“He (Beasley) kind of made fun of me,” said Thomas, the son of Earl and Debbie Thomas. “He told me I’ve got to take it (the award) home.

“My heart dropped when I heard my name (called). I’m just grateful I got picked. It feels good to take it back home.”

Thomas was the District 21-3A MVP and played on both sides of the ball for WO-S. He had 67 tackles, three interceptions, two kickoff returns for TDs and averaged 33.0 yards on kickoff returns and 15.3 yards on punt returns.

“I knew the competition (for the award) was tough, but I felt like he was deserving,” WO-S coach Dan Hooks said. “He does so many things well. He’s multi-talented.

“He also starts on the basketball team, plays baseball and run track. You don’t find kids like that every day.”

Coaches at 25 area schools nominated a total of 47 players for the Willie Ray Smith Awards. Four offensive and five defensive finalists were selected and those top nine had a seat at the head table for Thursday’s banquet.

Other offensive finalists included Beaumont Central quarterback Brandon Williams, East Chambers quarterback Tramain Thomas and Deweyville running back Justin Williams.

Other defensive finalists included Port Arthur Memorial cornerback Barry Valcin, Central linebacker Andre August, East Chambers linebacker Paul Trammell and West Brook linebacker Jacody Coleman.

Deweyville’s Williams and the East Chambers duo of Thomas and Trammell are juniors. All other finalists are seniors.