Senior quarterback Fred Perkins was named Most Valuable Playeron the Brookhaven High School football team at Tuesday night’s BHSawards banquet. Perkins helped direct the Panthers to a 7-3 record,a runners-up finish in the Division 6-4A race and a berth in thestate playoffs.

Perkins (6-3, 215), a wide receiver and tight end his sophomoreand junior seasons, was moved to quarterback at the start ofpreseason practice last August. Perkins is being recruited byseveral colleges and has made a campus visit to the University ofSouthern Mississippi. He plans to visit Tulane, LSU, Tennessee andMississippi State before reaching a scholarship decision.

“We expect to see Fred playing football on Saturdays next fall,”said BHS head coach Greg Wall. “He hasn’t decided where he’s goingto school. He might play baseball, too.”

Perkins was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player on the 2000All-Division 6-4A Team. Other BHS players named to the First Teamwere offensive tackles Randy Jackson and Rayshaun Autman, offensiveguard Kern Hoff, defensive end Don Expose, linebacker Ron Mackabee,defensive back Thomas Barlow and running back Cornelius Allen.

Wall praised the seniors and the overall team improvement duringthe season. “This team definitely was the most improved from thebeginning to the last. The group of seniors we had made up theirminds to step up.”

Wall recognized four seniors for their contributions to theteam’s success: Defensive lineman Nick Smith, offensive guardMaurice Suggs, wingback Tarik Williams and punter Daniel Boyd.

Members of the BHS coaching staff participated in thepresentation of awards. Coach Rob McCreary presented Special Teamsawards to Matthew “Mouse” Morse, Coach’s Award; Corey Wilson, BestReceiver; Josh Townsend, Special Teams.

Coach Perry Pylant coached the defensive line and presentedawards to Steven Lloyd, Most Improved Defensive Lineman; and DonExpose, Best Defensive Lineman.

Coach Doug Lucas coached the offensive line. He presented awardsto Scott Franklin, Most Improved Offensive Lineman; and RandyJackson, Best Offensive Lineman.

Coach Ryan Ross, offensive coordinator; presented the BestOffensive Back Award to Cornelius Allen.

Coach Patrick Hardy, secondary coach; presented the BestDefensive Back Award to Thomas Barlow.

BHS Team Chaplain Mike Brister presented Team Captain Awards toRaphael Smith and Perry Brumfield.

Coach Randall Huffman, Defensive Coordinator; presented theHeadhunter Award to Ron Mackabee.

BHS Principal Roy Balentine presented the Scholastic Award toKern Hoff who maintains a 4.0 average.

Wall presented the MVP award to Perkins. Wall thanked thecheerleaders, parents, teacher, administration and BHS TouchdownClub members for supporting the team this season.