Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

Aaron Stephens and Patrick Lewis grabbed headlines during the regular season.

Things haven’t changed in the off-season, either.

Both Stephens and Lewis were in the headlines again Tuesday when they were named to the Associated Press Division IV All-Ohio football team.

Stephens was a first team selection on defense while Lewis was named to the All-Ohio second team offense. Stephens was the Southeast district Defensive Player of the Year while Lewis was co-Offensive Player of the Year.

A 6-foot-3, 210-pound senior defensive end, Stephens averaged seven tackles a game to go with five quarterback sacks and five passes knocked down and was Ironton’s best all-around player on both sides of the ball.

Offensively, Stephens led the team with 16 receptions for 240 yards and three touchdowns along with being an outstanding blocker. Stephens is also an excellent long-snapper.

Lewis — a 5-10, 175-pound senior — exploded this season as he rushed 107 times for 1,148 yards and an amazing 10.7 yards per carry average. He scored 17 touchdowns including one kickoff return for a score and two punt returns for TDs.

Ironton also had three other players named to the All-Ohio Special Mention list including senior linebacker Mo Phillips, senior defensive end and running back Trevor White and junior two-way tackle Adam Webb.

Phillips is a 5-10, 225-pound senior, White a 6-3, 210-pound senior and Webb a 6-6, 330-pound junior.

The Chesapeake Panthers senior linebacker and offensive lineman T.J. McCoy and all-purpose offensive standout and defensive back Javon Thompson were named to the Special Mention list.

Thompson is a 6-1, 165-pound senior who had 24 receptions for 429 yards and five TDs. The 5-11, 230-pound McCoy racked up 109 tackles.

The Fairland Dragons’ senior running back and defensive end Tyree Ceasar and junior all-purpose offensive player and defensive back Kyle Sowards were honored with their selections to the Special Mention list.

The 5-8, 205-pound Ceasar ran 141 times for 827 yards and five scores. The 5-9, 150-pound Sowards had 42 tackles and four interceptions on defense while catching 21 passes for 354 yards and running 47 times for 260 yards on offense.

All nine players were first team selections on the Southeast All-District team.

The Offensive Player of the Year was Ja’Wuan Woodley of Columbus Bishop Hartley and the Defensive Player of the Year was Trent Smart of Clinton-Massie.

Woodley — a Toledo verbal commit — was the Defensive Player of the Year last season.