©2009 NPT PHOTO BY RICK HOOPER

Cocke County senior quarterback Casey Ragan
was one of five Fighting Cocks to receive post-season
honors from the IMAC Conference.

SEVIERVILLE-The Inter Mountain Athletic Conference released its All-Conference award winners on Monday at the conclusion of their team's season in the TSSAA postseason playoff series.

Sevier County quarterback Zach Flynn was selected as the offensive player of the year over Morristown East athlete Tee Howell. Nick Smith of Seymour was selected as the conference's defensive player of the year after leading the league with seven sacks.

Regular season champion Sevier County led the first-team with 13 selections, followed by runner-up Morristown West with six.

The first team quarterbacks were Jefferson County's Anthony Goins and Morristown East's Cody Ricker. Cocke County quarterback Casey Ragan was selected as second team quarterback despite putting up better numbers than either of the first team quarterbacks.

Ragan threw for 1,088 yards and 12 touchdowns, both ranking second in the conference behind Flynn, despite missing two games due to injury. Ragan's completion percentage of 48.8 percent was third in the conference behind Flynn and Goins.

Flynn threw for 2,094 yards and 14 touchdowns, while Goins threw for 926 yards and four touchdowns. Ricker, who played only part-time at quarterback for the Hurricanes tallied 420 yards and five touchdowns through the air.

Other headliners on the All-Conference first team were Sevier County receivers Bryant Gilson and Bryce Whaley and Cherokee receiver Matt Hale. East High running back Tee Howell and Cherokee back Landon House were also first-team nominees.

Cocke County had no first-team nominees, but rated five second-team players.

Ragan and his receivers Logan Suggs and Krys Cates were second-team nominees along with offensive linemen Terrence Davidson and defensive back Logan Holt.

Honorable mentions for the Fighting Cocks include: Tyler Johnson (receiver), Devon Yankee (punter), Nate Watts (running back), and Jonathan Pierce (defensive line).

Conference coaches selected the team through a two-process system. The head coach of each team nominated players for each position from his own team. Following this first phase, the other coaches in the conference then voted on selections, but could not vote on a player from his team in this portion of the process.

All-Conference First Team

Quarterbacks: Anthony Goins (Jefferson County), Cody Ricker (Morristown East)

Receivers: Bryant Gilson (Sevier County), Bryce Whaley (Sevier County), Matt Hale (Cherokee)

Running backs: Tee Howell (Morristown East), Blake Overton (Seymour), Landon House (Cherokee)

Tight ends: Jake Spivey (Morristown West)

Offensive Line: Ross Heatherly (Sevier County), Bryson Maples (Sevier County), Zak Lancaster (Morristown West), Damion Harmon (Jefferson County), Zac Lynch (Morristown East).

Defensive Line: Thomas Hamilton (Sevier County), Robert Whitelaw (Sevier County), Jake Reppert (Sevier County), Nathan Bush (Morristown West), Brock Smith (Morristown West).

Linebackers: Kel McCarter (Sevier County), Michael Cantwell (Morristown West), Keegan Newport (Seymour), Kaleb Trent (Cherokee), Laterian Thomas (South Doyle)

Defensive Backs: Jeremiah Foster (Sevier County), Matt Spangler (Sevier County), Josh Johnson (Sevier County), Bo Ausmus (Jefferson County), Evan Kirkpatrick (Jefferson County), Cory Clark (Seymour), Justin House (Cherokee), Jordan Carmack (South Doyle)

Athlete: Danny Chastain (Sevier County)

Offensive Player of the Year: Zach Flynn (Sevier County)

Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Smith (Seymour)

Coach of the Year: Steve Brewer (Sevier County)

Kicker: Curt Duncan (Morristown West)

Punter: Stephen Martin (Seymour)