The Citizen was chronicling the week to week progress of our former athletes now playing college football but space began to run short and illness and vacations played havoc on the updates.

Now that the official season is over, let’s see how they did on the whole.

• Starr’s Mill graduate Deante Battle had 46 solo tackles, 21 assists, five tackles for a loss, two sacks, one interception and three quarterback hurries for the Northwestern University Wildcats.

• Sandy Creek graduate Larry Beard had 11 solo tackles, 10 assists, five tackles for a loss, an interception, three pass break-ups, two quarterback hurries and one blocked kick for the Georgia Southern Eagles.

• Starr’s Mill graduate Darrell Burston has three solo tackles, 11 assists, three tackles for a loss and a sack for Florida State University. The Seminoles will face UCLA in the Emerald Bowl on Dec. 27.

• McIntosh graduate Charles Castleberry rushed for 59 yards for the University of Minnesota, Crookston this season. He also had one kick return for 14 yards.

• Fayette County graduate Ri’Chard Davis had one tackle for the Georgia Southern Eagles.

• Fayette County graduate John Deraney kicked 22 extra points, 12 field goals with a long of 54 yards, 47 kickoffs for 2,828 yards and 76 punts for 2,968 yards for the NC State Wolfpack this year.

• Starr’s Mil graduate Jason Earwood had 20 solo tackles, 25 assists. three and a half tackles for a loss, two pass break-ups and one forced fumble for the Georgia Southern Eagles.

• Sandy Creek graduate Reggie Ellington had one solo tackle for Charleston Southern University.

• Sandy Creek graduate Andrew Gardner, a starter at left tackle for the Yellow Jackets, earned honorable mention recognition with the All ACC team. Georgia Tech will face West Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m.

• Sandy Creek graduate Michael Gates started at right guard for the Mississippi State Bulldogs this year.

• Starr’s Mill graduate Ryan Gloer, a linebacker for Shorter College, was named to the Mid-South Conference All Conference second team. Gloer had 68 tackles, including 8.5 for a loss and two sacks.

• Sandy Creek graduate Gerren Griffin had one solo tackle for James Madison University this season.

• Sandy Creek graduate Josh Haney had five catches for 70 yards for The Citadel this year.
• Starr’s Mill graduate Chris James kicked 13 field goals with a long of 54 yards and 27 extra points for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

• Starr’s Mill graduate Kenneth James, a linebacker for Shorter College, was named to the Mid-South Conference’s Academic All-Conference team.

• Sandy Creek graduate Calvin Johnson was the Biletnikoff Award winner and a member of the first team Walter Camp All-America team. The ACC Player of the Year has 67 catches this season for 1,016 yards and 13 touchdowns, ranking him fourth in the nation. Georgia Tech will face West Virginia in the Gator Bowl on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m.

• Sandy Creek graduate Teddy Morris played at left guard for Valdosta State this year.

• Landmark Christian graduate Alex Mortensen was 34 of 67 for 309 yards and three touchdowns as a quarterback for Samford University.

• McIntosh graduate Jamael Owens rushed for 13 yards and had five kick returns for 77 yards for LaGrange College this year.

• Fayette County graduate Hart Pearson kicked one extra point, 51 kickoffs for 2,887 yards and 27 punts for a total of 1,019 yards for Charleston Southern University.

• Fayette County graduate Kip Rossi had two solo tackles and two assists for LaGrange College this year.

• Starr’s Mill graduate Andy Smith started at right guard for the University of Memphis this year.

• Sandy Creek graduate Riley Swanson had 34 solo tackles, 17 assists, two tackles for a loss, four interceptions and 12 pass break-ups for the ACC Champion Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Wake Forest will face Louisville in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m.

• McIntosh graduate Jake White had two catches for 21 yards and one kick return for nine yards for LaGrange College this year.

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