Local players set to play in all-star games

Published 12:00 am Monday, December 28, 2015

By Kevin Eckleberry

keckleberry@civitasmedia.com

LAGRANGE – They’re not done yet.

While the football season may have ended more than a month ago in Troup County, for a handful of local players, there is still another game to be played.

Seven local players representing Callaway, LaGrange and Troup are set to play in all-star games.

Callaway’s Braylon Sanders and LaGrange’s LaPerion Perry will play in the Georgia Junior Bowl on Thursday in Macon, and that game will be for players who’ll be seniors next season.

Five other local players will participate in the Florida vs. Georgia All-Star Game on Saturday in Boynton Beach, Fla., and that game is for current seniors.

Jeremiah Wright, Matthew Thomas and C.J. Harman will represent LaGrange in the game, while Troup’s Hudson Newton and Austin Carter will also play for the Georgia team.

The Georgia Junior Bowl, which is put on by the Rising Seniors Foundation, will be played at Mercer University’s Five Star Stadium on Thursday at 2 p.m.

The players have been divided into two teams, called Dedication and Commitment, and Perry and Sanders will be on opposite sidelines.

Perry will be on the Commitment team, while Sanders will play for Dedication.

Both players are listed as wide receivers on the team rosters, although they both played quarterback during the high-school season.

The Florida vs. Georgia game will take place on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Boynton Beach High School.

Wright, a linebacker for the Grangers last season, is listed as a defensive back on the Georgia roster.

Thomas and Harman handled the kicking duties for LaGrange.

Thomas was the place kicker, while Harman was LaGrange’s punter.

For Troup, Newton was one of the busiest players on the team.

Newton anchored the offensive line, and he also played extensively on the defensive line.

For the all-star game, Newton is listed as an offensive lineman.

Carter was a defensive standout for the Tigers from his linebacker position, and he’s listed as a linebacker and fullback for Georgia.

OF NOTE: I’ll have a more in-depth look at these all-star games and the players involved later in the week.

Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports