JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) - Another season of high school football in the Tri-Cities region came to a close Monday night with the annual WJHL High School Football Player of the Year Banquet.
Nine outstanding talents from Northeast Tennessee and three more from Southwest Virginia gathered with their coaches and families in downtown Johnson City to be recognized for their outstanding achievements this fall.
From All-State honorees to school record-holders, the field of 2023 WJHL High School Football Players of the Week was stacked. But, at 5-foot-8-inches tall, one player stood out above the rest.
Patrick Henry senior running back and linebacker Camron Goodspeed took home 2023 WJHL Football Player of the Year honors.
"It's awesome, the hard work is paying off and I'm very excited," he said afterward.
"Such a special year - he's a smaller kid, but like I've always said, he runs like he's 200 pounds," Patrick Henry head coach Seth Padgett explained.
Goodspeed was the bell cow running back for the Rebels this year, amassing 327 carries for 2,459 yards and 38 touchdowns. The All-Hogoheegee District back also added 150 receiving yards and two more scores.
"The message is - never give up," Goodspeed said of his smaller stature. "No matter how many people doubt you - no matter what - just use that as motivation and just keep fighting through everything."
His relentless work in the weight room allowed him to switch over to linebacker on defense in 2023.
"He's a weight-room warrior," Padgett said. "The guy squats about 400 pounds and benches about 225. He lives in there."
The increased strength helped him wrack up 75 total tackles this season, while also intercepting three passes - all three of which were returned for touchdowns.
"It was a heck of a year and I loved every minute of it," he said.
"He put in the time, he put in the work and he earned this award tonight," Padgett added.
The People's Choice Player of The Year Award went to Unicoi County quarterback Kolby Jones.
The sophomore standout raked in more than 1,400 votes in a year that saw record voting participation.
"He took our season by storm - especially the offense," head coach Drew Rice said. "He transformed our offense and we were just very explosive there and that's a credit to him."
Jones completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,786 yards and 20 touchdowns, while only throwing two interceptions.
Rice accepted the award on Jones' behalf, as the three-sport athlete was busy on the court with the varsity basketball squad on Monday night.
"[He's] having a great basketball season, I know he's gonna have a great baseball season," Rice said. "All those things kind of play in his favor and speak to what kind of athlete he is and what kind of competitor he is."
