(Geronimo) — District 13-4A coaches tabbed a number of Navarro Panthers for the all-district football teams.
Panther sophomore quarterback Payton Helford was named the district’s Offensive Newcomer of the Year. On the other side of the ball, sophomore safety Tyler Riske earned Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors.
Named First Team All-District on offense were junior fullback Kohen Blount and senior offensive lineman Kade Pugh.
On defense, junior linebacker Luke Vogel was named to the First Team.
Second Team All-District Offensive selections were senior lineman Craig Heiman and junior running back Colorado Kenway.
On the District 13-4A Defensive Second Team were senior defensive tackle Ian Garcia along with Pugh and junior Braddock Gallini at defensive end.
All-District Honorable Mentions on offense for the Panthers included junior tight end Mason Harvey, sophomore lineman Lane Black and Gallini at wide receiver.
On defense, Honorable Mentions were sophomore linebacker Zander Barnes, senior safety Ethan Borchardt, senior cornerback Jesse James Waz and Harvey at defensive tackle.
Recognized on the Academic All-District Team were seniors Colt Brown, Corbin Hannibal, Joey Parella and Yandel Ramon along with Borchardt, Heiman, Pugh and Waz. Juniors recognized on the academic team were Mason Berry, Grayson Carlisle, Caden Chambers, Hudson Jenner, Alex Leckwold, Elijah Melton, and Evan Rodriguez along with Blount, Gallini, Kenway and Vogel. And sophomores Zander Barnes, Deegan Bush and Chris Ledezma along with Black and Riske were recognized Academic All-District.
Recognized as Academic All-State by the Texas High School Coaches Association were Borchardt and Ramon who were both named all-state honorable mention.
The Panthers are led by head coach Rod Blount. They advanced to the UIL Region IV Area Round this past season. Navarro has reached at least the area round in each of Blount’s seven years at Navarro High School.