Reprinted from
TriCitiesSports.com
December 6, 2007

JOHNSON CITY -- Curt Phillips of Sullivan South, already named Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee, was named Athlete of the Year for the TriCities area Thursday night at the Watauga Orthopaedics/Wellmont Health Sytems Athlete of the Year Banquet at the Holiday Inn in Johnson City that was hosted by WJHL TV-11.

WJHL Sports personalities Kasey Marler and Kenny Hawkins hosted the dinner with Marler serving as Master of Ceremonies and Hawkins presenting the Dr. Howell Sherrod Athlete of the Year Award to Phillips.

They invited WJHL's 11 Watauga Orthopaedic Players of the Week from the season and gave scholarships to the schools of the three top finishers.

Sullivan South got a $1,000 scholarship in Phillips' name, while Hampton received a $750 scholarship in the name of runner-up Mike Lunsford and Brett Leedy of Appalachia earned his school a $500 scholarship.

Phillips was named Athlete of the Year following a record-setting year in which he ran and passed for just shy of 4,000 yards and led his team to the 4A State Semifinals. He was a finalist for the 4A "Mr. Football Award" on Monday.

Phillips, who has been referred to as a "Tim Tebow Type," ran for 1,868 yards and 39 TDs and passed for another 2 ,115 yards and 16 TDs while completing 161 of 252 passes (63.9 percent). He has committed to Wisconsin and will report to school in Madison, Wisc., on Jan. 14.

Phillips joins a distinguished group of former winners that includes professional football stars from the area Thomas Jones of the New York Jets, Julius Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys. Other finalists include Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller and Jacksonville Jaguars safety Gerald Sensabaugh.

"It's pretty cool to hear about those guys,'' said Phillips, "but it's hard to think back to when they were in high school because I never really got to watch them.''

Phillips said it's also good to be compared to Tebow, the Florida quarterback who has similar number with the Gators this year and will be among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday in New York.

"It's pretty good to be compared to him,'' said Phillips."It's a good thing he came along when he did. Now, he's the most-dominant athlete in college football. That's why he's up for the Heisman.''

Will Phillips be there some day?

"That would be nice,'' he smiled.

Phillips is also open to playing pro football like some of the other past winners, but will have a medical career to fall back on if that doesn't happen. His father, Jim, is a doctor and that will be Curt's academic goal at Wisconsin.

By going to school in January, Phillips will be in the mix to win the quarterback job next fall.

"Their starting quarterback is a senior,'' said Phillips, referring to Tyler Donovan, who has passed for 2,452 yards and run for another 259 yards this season. He will lead the Badgers against the Tennessee Vols in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 -- which the Phillips family will attend.

The heir-apparent to Donovan is Allan Evridge, who played sparingly this year.

"There is a quarterback in every class,'' said Phillips. "Evridge is a junior and Dustin Shearer, a sophomore, is the guy after him.''

There are also a number of freshmen quarterbacks on the current roster.

"It's a good situation,'' said Phillips. "I will be able to go in there this spring and compete. There are some real solid kids up there. The biggest thing for me will be to learn the system. That will be my biggest adjustment.''

Lunsford led his team to the state semifinals three times and took home second-place money, while Leedy had a monster game for Appalachia that earned him Player of the Week honors for Week 5 and third-place scholarship money of $500.

The money will go to the school, which is free to give it to a needy student-athlete.

WJHL also had a "Viewers' Choice" award that was shown on TriCities.com. Gate City's Tyler Parks won that award. It drew 12,000 votes -- 2,000 more than the next highest vote getter.

The Sherrod Award is named for the founder of Watauga Orthopaedics -- Dr. Howell Sherrod, who passed away in 2002. He founded Watauga Orthopaedics in 1950.

WJHL put on a first-class production, showing their Player of the Week clips for each of the 11 candidates. Four of the candidates were unable to attend -- Austin Fuller of Richlands, Keenan Shephard of Tennessee High, Parks and Lunsford.

Here is a review of the finalists and what they did to earn Player of the Week honors, as shown on WJHL:

Week 1: Tyler Gaby, Sullivan East: Passed for 159 yards and two TDs and rushed for 55 yards -- including a 48-yard TD run that clinched a 28-21 victory over Volunteer.

Week 2: Austin Fuller, Richlands: Scored three TDs in a victory over Powell Valley, returning a punt 67 yards, rushing for a score and catching a pass for another.

Week 3: Jordan Greenway, Greeneville: Passed for 155 yards and two TDs in his team's 24-21 upset of Sullivan South.

Week 4: Curt Phillips, Sullivan South: Rushed for 202 yards and passed for another 209 as the Rebels rebounded from the loss to Greeneville to beat Johnson County.

Week 5: Brett Leedy, Appalachia: Rushed for 311 yards and five TDs in a 44-12 victory over Pound.

Week 6: Mitch Masters, Daniel Boone: Rushed for 193 yards and three TDs as the Trailblazers beat Cocke County, 33-14.

Week 7: Josh Brooks, St. Paul: Rushed for 250 yards and caught three passes for another 70 yards to lead his team to victory.

Week 8: Keenan Shepherd, Tennessee High: Had a break-out game with 190 yards rushing and three TDs at the Vikings beat Elizabethton.

Week 9: Mark A. Wynegar, Mt. Empire Baptist: Rushed for 315 yards and seven TDs as his team beat Lighthouse Christian, 60-16, in an eight-man football game.

Week 10: Tyler Parks, Gate City: Rushed for 230 yards and four TDs as his team upset previously unbeaten J.I. Burton and qualified for the VHSL Playoffs. He missed the banquet because of practice for the State Championship Game in Salem on Saturday.

Week 11: Mike Lunsford, Hampton: Passed for 282 yards and four TDs in the first half alone as the Bulldogs blanked Coalfield in a first-round playoff game, 42-0.