Newton County Academy will have two players in this year’s MAIS small-school all-star football game.
Ole Miss baseball signee Kemp Alderman made the team along with teammate Hayden West.
“Both of them had really good years and are certainly deserving,” NCA football coach Rob Roberts said. “Both of them worked really hard and rarely came off the field. I’m proud for both of them.”
Alderman will finish off his football career at NCA as one of the school’s most celebrated athletes. Alderman recently signed to play baseball at Ole Miss but Roberts said the 6-foot-4, 250-pounder was a handful on the football field.
“He was the toughest defensive end that I saw all year,” Roberts said. “He was a man among boys, that’s for sure. He ended up with 100 tackles for two straight year and that’s with people running away from most of the time. He was the leader of the team. He got selected as a defensive end but he’ll probably punt as well and might even play tight end.”
West made the team in his first year at NCA after transferring from Newton County during baseball season. West also recently signed to play baseball at East Central Community College.
“Hayden came in here and worked really hard,” Roberts said. “Because we had so many injuries, he had to do a lot of things for us. He ran the ball some, played some receiver, quarterback. He could play anywhere. He was also good on special teams, was on kickoff return and put return.”
The Class 1A-2A-3A all-star game will be played at 2:30 p.m. on Friday at Jackson Prep.
