By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
Six Escambia Academy senior football players will have one last opportunity to strap on the pads before the end of their high school football careers. EA senior players Landon Sims, Brady Howell, Bubba Nettles, J.J. Stevens, Hunter Smith and Chris Long were recently selected to take part in the 2021 AISA All-Star Game, the last hoorah for the best of the best for AISA senior football players.
Sims will take the reigns as quarterback, Nettles will play running back, Smith will join as a defensive end, Long will play on the offensive line, Howell will fill slots as a fullback and H-back, and Stevens will join as linebacker. All EA players will play on the AISA West team.
According to EA head coach Hugh Fountain, out of 10 EA seniors these 6 were chosen, but all 10 senior players were more than deserving to be a part of the team.
“All ten of our guys deserved to play,” Fountain said. “However, the AISA has a rule about players being ineligible to play on the All-Star team who have not been with the school for more than a year. So, with that, four of our senior players could not play, which is unfortunate. They deserved the chance.”
Over the past few years, the names of these players have been called numerous times in stadiums, mentioned in sports articles and have become part of the spotlight of players to watch out for during AISA games each week. This week their names and numbers will be mentioned one final time as they end their high school playing careers.
Fountain added that the underclassmen have big shoes to fill next season, but he is more than confident the new and returning players will be more than up for the task.
The chosen players leave for practices in anticipation of the game this Wednesday, December 1. The 2021 AISA All-Star game will be played this Friday, December 3, at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. Pre-game starts at 6 p.m., and gametime is set for 6:30 p.m.