Simpson named MF7 Player of the Year; Polk places five on all-league team

Published 8:36 am Monday, November 20, 2023

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Polk County senior Antonio Simpson has been named the 2023 Mountain Foothills 7 Conference Football Player of the Year.

It marks the second consecutive season that a Wolverine player has received the league’s top honor, with Angus Weaver winning the award in 2022.

Four other Pok County players – Jadyn Virgil, Lawson Carter, Loreynzo Sanchez and Keaundrae Green – were chosen for the All-MF7 squad.

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Simpson finished the season with 80 pass receptions for 885 yards and eight touchdowns. He ended his Polk County career as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yardage with 2,513.

Defensively, Simpson finished the regular season with 80 tackles, including 32 tackles for loss. He had one of the best defensive games of his career at Brevard, recording 15 tackles, eight of those for loss.

Simpson had an interception return for a touchdown against Patton and also blocked a field goal against Tuscola. He had a touchdown-saving tackle in Polk’s 34-30 win over Hendersonville, chasing down Hezzie Rudisill on a drive that eventually ended without the Bearcats scoring.

Simpson has been selected to play in the East-West All-Star Game in December.

East Rutherford’s Blake McClellan was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, with Brevard’s Coleman Smith chosen as the league’s top defender.

East Rutherford’s Trevor Jenkins was named the league’s Lineman of the Year, with Brevard’s Hernando Hernandez named the Kicker of the Year and Brevard’s Luke Coleman named the Coach of the Year.