC senior led Bulls to an SPC title with over 3,600 yards of total offense, 42 touchdowns.

• RB – Kalif Phillips, A.L. Brown.: The senior, a Charlotte 49ers commit, had 1,755 rushing yards, 26 touchdowns.

• RB – Rocky Reid, Concord: All-SPC sophomore ran for 1,590 yards and 14 touchdowns despite missing two games.

• RB – Ricky Sherrill, A.L. Brown: All-SPC senior rushed for 1,080 yards and 18 TDs.

• ATH – Hasaan Klugh, Central Cabarrus.: All-SPC junior quarterback helped Vikings with his arm and legs.

• WR – Alex Asbury, Concord: Beecher’s top target, an All-SPC senior, made 62 catches for 1,464 yards and 15 TDs.

• WR – Keeon Johnson, A.L. Brown: The senior, a Shrine Bowl-bound Virginia commit, fought through injury to make 41 catches for 535 yards and five TDs.

• WR – Zoshua Heilig, Concord: The senior caught 45 passes for 861 and 10 TDs to be named all-conference.

•  WR – Nick Frazier, Hickory Ridge: Senior had 978 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns out of the slot position.

• TE – Parker Swaringen, Concord: Senior carried on Spider tradition of great TEs by catching 48 passes for 701 yards and eight touchdowns.

• OL – Zeb Ritchie, A.L. Brown: Senior, an all-conference selection, was at the center of the vaunted Kannapolis rushing attack.

• OL – Stephen Sigler, Hickory Ridge: All-SPC senior was a key in Ragin’ Bulls’ ball control style.

• OL – Matt Jean-Gilles, Cox Mill: All-SPC senior had a strong year up front for the Chargers.

• OL – Gerald Carr, Concord.: 6-foot-7, 310-pound senior did a lot of heavy lifting for Spiders’ line.

• OL – Brandon Parker, A.L. Brown.: The senior, a 6-foot-7, 260-pounder, also opened a lot of holes for the Wonders.

Defense

• DL – L-Roy McCray, Concord.: Senior had 117 tackles, nine sacks to be an All-SPC pick.

• DL – Demetrey Benton, Hickory Ridge: All-SPC senior had 80 tackles and five sacks for the Bulls.

• DL – Shakil Gore, A.L. Brown: Versatile all-conference senior was hard to block for Wonders.

• DL – Kendall Bost, Concord: All-SPC senior had seven sacks, five hurries.

• LB/DL – D.J. Freeman, Hickory Ridge: Two-time All-SPC senior had 92 tackles, two sacks and two interceptions.

• LB – Tommy McCrimmon, Mount Pleasant: All-SPC senior had 129 tackles, four fumble recoveries and also scored three TDs for Tiger offense.

• LB – Michael Steinbacher, Jay M. Robinson: All-conference senior registered a league-best 155 tackles, averaging 14 stops per game.

• LB – Jerry Burk, Concord: The junior had 119 tackles, two forced fumbles for Spiders.

• LB – Logan Sedergren, Concord: All-SPC selection, a junior, led Spiders with over 130 tackles.

• ATH – Jarrin Hogue, Northwest Cabarrus: All SPC senior doubled as standout fullback, middle linebacker for Trojans.

• DB – J.P. Lott, A.L. Brown: Senior was named all-conference while also helping the Wonder run-game.

• DB – JaMarkus Wilkerson, Concord: All-SPC senior made big plays, including six interceptions..

• DB – Andy Hunt, Mount Pleasant: Senior was named all-conference having three INTs, a fumble recovery, 38 tackles and seven offensive TDs.

• DB – Xavier Thompson, Concord: Senior had a team-best 8 interceptions, with three in the playoff run.

Special teams

• K – Erik Amaya, A.L. Brown: SPC Kicker of the Year, a senior, made 70 extra points, eight field goals.

• P – Blake Brewer, Cannon: The all-state senior, a Charlotte 49ers commit, averaged 37 yards per punt.

• RET – Kenny Purvis, Central Cabarrus: All-SPC junior can be threat every time he touches the ball.

• SPEC – Ryan Hill, Cox Mill: All-state sprinter, a senior, uses speed to make big impact in return game and at WR, where he was All-SPC with 9 TDs.