Five earn all-league honors for Bell-Jeff football
One of the reasons Bellarmine-Jefferson High coach Fred Martinez wanted to be a part of a league was to give his players the chance to earn all-league recognition.
After freelancing on the eight-man level for two seasons, the Guards joined the Omega League this season.
“It’s just nice for players to get that all-league award and be recognized for their play on the field,” Martinez said. “That is a reward for all the hard work and dedication that they put in.”
After a third-place finish, Bell-Jeff had five players named to the All-Omega League teams. Earning spots on the first team were senior running back Ronald Jurok and junior receiver Chris Antee. Second-team selections were senior defensive back Canaan Williams, senior defensive lineman David Guerrero and senior defensive back Sean Mayor.
“I was pretty pleased that we had five named all-league after we finished third in our league,” Martinez said. “We could have probably gotten a few more on the team, but being third that’s really about all that we deserved.
“It was nice to have our players recognized and singled out by the other coaches in the league … that was really nice to see.”
Jurok rushed for more than 700 yards and threw for 450 yards.
“Ronald was a great running back for us, but he also stepped in and had success at quarterback as well,” Martinez said.
“Like all of our kids he had to play multiple positions during the season, on offense as well as defense.”
Antee had more than 400 yards receiving as well as rushing for 500 yards. In addition, he had seven touchdowns on punt and kickoff returns.
“Chris was just such a versatile player for us,” Martinez said. “He could do just about everything. He had a knack for being able to return kicks and punts.”
While Williams had 47 tackles, Guerrero ended with 53 tackles and Mayor had five interceptions.
“All the guys worked very hard and they kept focused on playing football when things got a little tough,” Martinez said. “They deserve a lot of credit for helping this program grow and to keep it going in the right direction.”
The Guards finished 1-6 and 1-2 in the Omega League. The lone win came in league against Westmark, 60-38.
Martinez is hoping these will not be the final all-league selections for the program, as Bell-Jeff is slated to close down after the current school year.
Twitter: @jefftsports
