Football: 2008 All-Permian Basin Superlative list

OFFENSIVE MVP:

GARRETT PORTER, LT

PERMIAN, 6-5, 300, SR.

>> Key Stats: 118 knockdown blocks, 98 pancakes, only unanimous first team All-District 2-5A selection and repeat first team selection on the AP Class 5A All-State Team.

>> Joel A. says: For most people in press boxes around the state, the first thing that jumps out is Porter's size, but it's his feet that make the Panthers three-year starter special. Very few people who have Porter's size can move as quick as he can. With Porter protecting the blind side, Panthers quarterback Trevor Adams never had to watch his blind side. And every time Permian needed to get a first down in a short-yardage situation, the formula was simple. Get behind Porter, and let him take you to the Promised Land. 

DEFENSIVE MVP:

DREW ALLEN, LB

IRAAN, 6-0, 190, SR.

>> Key Stats: 175 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles.

>> Willie says: Iraan had one of the top defenses in the Permian Basin year, and Allen was the leader of it. The District 8-1A Defensive MVP followed a 110-tackle junior year with an even better season in 2008, leading a Braves defense that allowed opponents to average just 7.1 points in the regular season. He was terrific at studying opposing teams' formations before games, and his coaches said that helped him sometimes know where plays were going before the ball was snapped. 

UTILITY MVP:

ADRIAN HERNANDEZ, SB-LB

FORT DAVIS, 6-1, 165, SR.

>> Key Stats: 157 carries for 2,932 yards and 30 touchdowns; 50-of-78 passing for 1,372 yards, 20 touchdowns and no interceptions; 161 tackles and three interceptions.

>> Willie says: In Trent's training room after his team had just lost to Follett in a Six-Man Division I semifinal playoff game, Fort Davis head coach Lonnie Flippen said that if there is anyone in the state who's better than Hernandez, he'd like to see him. Hernandez was that good and so important for the Indians that when he suffered a knee injury midway through the first quarter of the Follett game, they were simply deflated. Fort Davis led 14-0 but went on to lose 64-42. 

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:

BRADLEY MARQUEZ, RB

ODESSA HIGH, 6-0, 175, SOPH.

>> Key Stats: 203 carries for 1,722 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns; 30 receptions for 484 yards and five touchdowns; one kickoff return for a touchdown (97 yards).

>> Lee says: All due respect to the other top running backs and playmakers, but Bradley Marquez completely changed the dynamic of District 2-5A. When coaches worked during the summer, it was how would they stop Derrick Teegarden at quarterback, which in turn would shut down the Bronchos offense. Marquez's emergence in the first game of the season against El Paso Montwood - when he went for 107 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns and a 73-yard touchdown reception - showed future opponents that OHS no longer was a one-man show and Marquez used that as a springboard to the best single-season rushing effort in OHS history.

COACH OF THE YEAR: 

RON KING, ODESSA HIGH

>> Key Stats: Piloted Bronchos to 9-3 season after consecutive seasons of two victories in 2006 and 2007.

>> Lee says: King will tell you he's only as good as his players, but his players have to understand the system. In 2008, the players finally got what King had been teaching the past two seasons. Constantly moving his key personnel around to create mismatches on the field, King took over the play-calling duties on offense and the Bronchos flourished with a record-setting 460 points and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1997. King had been a career assistant coach before finally getting his chance to take over the Bronchos program in 2006.