After Bellville fell in the regional semifinal to West Orange-Stark last Friday as the last-standing team from District 12-4A-D2, the all-district results were released. Sealy senior Connor Krenek was named the district’s Utility Player of the Year, 23 Tigers landed on all-district teams and 31 earned academic all-district distinction.

Krenek was a two-way starter that was plugged in at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, safety and corner throughout the season. He also provided contributions on special teams with a kickoff returned for a touchdown against Stafford, blocked punts against Stafford and Wharton and a fake punt ran for a touchdown against Silsbee in the playoffs.

“I’m extremely proud of him, when you look back and see everything that Connor’s done, especially this year,” Sealy Head Football Shane Mobley said Monday. “I think he did everything but play on the offensive or defensive line. If you look at the fake punt in the Silsbee game to the kickoff return he had against Stafford, I don’t know if there was a better individual in our district as far as utility player than Connor Krenek.”

The rest of the district superlatives were won by district-champion Bellville representatives, including the overall MVP (Robert Briggs), Offensive MVP (Richard Reese), Defensive MVP (Tyler Fishbeck) and Newcomer of the Year (DJ Sanders).

The Tigers had nine on the first-team all-district between five on offense and four on defense, eight on the second-team all-district with four each on offense and defense as well as six all-district honorable mentions with four on offense and two on defense.

Senior Thomas Clark and junior Haden Wernecke were honored on both sides of the ball where Clark was a first-team all-district wide receiver and linebacker and Wernecke was a first-team all-district wide receiver and second-team all-district defensive back.

Joining them on the first-team all-district offense included junior quarterback D’vonne Hmielewski, senior offensive lineman Yahir Alvarez and senior wide receiver Graham Samonte. On the first-team all-district defense were junior defensive end William Forrester, junior defensive back Mason Klotz and sophomore outside linebacker Jeffrey Neu.

“For us to get the kids on the all-district first-team and secondteam I think is great, I’m extremely proud of kids like Thomas Clark, that you’d expect to see more than on the defensive side, but for him to be on offense as well is huge. D’vonne at quarterback, I believe that was unanimous, we had quite a few offensive linemen that made it and I was proud of them,” Mobley said. “Mason Klotz, it was huge for him to come back in time for district to start and for him to have a showing like he did after missing the first couple ballgames.”

A host of seniors closed their careers with second-team all-district honors including offensive linemen Francisco Reyes and Robert Gaytan and running back Ethan Hart. Sophomore offensive lineman Kyle Willingham joined them on the second-team all-district offense.

Jonathan Monterroza and Gage Grigar also closed their Tiger football tenures with a spot on the second-team all-district defense alongside junior Richard Hahn.

Mobley talked about the importance of sending seniors out with all-district nods.

“This year, I really talked to them about their last names and who they are and where they come from and this is something that they’re rewarding themselves with for their hard work,” Mobley said. “Of course, every one of them still wants to be playing right now, but at the same time, they understand that China Spring who beat us out, they just beat Carthage. They’re just a really, really good ball team. After the season we had, a winning season, we faced a lot of adversity with injuries, COVID-19, I think our story was very, very well written. That’s going to help these guys in the future.”

Sealy also earned six all-district honorable mentions including senior wide receiver Julius Aguilar, junior wide receiver Parker DeBerry, junior offensive lineman Eric Torres, sophomore wide receiver Reid Miller, senior defensive lineman Myki Harris and sophomore outside linebacker Hector Murillo.

In addition to the onfield awards, 31 Tigers were recognized with academic all-district distinction for their work in the classroom. Those who earned the honor include D’vonne Hmielewski, Connor Krenek, A’vonte Nunn, Bradley Garbs, Graham Samonte, Reid Miller, Thomas Clark, Amador Lopez, Callen Rabius, Parker DeBerry, Gage Grigar, Haden Wernecke, Julius Aguilar, Manny Aguilar, Mason Klotz, Richard Hahn, Clay Coleman, Rylan Reichardt, Luke Kovar, Jose Espinosa, Robert Gaytan, Francisco Reyes, Nick Campos, Roberto Casas, William Forrester, Joel Chavez, Kyle Willingham, Yahir Alvarez, Jose Arriaga, Hector Murillo and Tanner Ellis.

“That’s what I’m most proud of. When it’s said and done, for 95% of these guys, it’s going to be college and it’s going to be academics,” Mobley said. “The two things that I love about these young men is their heart and the way they play and number two is they’re smart. If they’re good in the classroom, it carries over for our game planning and that’s one reason we’re able to make adjustments at halftime both offensively and defensively and gameplan throughout the week.”

Sealy finished the season with an 8-4 overall record and a 4-1 mark within the district. The Tigers outscored their opponents 396-276 where they earned two defensive shutouts and scored more than 40 points on offense five times.