The true measure of this era of Seventy-First football won't be counted in trophies — although the Falcons have quite a collection of them. A senior class with two state championship appearances on the heels of two 3A East Region championships, 16 playoff wins, four United 8 Conference championships, winning 95% of its games overall and having never lost a regular-season game will graduate this spring as one of the most accomplished groups in Cumberland County sports history.

But their last game together — a rare loss for a group that suffered just one every season, each more heartbreaking than the last — was a statement of commitment, character and sacrifice; virtues coach Duran McLaurin and his program value beyond winning.

"I wasn't going to quit on them," four-year starting quarterback DeAndre Nance said after Seventy-First's 14-7 loss to West Charlotte in the state championship game. He played through a knee injury, unable to add much more to his 1,479 rushing yards on the season which ranks second on the team to Donavan Frederick, who played the title game wearing a cast due to a broken left hand.

Nance finishes his Falcons career with 5,130 passing yards (1,678 this season) and 4,364 yards rushing. For his stellar play in leading Seventy-First to the state championship game again, Nance is the Best of 910Preps Football Player of the Year on offense.

He will graduate with a 56-4 career record and already holds offers from Charlotte, Army, Alabama State, Alabama A&M, Navy, NC A&T and Maine.  (Fayetteville Observer)

First team

• QB — DeAndre Nance (Seventy-First senior) — Nance ranked No. 21 in the state across all classifications and associations with 168 points scored. His 27 touchdowns also ranked 21st and his 3,015 total yards were 23rd. He didn't throw a single pick all season and finished with a QB rating of 142.9.
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• QB — Elijiah Oehlke (Trinity Christian senior) — A Wake Forest signee, Oehlke threw for 2,768 yards (third in the NCISAA) and 35 touchdowns for the NCISAA Division II state runners-up, going over 400 yards twice this season.
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• RB — Rashad Dockery (South View senior) — The speedy Tiger tied a state record with an eight-rushing-touchdown game this season during a school-record 320-yard performance. He led Cumberland County with an average of 154.3 yards rushing per game (1,543 on the season) and scored 24 TDs.
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• RB — Donavan Frederick (Seventy-First senior) — A 6-foot-2, 255-pound load of athleticism and force, Frederick led the United 8 Conference with 1,551 yards rushing (103.4 per game) while doubling at middle linebacker as the league's top defensive player.
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• WR — Fonzy Smith (Trinity Christian senior) — After putting up 1,017 receiving yards (92.5 per game) and nine touchdowns this season, Smith chose Western Kentucky over offers from UNC, Cincinnati, Liberty and Charlotte.
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• ATH — Xayden Watson (Trinity Christian senior) — A true do-it-all baller, Watson's average of 30.85 yards on punt returns ranked No. 6 in the nation. He also notched an NCISAA-high 1,032 receiving yards (93.8 per game) with 22 total TDs (second in NCISAA). His 138 points scored ranked second in the state among private schools.
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• OL — Ziare Ealy (Seventy-First senior) — Ealy anchored an O-line that cleared the way for a jaw-dropping 6,840 yards of offense, including 5,284 yards rushing.
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• OL — Xavier Jones-Spivey (Cape Fear senior) — The 6-2, 315-pound center hiked to the U8's most prolific passer in Geronimo Sanchez, who threw for a conference-high 1,563 yards as the Colts averaged 370 yards per game and 4,807 on the season — 3,220 of them on the ground.
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• OL — Davion Lapointe (South View senior) — Blocking for the top rusher in the county, Lapointe helped Dockery and the Tigers put up 3,452 total yards this season, averaging 313.8 per game.
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• OL — Donta Marshmon (Trinity Christian senior) — A 6-6, 320-pound left tackle committed to Army, Marshmon had his share of pancakes while helping block for 4,375 total yards (1,607 rushing, 2,768 passing).
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• OL — Zymeir McPhaul (Seventy-First senior) — Big No. 65 cleared the way for three of the top five rushers in the U8 in Nance, Frederick and Jayson Franklin.
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• K/P — Francisco Rodriguez (Cape Fear junior) — Coming off a sensational sophomore season in which he made 14 of 16 field goals, including a 47-yarder, Rodriguez led the U8 in kick scoring per game with an average of 5.4 points. He made six field goals with a long of 46 yards and hit 52 of 53 PATs to account for 70 points.
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• Second team

  • QB — Geronimo Sanchez (Cape Fear junior)
  • QB — Jacob Moore (Terry Sanford junior)
  • RB — Jayson Franklin (Seventy-First junior)
  • RB — King Faison (Cape Fear senior)
  • WR — Jy’taivious Whitted (Seventy-First senior)
  • WR — Javonte Brooks (Jack Britt junior)
  • OL — Jhaden Bethea (Cape Fear senior)
  • OL — Delsin Barrett (Terry Sanford senior)
  • OL — Zaevon Hutchinson (Seventy-First junior)
  • OL — Brock West (Terry Sanford senior)
  • OL — Donovan Johnson (Pine Forest junior)
  • K/P — Rodolpho Joseph (Seventy-First senior)

Fayetteville Observer (Monica Holland & James F. Moore Jr.)