Meet the 2023 All-WNC football team, including Players of the Year and Coach of the Year
The Citizen Times and Times-News have selected the All-WNC high school football team for the 2023 season, with 75 players from 24 schools selected as among the area's best.
Robbinsville advanced the furthest in the NCHSAA playoffs, reaching the 1A West Region final. West Henderson advanced to the fourth round for the first time in program history. Asheville School repeated as NCISAA Division II state champion.
Here are the All-WNC football first, second and third-team selections, along with Players and Coach of the Year winners.
All-WNC FALL 2023: Volleyball | Boys soccer | Girls golf | Girls tennis | Cross country
Offensive Player of the Year
Cuttler Adams, Robbinsville, RB, Sr.
Adams' journey to be the best started in seventh grade when he asked his father to help him practice every morning. Six years later, Adams will leave Robbinsville as WNC's all-time leading rusher. The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas selectee had yet another dominant year, rushing for 2,103 yards and 32 touchdowns, leading Robbinsville to the West Region final for the third time in four years.
Defensive Player of the Year
Zion Brown, Brevard, DL, Jr.
Brown accumulated nine sacks, 35 quarterback pressures, forced three fumbles and recovered two more. He added 104 tackles with 23 coming for a loss while helping Brevard win the Mountain Foothills 7 conference and advance to the third round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs.
Coach of the Year
Paul Whitaker, West Henderson
Whitaker led West Henderson to new heights. The Falcons went 13-1 and reached the fourth round of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs before losing to Hickory, the eventual state champion. His offense averaged 42 points per game while the defense allowed only 11 points per game.
First-team offense
QB - Jed West, Tuscola, Sr.: West's 3,025 yards total offense led Western North Carolina. After transferring from Smoky Mountain before the season, West passed for 2,229 yards with 20 touchdowns and rushed for 797 yards with 12 touchdowns.
RB - Carson Dimsdale, West Henderson, Sr.: Dimsdale rushed for more than 100 yards in each of his first 12 games, including more than 200 yards four times. He scored at least two touchdowns in 10 games. Dimsdale finished the season with 2,135 rushing yards and 33 TDs.
WR - Antonio Simpson, Polk County, Sr.: Simpson totaled 879 yards on 49 receptions and was selected the Mountain Foothills 7 Conference Player of the Year. Simpson had eight receiving touchdowns and a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown.
WR - Ty Johnson, Reynolds, Sr.: Johnson transferred from Erwin before the season and made 45 receptions for 793 yards with 11 touchdowns. Johnson was especially effective on screen plays, picking up yardage after the catch.
WR - Truitt Manuel, West Henderson, Sr.: Manuel was electric as West Henderson’s main target in its historic season. He had 89 receptions for 1,396 yards with 16 touchdowns.
OL - Tyler West, Andrews, Sr.: West, an NC State signee, paved the way for an offense that rushed for 2,657 yards and 30 touchdowns. West was a Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas selection.
OL - Koleson Dooley, Robbinsville, Sr.: Dooley was the only senior on Robbinsville’s offensive line. While the line dealt with injuries all season, Dooley helped the Black Knights to rush for 3,881 yards and 53 touchdowns.
OL - Itachi Duvernay, Roberson, Sr.: Duvernay was the leading lineman for Roberson’s triple-option offense. The Rams had 4,053 rushing yards.
OL - Nse Uffort, Swain County, Jr.: Uffort, selected the Smoky Mountain Conference Lineman of the Year, recorded 22 pancake blocks and helped Swain County rush for 3,500 yards.
OL - Brendan Pohl, Reynolds, Sr.: Pohl was a leading blocker for the Rockets, who totaled 3,691 yards of offense and reached the third round in the 3A NCHSAA playoffs.
First-team defense
DL - Nathan McMahon, Asheville School, Sr.: McMahon recorded 12 sacks while forcing three fumbles and recovering two. Of his 72 tackles, 33 of them were for loss of yardage. McMahon led the Blues to a second straight NCISAA Division II state championship.
DL - Camden Breazeale, Murphy, So.: Breazeale had 11 sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, four pass deflections and forced two fumbles. He 122 total tackles.
DL - Tyler Nash, West Henderson, Jr.: Nash amassed 14 sacks, nine quarterback hurries, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He had 57 total tackles. He was a critical ingredient to a defense that held opponents to less than 12 points per game.
LB - Cayden Jones, Christ School, Sr.: The Alabama commit had 78 tackles, including 11 for a loss, with four sacks and two pass deflections. He was NCISAA Western Conference Athlete of the Year, an Under Armour All-American game selection and a finalist for the Butkus Award given to the nation's top linebacker.
LB - Cohen Bohanon, Roberson, Jr.: Bohanon collected 148 tackles with five for a loss along with a forced fumble and a pass deflection. With his help, the Roberson defense only allowed 11 points per game.
LB - Eben Mann, West Henderson, Sr.: Mann had 95 tackles, including eight sacks. He also had 22 quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. He was named Mountain 7 Defensive Player of the Year.
DB - Leo Maupin, Brevard, Sr.: Maupin intercepted seven passes and broke up four more. He finished with 23 tackles, including three for a loss.
DB - Cole McGee, Mountain Heritage, So.: McGee had nine interceptions and six pass deflections along with 57 total tackles. He helped Mountain Heritage win the Western Highlands Conference.
DB - Sherard Gilliland, Roberson, Jr.: Gilliland had 48 tackles, five interceptions, five pass deflections, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
DB - Diego Castro, West Henderson, Sr.: Castro had 87 tackles, including six for a loss with a sack, four interceptions and seven pass deflections.
First-team special teams
K - Matthias Newsome, Mountain Heritage, Sr.: Newsome's 4,872 kickoff yards ranked No. 2 in North Carolina, and his 44 touchbacks were by far the best number in WNC. Newsome was 56-for-62 on PATs and 7-for-12 on field goals.
P - Rossi Santelia, Reynolds, Jr.: Santelia averaged 33.8 yards per punt and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 10 times, including three times in the Rockets' 15-0 win over Kings Mountain in the second round of the playoffs.
KR/PR - Da’Mare Williams, Smoky Mountain, Sr.: The East Carolina commit averaged 30.3 yards per kick return, good for 44th in the nation. Williams also returned two kicks for touchdowns.
Second-team offense
QB - Hayden Craig, Reynolds, Sr.
RB - Hunter Stalcup, Murphy, Sr.
RB - Josh Collins, Swain County, Sr.
WR - Jeremiah Dodd, Asheville Christian Academy, Sr.
WR - Zamarian James, Asheville Christian Academy, Jr.
WR - Hayezon Tobe, Asheville School, Jr.
OL - Reed Casey, Asheville School, Sr.
OL - Hunter Hamlin, Mountain Heritage, Sr.
OL - Brody Hanson, Pisgah, Sr.
OL - Grady Lewis, Swain County, Jr.
OL - Charlie Decker, West Henderson, Sr.
Second-team defense
DL - Adam Kaminski, Asheville School, Sr.
DL - Judson Weaver, Brevard, Jr.
DL - Brody Orton, Murphy, So.
DL - Reese Meadows, North Henderson, Sr.
LB - Coleman Smith, Brevard, Jr.
LB - Jordan Edgecomb, Christ School, Jr.
LB - Bryce Adams, Robbinsville, Jr.
DB - Justin Rowe, Asheville School, Jr.
DB - Khalil Conley, Christ School, Sr.
DB - Michael Mauney, Hayesville, Jr.
DB - Ryan Payne, Murphy, So.
Second-team special teams
K - Walker Fox, Pisgah, Sr.
P - Daniel Podgayetskyy, Erwin, Sr.
KR/PR - Eli Griffin, Brevard, Jr.
Third-team offense
QB - Brandon Quinn, Mountain Heritage, Jr.
RB - Chase Duncan, Mitchell, Sr.
RB - Tyvon Patterson, Reynolds, So.
WR - Ben Austin, Owen, Sr.
WR - Keaundrae Green, Polk County, Sr.
WR - Bryant Oancea, Tuscola, Sr.
OL - Eddie Pretrick, Asheville High, Sr.
OL - Alex Newman, Brevard, Sr.
OL - Sam Browder, Christ School, Jr.
OL - Weston Winchester, Smoky Mountain, Jr.
OL - Stephen Brooks, Tuscola, Sr.
Third-team defense
DL - Finley Sullivan, Christ School, Jr.
DL - CJ Landrum, Hendersonville, Sr.
DL - Tytus Bridges, Pisgah, Sr.
DL - Cam Smith, Reynolds, Sr.
LB - Elijah Eubanks, Brevard, Sr.
LB - CJ Burleson, Mountain Heritage, Sr.
LB - Keith Payne, North Henderson, Sr.
DB - Sawyer Belue, Pisgah, Jr.
DB - Matthew Mehaffey, Pisgah, So.
DB - Zion Ikeme, Reynolds, Fr.
DB - Neil Robinson, West Henderson, Jr.
Third-team special teams
K - Joshua Sandoval, West Henderson, Jr.
P - Chris Wences, Mitchell, Jr.
KR/PR - Malik Angrum, Reynolds, Sr.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Meet the Citizen Times and Times-News 2023 All-WNC football team
