LOGAN — To say the least, it wasn’t difficult to determine the winners of two of this season’s major Southeastern Ohio Athletic League’s football awards.

Logan quarterback Patrick Angle was named SEOAL North Division Player of the Year for a second-straight season and head coach Dale Amyx was tabbed Coach of the Year in a recent vote of SEOAL coaches.

The team was announced today with Angle, the Chiefs’ record-setting quarterback, leading a contingent of 10 all-league Chieftain seniors.
Eight Chiefs — Angle, Mason Mays, T.J. McCray, Zach McDaniel, Ralph Robinson, Bobby Russell, Jordan Rutter and Michael Snider — were all tabbed first team and Ryan Sigler and Korey Swaim were named honorable mention.

Amyx was named SEOAL Coach of the Year for a sixth-straight time and for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons as the Purple & White extended their conference winning streak to 34 games, tying the record set by Ironton from 1971 to 1976. They’ve won six consecutive conference titles, including the last five outright, and nine of the last 11.

Amyx always considers the Coach of the Year honor as a team award, both for his coaches and players, and this season is no different.

“It all comes down to accomplishing our goals as a team,” Amyx said. “Individual awards are nice, but none of these awards happen without what we do as a team.

“I know all the work and all of the hours our coaches put in,” he added, lauding assistant coaches Bob Cassady, Steve Harris, Jack Klump, Josh Sturgell, Pat Walsh and Kelly Wolfe. “I’ve been an assistant coach and I know all the work they do behind the scenes. I’m the one whose name is on the award, but it’s because of the players and the coaches. We’re all in this together.”

Although all eight schools are in one division for football, the all-league team was selected via North and South divisions for the final time this season. Portsmouth junior quarterback Josh Myers, who piloted the Trojans to a 7-3 overall record and a 4-2 SEOAL mark (tied for third with Jackson) was named South Division Player of the Year.

League runner-up Ironton was next in line with six all-league honorees while Warren received four and Portsmouth three. Each team was accorded two honorable mention choices.

Only one Coach of the Year is named. That award goes to the head coach of the team that wins the championship.

Sixteen different Logan Chieftains have been named SEOAL Player of the Year and Angle becomes only the second Chieftain to earn back-to-back honors. Another standout LHS quarterback, Scott Gasser, was MVP in both 1976 and 1977.

“The thing I love about Pat is that he’s very humble, quiet and unassuming,” Amyx praised. “He just goes about his business and is a regular guy and a good leader. He leads by example more than anything else.

“He’s a great kid, not just on the field but off of it too,” he added.

The holder of 15 different LHS single-game, season and career passing records, Angle (6-foot-1, 210 pounds) led a Logan offense that scored 35.6 points per game in conference play and trailed just once all season — and that for less than a quarter at Ironton, a game the Purple & White eventually won, 21-7.

In league play, Angle completed exactly two-thirds (66.7 percent) of his passes, connecting on 72-of-108 attempts for 986 yards and 14 touchdowns, and was only intercepted twice in five SEOAL games. He was also the team’s leading rusher in the SEOAL with 195 yards on 49 carries and two touchdowns and punted 11 times for a 36.5 average.

But he wasn’t just an offensive standout. As a linebacker who could also easily rotate into coverage in the defensive backfield, he tied for third on the team with 33 total tackles and led the Chiefs in SEOAL play with 15 solo tackles and eight tackles for loss. He tied for the team lead in passes broken up with three and picked off two passes while having nine first hits.

In order to effectively run a spread offense, you have to have a stable of great receivers to throw to… and that’s exactly what the Chiefs had. Mays, Rutter and McDaniel combined for 59 catches, 841 yards and 11 touchdowns in league play.

Like Angle, Mays (6-0, 175), who holds five LHS receiving records, was a standout two-way player for the Chiefs.

In SEOAL games, Mays led the Purple & White with 24 receptions for 307 yards and six touchdowns and was third on the team in rushing with 100 yards on 24 attempts and a team-best three rushing scores. He was by far and away the team’s leading scorer in league games with 54 points, and was also the Chiefs’ leading return man with 95 kickoff return yards and 143 punt return yards.

Defensively, Mays switched from defensive back to linebacker this season but, like Angle, could also rotate into the backfield to cover and/or chase down receivers. He also had 33 total tackles, coming through with eight first hits and three tackles for loss.

McDaniel and Rutter both had breakout seasons this fall.

Rutter (6-0, 165) caught 18 passes for 307 yards and a team-best 17.1 yards per catch in league play, making some incredible moves after catching the ball to gain additional yardage. He caught four touchdown passes in SEOAL games, second only to Mays.

On defense, Rutter, a defensive back, was involved in 21 tackles while breaking up two passes and making two tackles for loss.

McDaniel (5-11, 170) hauled in 17 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown in league play and was the second-leading rusher behind Angle with 132 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. Like Rutter and Mays, his ability to pick up additional yardage after making a catch made him extremely dangerous, and he was also an effective punt and kickoff return man with 132 total return yards.

On defense, where he played in the backfield and also filled in at linebacker, McDaniel was involved in 15 tackles in league play with three first hits, breaking up three passes and intercepting one.

Snider (6-0, 190) was the Chiefs’ defensive leader at middle linebacker. He led the Purple & White with 52 total SEOAL tackles, including a team-best 46 assists, with a team-high 17 first hits as well as two pass breakups and an interception.

The Chiefs didn’t always have a running back in their spread offense, but when they did Snider played a hybrid halfback/blocking fullback and rushed for 78 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown. He also caught five passes for 62 yards and a TD out of the backfield.

Despite dealing with injuries off and on during the season, Robinson (6-0, 200) was involved in 18 tackles in league play from his defensive end position with two first hits and came through with a huge blocked punt at Ironton that eventually resulted in a game-changing touchdown. He switched to guard on offense this season and played a key role on the offensive line.

Russell (6-2, 250) became a two-way player as well this season. A three-year starter at center, where he anchored the offensive line, Russell also played on a defensive line that limited SEOAL foes to just 9.2 points and 164.6 yards of total offense (98.6 rushing, 66 passing) per league game. He was involved in 21 tackles with two first hits and two tackles for loss.

McCray (5-11, 280), a tackle, was a pleasant surprise for the Chiefs and helped solidify the defensive line, which was nearly depleted by graduation losses from the 2008 team. He wound up second on the team with 34 league tackles with five first hits, three tackles for loss, two sacks and two pass breakups.

Logan’s two honorable mention honorees would have been first team All-SEOAL if they played for any other team in the league.

Sigler (6-3, 190) terrorized opposing quarterbacks from his defensive end position, leading the Chiefs with five quarterback sacks and taking part in 16 tackles during league play with four first hits and two pass breakups. He also caught three passes on offense for 19 yards and a touchdown.

Some Logan opponents tried to pick on Swaim (5-11, 170) in the Logan defensive backfield and came away utterly disappointed. He led the Chiefs with three interceptions in league play, returning one for a touchdown, broke up three passes and was involved in eight tackles. Like Sigler, he was also a receiver on offense and caught three passes for 36 yards and a score.

More honors will no doubt be bestowed upon the Chiefs later this month when the Associated Press All-Southeast District Division II team is announced.