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Saturday, 16 December 2006 |
Head of his class: Lions senior quarterback Larry Smith named state's Class 6A 'Mr. Football'
Larry Smith, Prattville High School's senior quarterback, capped his high school career Thursday afternoon by winning the coveted "Mr. Football" award.
The award is given annually by the Alabama Sportswriters Association.
Smith was named the state's overall winner at a banquet held at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham. He was nominated as the offensive player of the year for Class 6A football.
During his career at Prattville High School, Smith became the starting quarterback as a sophomore. During his three years as a starter, the Lions won 39 and lost only twice. The 2004 team lost in the state championship to Hoover, 22-7, and last fall Opelika upset the Lions in the quarterfinals, 17-15.
This past weekend, Smith led Prattville to its second state championship in school history as Prattville defeated nationally ranked Hoover, 35-21, at Legion Field.
During his career, Smith threw for 5,456 yards, completing 416 out of 534 passes including 71 for touchdowns. He established a school record for pass interceptions -- tossing just nine during his three years as the starter.
Smith also rushed for 1,399 yards on 289 carries and scored 20 touchdowns.
"Larry is the most unselfish guy on the football team," head coach Bill Clark said following the awards banquet. "He doesn't take credit for any of his accomplishments. He always gives the accolades to his offensive line, his receivers and running backs. But this young man is one of the biggest reasons we had such a great season and won the state championship. He'll do well in college, and in life. As a football player, his abilities are only surpassed by his classroom work. He'll be very hard to replace next fall."
Smith has a verbal commitment to play collegiately at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Smith of Prattville.
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2006 News Archive 
