Richland, Keller Central defenders make 6A all-state first team in 1st year on varsity
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Following a Week 1 loss to Frisco Lone Star, Richland head coach Ged Kates met with sophomore Christian Smith-Johnson that next Monday.
“You’re our starting free safety right now,” Kates told the young play maker.
A year ago, Smith-Johnson was on the freshman team, playing wide receiver. Now he’s first-team all state in the largest classification in Texas.
The 6-foot Rebel was voted first-team defensive back on the Class 6A Associated Press Sports Editors all-state football team on Thursday.
“I put him at safety after Lone Star and from that point forward, he became what every coach is looking for back there,” Kates said. “He’s a smart kid and our quarterback on the defense.”
Smith-Johnson registered 51 tackles, 10 deflections and seven interceptions in 10 regular-season games.
“Very athletic and great ball skills,” Kates said. “All state is about making plays at opportune times and he came up with some huge interceptions for us.”
Smith-Johnson made a season-high 11 tackles in Week 5 vs. Abilene. He had two picks in Week 2 vs. Rockwall-Heath.
The Rebels started the season 0-4, but finished 4-6 and second in District 3-6A. They played for the district championship in the final week of the regular season.
“Coming into district, things looked bleak,” Kates said. “I make a lot of mistakes, but the best thing I ever did was put Christian back there at free safety.”
Joining Smith-Johnson on first team defense was Keller Central senior linebacker Miles Skinner, who made a team-high 129 tackles, 22 for loss and 12 sacks.
Like Smith-Johnson, Skinner wasn’t on varsity last season.
“He played junior varsity, but had a great off season,” Central coach Bart Helsley said. “He was the leader of our defense this year and really an inspiration. He was making a lot of plays in the off season and we got excited about his potential. He went in there and disrupted plays for other teams.”
A big part of Skinner’s improvement came from track season, where he participates in the sprint relays.
“When you put the time and effort into something, good things happen and that’s Miles,” Helsley said.
Senior DJ Graham, who signed his NLI to Oklahoma, was a two-way star for the past three years at Central. He was voted second-team defensive back after making a career-high six interceptions.
“DJ was a valuable guy in every aspect in the game,” Helsley said. “Multi-talented kid. You don’t replace a guy like him very easily. He did so many things for us and he will truly be missed.”
Graham’s best game came in Week 10 vs. Timber Creek when he made two picks, returned one for a 104-yard TD and recovered a fumble.
Rockwall 5-star WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Ohio State signee) was voted offensive player of year. He had nearly 1,500 yards and 23 TDs in the regular season and finished with over 2,000 yards and 35 TDs for the state semifinalists.
He won the 2019 Landry Award player of the year, and has the most career yards at the 6A level all-time.
Here is a look at the Class 6A all-state football team, as voted by the media. Stats are based on regular season only.
Check back at dfwvarsity.com for all-state teams in every classification.
First Team Offense
Linemen
Eric Cisneros, Sr., Midland Lee: 53 knockdowns, 52 pancakes, 96% grade in every game
Parker Cox, Sr., Longview: 90% grade, 51 pancakes for team that averaged 450 yards and 43.1 points per game
Harry Witt, Sr., Austin Vandegrift: 94% grade, 48 knockdowns, 21 pancakes, 1 sack allowed
Will Cabaniss, Jr., Garland Naaman Forest: 97% grade, 16 pancakes, no sacks allowed
Hunter Smith, Jr., Rockwall-Heath: 97% grade, 54 pancakes
Quarterback
Kyle Brown, Jr., Cedar Park Vista Ridge: 269-366-3,309, 36 TDs, 4 INTs; 10 rushing TDs
Running backs
Kaedric Cobbs, Sr., Denton Guyer: 1,816 yards rushing, 32 TDs
Kendall Thomas, Sr., Round Rock Stony Point: 2,194 rushing yards, 25 TDs, 7 games over 200 yards
Aaron Dumas, Jr., EP Americas: 2,619 yards rushing, 33 TDs
Receivers
Michael Phoenix, Sr., Conroe: 79-1,399, 22 TDs
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Sr., Rockwall: 66-1437, 23 TDs
Kicker
Carter Brown, Soph., Pearland Dawson: 42-45 PATs, 14-15 FGs, 6 FGs over 40, long of 49
Offensive Player of the Year: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rockwall
First Team Defense
Linemen
Brandon Brown, Sr., Katy Morton Ranch: 88 tackles, 24 TFL, 9 sacks, 5 FF
Trey Sofia, Sr., Lake Travis: 68 tackles, 28 TFL, 9.5 sacks
Dylan Kemp, Jr., EP Americas: 29 sacks, 21 TFL, 72 tackles
Byron Murphy, Jr., DeSoto: 88 tackles, 12 TFL, 8 sacks
Linebacker
Jax McCauley, Sr., Austin Vandegrift: 143 tackles, 10 TFL, 6 sacks
Miles Skinner, Sr., Keller Central: 129 tackles, 22 TFL, 12 sacks, 2 FF
Javius Williams, Sr., Dallas Skyline: 120 tackles, 35 TFL, 3 INTs, 2 FR, defensive TD
Defensive backs
Malik Cannon, Sr., Longview: 87 tackles, 6 sacks, 16 TFL, 2 FF, 6 PBUs
Elliott Davison, Sr., Tyler Lee: 111 tackles, 6 INTs, 6 PBUs
Cameron Oliver, Jr., Fort Bend Travis: 7 INTs, 2 defensive TDs
Christian Smith-Johnson, Soph., Richland: 51 tackles, 7 INTs, 10 PBUs
Punter
Eric Abbe, Sr., Abilene: 23 punts, 45.5 avg., long of 73, 8 inside 20
Defensive Player of the Year: Brandon Brown, Katy Morton Ranch
Second Team Offense
Linemen
Courtland Ford, Sr., Cedar Hill
Jake Majors, Sr., Prosper
Braedon Nutter, Sr., Tomball Memorial
Logan Parr, Sr., SA Northside O’Connor
Andrew Salem, Sr., Lake Travis
Quarterbacks
Brice Matthews, Sr., Humble Atascocita
Joseph Plunk, Sr., Amarillo Tascosa
Eli Stowers, Jr., Denton Guyer
Running backs
Brian Benavides, Jr., Laredo United South
L.J. Johnson, Jr., Cy-Fair
De’Anthony Lewis, Jr., Converse Judson
Kaden Meredith, Jr., Longview
Will Nixon, Sr., Waco Midway
Receivers
Adam Fogg, Sr., Cedar Park Vista Ridge
Loic Fouonji, Sr., Midland Lee
Daryn McKnight, Sr., Cibolo Steele
Kicker
Ethan Spearman, Jr., Rockwall
Second Team Defense
Linemen
Drew Beltran, Sr., Longview
Elijah Champaigne, Sr., Tomball Memorial
Brandon Esteves, Sr., Brownsville Hanna
Jamal Ligon, Sr., Tyler Lee
Linebackers
Jackson Macias, Sr., Schertz Clemens
Deyvaghn Martin, Sr., SA Stevens
Gabriel Martinez, Sr., Harlingen
Tyshawn Taylor, Sr., Longview
Defensive backs
D.J. Graham, Sr., Keller Central
Jaylon Jones, Sr., Cibolo Steele
Upton Stout, Sr., Galena Park North Shore
Chris Thompson, Sr., Duncanville
Punter
Connor Dailey, Jr., McKinney Boyd
Honorable Mention Offense
Linemen: Joseph Amaro, Laredo United South; Jackson Andrews, Schertz Clemens; Josh Bankhead, The Woodlands College Park; Gabe Blair, Denton Guyer; James Collyer, Austin Vandegrift; Branson Hickman, Dallas Jesuit; Angel Lopez, SA Northside Brandeis; Kevaughnte McGowan, Arlington; Akinola Ogunbiyi, Fort Bend Kempner; Mark Trujillo, Laredo United South; Louis Wilson, Odessa
Quarterbacks: Max DiDomenico, Schertz Clemens; Quinn Ewers, Southlake Carroll; Ja’Quinden Jackson, Duncanville; Braedyn Locke, Rockwall; RJ Martinez, Round Rock Westwood; Sofian Massoud, Cypress Lakes; Christian Pack, Conroe; Mikey Serrano, Midland Lee
Running Backs: Dylan Campbell, Houston Strake Jesuit; DeQuan Landon, Richardson Pearce; Rashod Owens, SA Roosevelt; Sabron Woods, North Garland
Receivers: Tanner Dabbert, San Angelo Central; Kyle Eaves, Lake Travis; Blaine Green, Allen; Jayden Jones, Rockwall-Heath
Kickers: Jose Carlo Martinez, Keller Timber Creek; Hays McCannon, Lake Travis
Honorable Mention Defense
Linemen: Tunmise Adeleye, Katy Tompkins; Evan Barboza, Wolfforth Frenship; Savion Byrd, Duncanville; Dajuan Carmichael, Converse Judson; Caleb Fox, The Woodlands; Sawyer Goram-Welch, Longview; Damion Hart, Cibolo Steele; James Mitchell, Duncanville; LB Moore, Amarillo Tascosa
Linebackers: Morice Blackwell, Arlington Martin; Kaleb Brown, Del Valle; Jake Chambers, Round Rock Stony Point; Zion Fonua, Euless Trinity; Charlie Gonzales, Midland Lee; Jadyn Landrum, Arlington Bowie; Derrick Lewis, Schertz Clemens; Trent Low, Midland Lee; Jaylen Phillips, Katy; David Powers, EP Franklin; Johnny Rodriguez, SA Northside Brennan; Richard Silva, Keller; Jadarius Thursby, Duncanville; Maui Trevino, Lake Travis
Defensive Backs: Tyler Ashworth, Rockwall; Dakirin Buchanan, Longview; Dakerric Hobbs, Conroe; Airyk Lexion, Rockwall-Heath; Oscar Moore, Northwest Eaton; Robin Neely, Cypress Ranch; Jahari Rogers, Arlington; Johnny Smith-Rider, Haltom; Karl Taylor, Midland Lee; Ronald Wilson, North Crowley; Deonza Yoakum, Dickinson
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 4:47 PM.
