Pirates land eight players on Class 4 all-state teams following record-breaking season
HANNIBAL, Mo. — A record-setting offense and an undefeated run to an appearance in the state championship game landed the Hannibal football team with a plethora of Class 4 all-state honors from the Missouri Football Coaches Association.
The Pirates had three players receive first-team honors and eight players mentioned overall. The MOFBCA honors three teams in each class.
Three key components of the offensive attack were first-team honorees — sophomore wide receiver Aneyas Williams, senior quarterback Courtland Watson and senior left tackle Caden Selle.
Hannibal left tackle Caden Selle Hannibal linebacker Tyler Hardy Hannibal running back A.J. Thomas Hannibal linebacker Ashton Watts Hannibal safety Kaiser Greenwell Hannibal quarterback Courtland Watson Hannibal defensive lineman Brady Zimmerman
The 5–foot-10, 185-pound Williams finished as the second-highest scoring sophomore in state history with 284 points. He caught 63 passes for 1,297 yards with 24 touchdowns. He rushed for 977 yards and 20 touchdowns and scored three times on defense or special teams. His 47 touchdowns are a single-season record.
The 6-1, 180-pound Watson finished the season with 1,992 yards passing and 4,835 for his career, both Hannibal records. He completed 109 of 179 passes (61 percent) with 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Watson also rushed for 808 yards and nine touchdowns.
The 6-3, 285-pound Selle anchored the offensive line that paved the way for a school-record 5,600 yards of total offense, 7.4 yards per play and 46.1 points per game.
Second-team honors went to senior defensive lineman Brady Zimmerman, senior linebacker Tyler Hardy and senior safety Kaiser Greenwell.
Zimmerman finished with 50 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. Hardy racked up a team-high 19.5 tackles for loss to go with 68 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions, four passes broken up and three fumbles recovered. Greenwell led the Pirates with 101 tackles, including six tackles for loss, to go with one interception and three passes broken up.
Third-team honors went to senior running back A.J. Thomas and junior linebacker Ashton Watts.
Thomas rushed for 1,107 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. Watts had 74 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and one interception.
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