The Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce held the Crenshaw County All County Football Award luncheon today at the DEI Center at Luverne United Methodist Church.

All County football players from all four schools attended the event along with coaches and other school officials.

The purpose of the chamber is to promote local businesses and to promote Crenshaw County as a whole,” Steve Sanders said. “And I was thinking about you football players. You guys probably promote Crenshaw County more than anybody else. Anywhere you go in the state and they go ‘where you from’ and you tell them Crenshaw County, somebody is going to say ‘Oh yeah, that’s where you have great football teams, great basketball, great baseball.”

Jeannie Gibson, Crenshaw County circuit clerk, directed and handed out award certificates to all the players.

“Thank you all for giving me something to do on Friday nights,” Gibson told the players.

There are some great student athletes in this county,” Wayne Grant, Crenshaw Christian head coach, said. “I have been coaching 47 years and I have coached a lot of really good players and some not so good. But, in Crenshaw County you have a lot of good players. This selection showcases these players from each individual school.”

Grant went on to congratulate the players and remind them that they did something spectacular this season or they would not be on this team.

“It was a special year; it taught me a lot,” Will Pouncey, Highland Home head coach, said. “There was a time early off in the season where we didn’t get out of the gate like we wanted to, but we did finish strong. We didn’t make the play at the end to make the championship game. I know we set the foundation and standard for what we want to do in the future. A lot of these guys will be coming back next year so we are looking forward to that.”

Pouncey went on to give a brief breakdown of games played throughout the year.

Jason Rowell, Luverne High School head coach, told the audience that he had a lot if sleepless nights knowing he would be facing a group of kids like Crenshaw County produces.

“They always turn the temperature up in this county,” Rowell said. “That is what makes it fun. I don’t want to be in a county where there is no competition. I am very proud of this group right here. We didn’t finish where we wanted to finish but 9-2 was not in any shape or form a bad season.”

Rowell said his time has adopted Southern Miss’s motto: anybody, anytime, anywhere.

“It’s amazing the talent that is in this room,” Roland Jones, Brantley High School head coach, said. “It don’t matter what color jerseys they wear or where you come from; it’s about what you build on the football field, in a classroom and in the community. This year we came up a little short, as we did last year, but that is part of it. We learn from it.”

Jones became teary eyed as he told the room how much his players have done for Brantley and how proud he is of them.

Jeannie Gibson wrapped up the event reminding the seniors as they go off to college that there are consequences to their actions. “If you have problems that you can’t deal with, call on some of us and we will see if we can help you. The people of Crenshaw County are with you, behind you and we love you,” she said.

The luncheon was catered by the Chicken Shack