Fourteen Tazewell football student-athletes have earned nods on the All-Southwest District postseason team, including four named to the first-team.
The awards are voted on by the coaching staffs in the Southwest District.
First-Teamers include senior Cassius Harris and junior Kaizon Taylor, who were named First-Team All-Southwest District on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. Harris was named first team wide receiver and defensive back. Taylor was named first team running back and defensive all-purpose. The other Bulldogs named first-team were junior linebacker Brock Alley and junior offensive tackle Jaime Rizo.
Sophomore Logan McDonald earned Second-Team All-Southwest District on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. McDonald was named second team wide receiver and defensive back. The other Bulldogs named second-team were sophomore quarterback Carter Creasy, sophomore offensive tackle Caleb Bowman, senior offensive linemen Ricky Compton, freshman offensive linemen Gabe Beavers, sophomore linebacker Reece Mullins, freshman defensive tackle Jashon Taylor, junior defensive tackle Braylon Asbury, junior defensive end Tyler Gillespie, and junior defensive back Brody Patterson.
Harris ended the regular season with 1,459 yards from scrimmage, 71 receptions, and 18 touchdowns. For the second straight season he led the Southwest District in receptions and receiving yards. He became the first player in school history to have a 200-yard rushing game and a 200-yard receiving game. For his career, Harris compiled 2,970 receiving yards, which is a school record and ranks 7th on the VHSL’s All-Time Receiving Yards List. Harris finished his career with 216 receptions which is also a school-record. The 216 receptions places him 2nd on the VHSL’s All-Time Receptions List. During his career at Tazewell, Harris also set the VHSL record for most receptions in a season (104) and tied the VHSL record for most receptions in a game (20). As a defensive back this season, Harris finished with 50 tackles, one interception, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and two tackles for loss. Harris is a verbal commit to the University of Richmond.
Taylor rushed for 355 yards and 7 touchdowns while also having 30 receptions for 283 yards and a touchdown. Against Grundy, Taylor recorded a career high with 8 receptions. On defense, Taylor led the team with 77 ½ tackles. He had five sacks, 17 tackles for loss, and forced one fumble. Taylor recorded 12 ½ tackles in the game against Class 1A State Champion Riverheads. Against richlands in the Backyard Brawl, Taylor had 12 ½ tackles, 3 sacks, and 4 tackles for loss.
Alley finished this season with 48 solo tackles and assisted on 43 tackles from his linebacker position. He finished with 2 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. Against Marion, Alley finished the game with 12 tackles and one tackle for loss. For his career, Alley has 151 total stops, 12 tackles for loss, and four sacks.
Junior offensive tackle, Jaime Rizo anchored the Tazewell offensive line this season. Rizo helped the Bulldogs’ offense gain 554 yards and score 56 points in the Backyard Brawl victory over richlands. He also had a tremendous game when Tazewell scored 48 points against Fort Chiswell and gained 535 yards in the Senior Night victory. Rizo is a two-year starter for the Bulldogs.
McDonald finished his sophomore season with 36 receptions for 495 yards and seven touchdowns. The 36 receptions were good for the second most receptions in the Southwest District this season. He had a 144-yard receiving performance and also tied the single-game record with three TD receptions against richlands. It was the second time in his career that he had three TD receptions in a game. McDonald also had a 100-yard receiving game against Fort Chiswell this season. In that game, he finished with 6 receptions for 101 yards. For his career, McDonald has caught 64 passes for 809 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Despite missing two games with an injury, Carter Creasy led the district in passing for the second straight season. He completed over 67% of his passes for 2,088 yards. For his career, Creasy has passed for 5,070 yards. Creasy also connected on 19 touchdowns this season, which gives him 48 touchdown tosses for his career. He compiled three games with 300+ passing yards, including a school-record 408 yards passing in the victory over richlands. He tied his own school-record with 6 touchdown passes in that game.
Beavers started on the offensive line for all eleven games this season. The 6’3”, 336-pound freshman was a big reason the Bulldogs were able to generate over 330 yards per game this season.
Sophomore Caleb Bowman has started over 20 games on the offensive line for Tazewell during his two-year career. His consistent line play helped the Bulldogs to a 3-1 record in the Southwest District this season.
Compton started 22 straight-games to finish his Tazewell career. His senior class is the first class in school history to make the playoffs four-straight seasons. Compton has offers from Bluefield University and Ferrum College to continue his football career.
Junior Braylon Asbury finished the season with 20 tackles from his defensive tackle position. Asbury was one of the most improved players on the Tazewell defense this season.
Gillespie finished with 28 ½ tackles, five tackles for loss and a defensive touchdown. Gillespie was the only member of the Bulldogs to score on both offense and defense this season.
Despite missing three games, sophomore linebacker Reece Mullins finished with 27 tackles, 1 sack, and four tackles for loss.
Junior Brody Patterson finished with 22 solo tackles from his defensive back position. Patterson was playing football for the first time this season. Patterson also competes for Tazewell in baseball and basketball.
Jashon Taylor, a 6’1”, 272 pound, freshman defensive tackle led all Tazewell defensive linemen in tackles this season. Taylor finished with 33 ½ tackles, six tackles for loss and forced a fumble.
