It’s no secret that some of the state’s top football players suit up for Lower Alabama schools but stats backed that up throughout the 2024 regular season.

A host of student-athletes from Baldwin County found themselves near the top of MaxPreps’ statewide leaderboards as the dust settled on 11 weeks of regular-season action. Nine different players registered top-10 spots and four more athletes finished in the top 15 of at least one category based on numbers submitted by coaches.

Jones, Everett lead the state

However, nobody registered more receiving yards or total tackles than a pair of Baldwin County standouts who still have one year of high school remaining.

St. Michael junior Brody Jones caught 78 passes for 1,206 receiving yards for a 37-yard advantage on second place DJ Vinson from Montgomery Academy. The Cardinal pass-catcher added 12 touchdowns to help his team earn their first-ever home playoff game.

Gulf Shores junior Landon Everett used 116 solos and 62 assists to finish the year with 178 total tackles and a six-tackle lead over second place Adam Yazel from Gardendale. The Dolphin linebacker added 20.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack as Gulf Shores just missed out on the playoffs in a return to Class 6A Region 1.

Rivers takes flight, Bayside Academy Bash Bros all finish top 5

A trio of Eastern Shore standouts logged top-five finishes in their respective categories as sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers from St. Michael was third in passing yards and Bayside Academy junior linebackers Monroe Partin and Billy Neill were the fourth- and fifth-leading tacklers in the state.

Rivers registered 2,802 yards on 191-of-281 passing with 27 touchdowns against only three interceptions, two of which came against No. 1 Jackson, as the Cardinals earned their first home playoff game in program history.

Just down the road at Bayside Academy, Partin and Neill once again recorded triple-digit tackles as the former held the slightest of margins with 163 total tackles to Neill’s 162 total tackles to help the Admirals host a first-round playoff game for the first time since 2015.

Gulf Shores senior and Mississippi State commit Kolin Wilson also put up impressive offensive numbers and finished as the 10th-leading rusher in the Alabama rankings with 1,672 yards on 219 carries with 17 touchdowns.

Fairhope’s Martin, Elberta’s Billups provide sparks on returns

In the special teams department, junior Bryon Martin from Fairhope and junior Adrian Billups from Elberta logged top-10 spots in total return yards and kickoff return yards, respectively. Martin racked up 447 total return yards with 350 coming on kickoffs and 97 yards on punts. Billups averaged 32.42 yards per kickoff return and finished with 389 yards on 12 attempts.

Bayside Academy junior Noah Cain was just outside the top 10 and was the 13th-leading punt returner with an average of 13.89 yards over 9 attempts for 125 total yards and a long of 32 yards.

Garcia, Sandoval, Lytle prove to be reliable kicking options

Some of the most consistent kickers in the state played in Baldwin County as St. Michael junior Patricio Garcia connected on all 44 of his point-after tries to rank sixth in the state. His 59 kicking points with an additional 5 field goals ranked ninth in Alabama.

From Foley, senior Josue Sandoval used a 7-of-10 effort on field goal attempts to check in as No. 11 in Alabama and from Spanish Fort, senior Cam Lytle racked up the 12th-most kickoff yards with 2,728 total yards on 47 attempts with 21 touchbacks and a long of 70 yards.

Below are some of Baldwin County's athletes who were featured in the top 100 of their categories based on stats submitted by coaches across the state entering Week 12.

Offense

Passing

No. 3: Gunner Rivers, St. Michael – 2,802 yards on 191-of-281 passing with 27 touchdowns

No. 47: Jaylyn Thibodeaux, Daphne – 1,495 yards on 110-of-184 passing with 10 touchdowns

No. 52: Nelson Thompson, Foley – 1,474 yards on 148-of-253 passing with 8 touchdowns

No. 61: Jackson Robertson, Fairhope – 1,375 yards on 96-of-178 passing with 15 touchdowns

Rushing

No. 10: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – 1,672 yards on 219 carries with 17 touchdowns

No. 43: Noah Moss, St. Michael – 1,136 yards on 139 carries with 17 touchdowns (8 games)

No. 72: EJ King, Spanish Fort – 944 yards on 107 carries with 15 touchdowns

Receiving

No. 1: Brody Jones, St. Michael – 1,206 yards on 78 receptions with 12 touchdowns

No. 27: Tucker Tomlinson, St. Michael – 809 yards on 42 receptions with 12 touchdowns

No. 48: Shaborn Oakes, Foley – 643 yards on 61 receptions with 2 touchdowns

Scoring

No. 32: Noah Moss, St. Michael – 118 points on 19 touchdowns

No. 49: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – 108 points on 18 touchdowns

Touchdowns (non-throwing)

No. 31: Noah Moss, St. Michael – 19 touchdowns between 17 rushing and 2 receiving

No. 39: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – 18 touchdowns between 17 rushing and 1 receiving

No. 75: EJ King, Spanish Fort – 15 touchdowns with 15 rushing

Total yards (passing, rushing, receiving)

No. 5: Gunner Rivers, St. Michael – 2,822 yards between 2,802 passing and 20 rushing

No. 51: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – 1,989 yards between 118 passing, 1,672 rushing and 199 receiving

No. 57: Jaylyn Thibodeaux, Daphne – 1,905 yards between 1,495 passing and 410 rushing

No. 93: Noah Moss, St. Michael – 1,488 yards between 1,136 rushing and 352 receiving

No. 95: Nelson Thompson, Foley – 1,476 yards between 1,474 passing and 2 rushing

Defense

Tackles

No. 1: Landon Everett, Gulf Shores – 178 total tackles between 116 solos and 62 assists with 20.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack

No. 4: Monroe Partin, Bayside Academy – 163 total tackles between 83 solos and 80 assists with 5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks

No. 5: Billy Neill, Bayside Academy – 162 total tackles between 93 solos and 69 assists with 8 tackles for loss and 3 sacks

No. 24: Bishop Burkhalter, Spanish Fort – 125 total tackles between 50 solos and 75 assists with 8 tackles for loss and 1 sack

No. 90: JaMichael Garrett, Gulf Shores – 91 total tackles between 48 solos and 43 assists with 9.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks

No. 92: Noah Cain, Bayside Academy – 90 total tackles between 48 solos and 42 assists with 1 tackle for loss

Sacks

No. 39: Adam Duncan, Gulf Shores – 8 sacks for 32 yards lost with 12 hurries

No. 45: Talib Graham, Daphne – 7 sacks with 3 hurries

No. 69: Marquaes Lambert, Daphne – 6 sacks with 2 hurries

No. 91: Trent Sellers, Spanish Fort – 5.5 sacks for 48 yards lost with 11 hurries

Interceptions

No. 59: Antione Sledge, Daphne – 3 interceptions

No. 84: Noah Cain, Bayside Academy – 3 interceptions

Special Teams

Field goals

No. 11: Josue Sandoval, Foley – 7 field goals on 10 attempts with a long of 42

No. 17: Sanders Semiklose, Orange Beach – 5 field goals on 5 attempts with a long of 43

No. 18: Nathan Ivan, Bayside Academy – 5 field goals on 5 attempts with a long of 37

No. 19: Patricio Garcia, St. Michael – 5 field goals on 6 attempts with a long of 46

No. 21: Cam Lytle, Spanish Fort – 5 field goals on 7 attempts with a long of 40

No. 41: Taylor Barkley, Gulf Shores – 3 field goals on 4 attempts with a long of 33

No. 47: Grant Thompson, Fairhope – 3 field goals on 9 attempts with a long of 35

No. 74: David Landrum, Elberta – 1 field goal on 1 attempt

No. 82: Jack Wilkinson, Bayside Academy – 1 field goal on 2 attempts with a long of 30

Point-After Tries

No. 6: Patricio Garcia, St. Michael – 44 PATs on 44 attempts

No. 23: Cam Lytle, Spanish Fort – 37 PATs on 38 attempts

No. 43: Sanders Semiklose, Orange Beach – 31 PATs on 31 attempts

No. 61: Grant Thompson, Fairhope – 25 PATs on 29 attempts

No. 82: Taylor Barkley, Gulf Shores – 19 PATs on 23 attempts

No. 83: Josue Sandoval, Foley – 18 PATs on 20 attempts

No. 92: Nathan Ivan, Bayside Academy – 13 PATs on 14 attempts

Kick scoring

No. 9: Patricio Garcia, St. Michael – 59 points between 44 PATs and 5 field goals

No. 20: Cam Lytle, Spanish Fort – 52 points between 37 PATs and 5 field goals

No. 27: Sanders Semiklose, Orange Beach – 46 points between 41 PATs and 5 field goals

No. 41: Josue Sandoval, Foley – 39 points between 18 PATs and 7 field goals

No. 58: Grant Thompson, Fairhope – 34 points between 25 PATs and 3 field goals

No. 71: Nathan Ivan, Bayside Academy – 28 points between 13 PATs and 5 field goals

No. 72: Taylor Barkley, Gulf Shores – 28 points between 19 PATs and 3 field goals

Punts

No. 42: John Carter Norton, Fairhope – Average of 33.58 yards per punt with 1,108 total yards on 66 attempts with a long of 62 and 6 downed inside the 20

No. 54: Newton Gardner, Spanish Fort – Average of 32.04 yards per punt with 769 total yards on 24 attempts with a long of 65 and 11 downed inside the 20

No. 66: Taylor Barkley, Gulf Shores – Average of 28.80 yards per punt with 1,123 total yards on 39 attempts with a long of 52 and 9 downed inside the 20

No. 75: Sanders Semiklose, Orange Beach – Average of 23.12 yards per punt with 393 total yards on 17 attempts with a long of 58

Kickoffs

No. 9: Patricio Garcia, St. Michael – 3,075 total yards on 63 attempts with 2 touchbacks and a long of 60

No. 12: Cam Lytle, Spanish Fort – 2,728 total yards on 47 attempts with 21 touchbacks and a long of 70

No. 24: Taylor Barkley, Gulf Shores – 1,737 total yards on 34 attempts with 6 touchbacks and a long of 60

No. 64: Nathan Ivan, Bayside Academy – 458 total yards on 27 attempts with 15 touchbacks and a long of 64

Punt returns

No. 13: Noah Cain, Bayside Academy – Average of 13.89 yards per return with 125 total yards on 9 attempts and a long of 32

No. 15: Bryon Martin, Fairhope – Average of 12.12 yards per return with 97 total yards on 8 attempts with a long of 41

Kickoff returns

No. 10: Adrian Billups, Elberta – Average of 32.42 yards per return with 389 total yards on 12 attempts

No. 34: Brody Jones, St. Michael – Average of 25.40 yards per return with 381 total yards on 15 attempts with a long of 50

No. 40: Bryon Martin, Fairhope – Average of 23.33 yards per return with 350 total yards on 15 attempts with a long of 89

No. 67: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – Average of 18.61 yards per return with 335 total yards on 18 attempts with a long of 43

No. 88: Tucker Tomlinson, St. Michael – Average of 15.92 yards per return with 191 total yards on 12 attempts with a long of 26

Total returns

No. 9: Bryon Martin, Fairhope – 447 total yards between 350 kickoff return yards and 97 punt return yards

No. 12: Adrian Billups, Elberta – 389 total yards with 389 kickoff return yards

No. 22: Kolin Wilson, Gulf Shores – 336 total yards between 335 kickoff return yards and 1 punt return yard

No. 32: Brody Jones, St. Michael – 302 total yards between 381 kickoff return yards and 43 punt return yards

No. 70: Jaecyn Myles, Daphne – 203 total yards between 47 kickoff return yards and 156 punt return yards