Four area football players were recently named to Associated Press all-state first team.
Named to the Class 2A all-state team, in voting by editors and sports writers around the state of Washington, were Hockinson’s Kedrick Johnson and Cameron Loos and Ridgefield’s Lane Anderson and Nick Thomas.
Johnson and Loos helped Hockinson post an 11-1 record this season, claim a second-consecutive Class 2A Greater St. Helens League (GSHL) title and advance to the state quarterfinals the second straight season.
“We haven’t had that many all-state kids in the past but both of them very much deserve to be on the team,’’ said Hockinson coach Rick Steele, who said that he and his coaching staff believe Johnson and Loos are among the top three players ever to play at the school (along with Nick Cody, a lineman who went on to play at the University of Oregon).
Johnson was named to the all-state team as a receiver after catching 57 passes for 1,101 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. He also had three rushing touchdowns. He was named the 2A GSHL Offensive Player of the Year this season by a vote of the league’s coaches.
“Kedrick is the complete football player,’’ Steele said. “He caused people a lot of problems. He was the kid when you played us, you had to stop him and nobody could. On top of being a great football player, he’s a great kid. He’s the ultimate team player.’’
Loos, who was named to the all-state team as a defensive end, was the GSHL Defensive Player of the Year this season and also starred for the Hawks at tight end. Johnson also played defensive end.
“Kedrick could easily have been our league’s Defensive Player of the Year and Cameron could easily have been the Offensive Player of the Year,’’ Steele said.
Steele called the 6-foot-4, 240-pound Loos “a physical specimen’’ and “a man among boys.’’
“Nobody in our league could handle him,’’ Steele said. “People had to run away from him because you could not block him.’’
Steele said both Johnson and Loos have received scholarship offers from multiple college programs but haven’t made their decision as to where they will play next season.
Ridgefield’s Lane Anderson is another area player who is being recruited by several colleges. Anderson was named to the 2A all-state team as a defensive end after posting 16 sacks, which led the state according to MaxPreps. Anderson also led the Spudders in tackles for losses.
“Lane started for us at defensive end each of the last three years,’’ said Ridgefield coach Dan Anderson, Lane’s father. “As a junior, he was all-league on offense and he was all-league on the defensive side of the ball but he easily could have been all-league on the offensive side. He’s a good run stopper and he also excelled on the pass rush with those 16 sacks and many other hurries. He was definitely a force for us.’’
Thomas, who was named to the 2A all-state team as a punter, averaged just over 46 yards per punt this season with a long of 66 yards. He was also adept at pinning other team’s in poor field position, having five punts downed inside the 20-yard-line.
“He did a great job punting for us this year,’’ said Anderson, whose team had an 8-2 overall record and advanced to the playoffs after finishing second behind Hockinson in the 2A GSHL. “He put opposing offenses in tough positions several times. It’s a little easier to play defense when you have somebody pinned down in their own territory and he did that several times this season.’’
Hockinson’s Will Ortner was named to the all-state team as an honorable mention selection, as was Woodland offensive lineman Isaac Anderson.
