Four Baldwin County representatives were recognized when the Alabama High School Athletic Association announced the All-Star rosters for the 66th-annual North-South Football Classic on Dec. 13. They’ll look to help the South squad collect a fourth win in five years and potentially return with the MVP Trophy for a third consecutive season.

A pair of the state’s top athletes, Tiaquentin Mims from Baldwin County and Nehemiah Hixon from Spanish Fort, marked their teams’ first All-Star selections since 2022 (DJ Jackson and Yorell Williams, Jacob Godfrey respectively) when the South team recorded the most lopsided victory of all-time.

Two standout Daphne Trojan defenders, linebacker Cayden Williams and lineman Marquaes Lambert, will look to set the tone on that side of the ball. They served as the program's second dual selection in a row after Nick Clark took home MVP honors and Tyler Durant was also named to the roster last season.

Daphne head coach Kenny King will lead the coaching staff with the South All-Stars seeking an extension to their 35-28-2 lead in the all-time series. The contest has a scheduled kickoff of 7 p.m. with live broadcasts on the AHSAA TV Network and NFHS Network.

Numbers talk

Mims has found the end zone in almost every game this season, including the first four in a row, and became the 26th Baldwin County Tiger named to the AHSAA All-Star game according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society. Mims will join his brother Tiaquelin, a current Southern Miss wide receiver, in representing Baldwin County in all-star games after the latter was named to the 2021 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.

Hixon has made an impact on all three phases for the Spanish Fort Toros with 9 carries for 36 rushing yards, 25 catches for 314 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, 2 punt returns for 27 yards and 5 kickoff returns for 133 yards according to MaxPreps stats. Hixon marked the 14th overall selection in program history.

The second- and third-leading tacklers on the team, Lambert and Williams have both logged more than 40 solo tackles and multiple sacks to help earn Daphne’s 24th and 25th overall selections to the AHSAA All-Star Game.

Lambert’s 64 total tackles, including 49 solos, 15 assists and 23 tackles for loss, ranked second on the Trojans and Williams’ 55 total tackles, including 44 solos, 11 assists, 7 tackles for loss and 3 sacks, checked in as third entering the region final against Robertsdale in Week 10. Lambert has also added 6 sacks and 2 quarterback hurries, as well as 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery according to MaxPreps stats.

More on the roster construction, per AHSAA

The two 37-player rosters were selected by the AHSADCA All-Star Selection Committee. The AHSADCA administers the game each year in partnership with the Mobile Sports Authority, the City (and County) of Mobile, and the University of South Alabama. All players selected are 2023 seniors.

“We have an abundance of talent in our state each year, and both teams selected reflect that talent,” said AHSADCA Director James T. Lawrence. “We are looking forward to another exciting game this December.”

The All-Star selection committee, consisting of the two coaching staffs participating in this year’s game, chose the teams from nominations submitted by AHSAA member school coaches.

“We thank our member schools for their nominations,” said Lawrence.

He also shared a token of appreciation to the host city for holding the contest each year.

“We look forward to our time in Mobile and appreciate the City (and County) of Mobile, the Mobile Sports Authority and the University of South Alabama for their continued interest and support of this all-star event,” he said.