After its best season since 1962, Morgan County football racked up postseason All-Region 4-AA honors.
Several players were named to the All-Region first team, and four were on the honorable mention list.
Senior wide receiver Jaylen Elder highlighted the postseason award list for the Dogs. The new UAB signee was named the Region 4-AA Player of the Year for his performance on the field this year.
Elder broke several single-season program records, including receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. T.J. Thompson, Anthony Cooper, and Jailyn Ingram previously held these records.
Elder, a 5-foot-10 pass catcher, hauled in 94 receptions for 1,715 yards and 23 touchdowns last year.
According to MaxPreps, Elder ranked No. 13 nationally and No. 1 in Georgia in receiving yards in 2024.
“My time at Morgan County was awesome,” Elder explained to the Lake Oconee News after the 2024 season ended. “Watching the program grow from the ground up from my freshman year to now was the most exciting thing. Credit to the whole coaching staff for turning this program around. Without them and my team’s success, I probably would not have the opportunities I have now.”
The others who made the All-Region first-team list were junior quarterback Davis Strickland, junior running back Christian Monfort, junior tight end Drew Ainslie, senior offensive lineman Draco Frazzitta, junior offensive lineman Ja’Mari Mundy, junior offensive lineman Cooper Pittman, senior placekicker Evan Johnson, junior linebacker Brody Jenkins (who also won Specialist of the Year), junior linebacker Jordan Gordon, and junior defensive back Ty Tillery. The four other Dogs – senior running back Jasper Cason, junior offensive lineman Jatavious Ward, senior defensive lineman Jamel Cox, and senior defensive back Cad Braswell were named to the honorable mention list.
“Obviously, first, we are proud of Jaylen [Elder] being player of the year, but to also get 10 guys on as first-team guys is a great compliment to our program,” Morgan County head coach Clint Jenkins said. “These guys were voted on by the coaches in the region. We also had four honorable mention guys who were very deserving of this recognition. I’m proud of every one of these guys.”
Morgan County went 11-2 overall and reached the Class AA quarterfinal round before the season ended. The Dogs hadn’t won 11 games since 1961 and reached the third round of the playoffs in 34 years.
According to Jenkins, this group battled through so much adversity and “fought until the end” this year.
“I’m proud of these guys for all their hard work and effort,” Jenkins said after the season. “We’ve seen it time and time again, the way our guys battle against adversity. We never panicked about getting behind. I think that’s what I probably admire the most about this bunch. We fought until the end.”