As people settle down to open their presents and enjoy Christmas Day together, several athletes in the Tiftarea have an extra treat in their stockings, a berth on the 2005 All-Tiftarea football teams.

The 2005 team is led by Nate Inman and Larry Dean. Fitzgerald’s Inman is the 2005 All-Tiftarea Offensive Player of the Year, while for the second straight season Tift County’s Dean is the All-Tiftarea Defensive Player of the Year. The 2005 All-Tiftarea Coach of the Year is Turner County’s Erik Soliday.

Inman had 1,602 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing, while Dean had 100 total tackles on the year. Soliday coached the Turner Rebels to a Region 1-A title and into the second round of the state playoffs.

Joining Inman in the first-team offensive backfield are Tiftarea Academy Panther quarterback Bryan Ellis and running backs Chad Walker of Turner County and David Arnold of Cook High.

Ellis was 116-for-205 passing this season for 2,586 yards. The junior, who is the first-team quarterback for the third straight season, also threw for 28 touchdowns and was picked off seven times.

Walker rushed for 1,216 yards on 193 carries. He scored 15 touchdowns, while rushing for 6.3 yards per carry. Arnold had 247 carries for 1,298 yards, as well as nine catches for 121 yards. He scored 86 points this past season.

Manning the two wide receiver spots are Turner County’s Shawn Jackson and Tiftarea Academy’s Matthew Souter.

Jackson caught 47 passes for 737 yards and six touchdowns, while Souter had 59 catches for 1,213 yards and 16 touchdowns. Souter also ran the ball five times for 182 yards and one score.

Irwin County’s Justin Anderson, a three-time All-State selection and University of Georgia commitment, anchors the offensive line. Anderson is joined by Fitzgerald’s Travis Fleming, an All-State selection who graded out at 88 percent and had 24 pancake blocks, as well as Berrien High junior Tanner Strickland, who committed to Georgia before his junior season in 2005. Rounding out the five-man line are Tiftarea Academy’s Alex Moore and Ross Parrish. Moore graded out at 75 percent, while Parrish came in at 72 percent with 12 pancake blocks.

Tift County’s Israel Troupe is the first-team athlete. The Region 1-AAAAA Offensive Player of the Year, Troupe was hobbled for part of the year, but still caught 36 passes for 495 yards and three touchdowns. He also had 14 punt returns for 214 yards, four kickoff returns for 194 yards and seven rushes for 27 yards. Troupe averaged 15.2 yards every time he touched the ball.

Rounding out the first-team offense is Tift County Blue Devil place-kicker Charlie Edwards. The junior was only one short of a state record in 2005 as he kicked 18 field goals. He also had 14 touchbacks and 49 punts for a 40-yard average.

Joining Dean in the first-team defensive backfield are Irwin County’s P.J. Florence, Cook High’s Blake Mainor and Tift County’s Randy Parker.

Florence intercepted four passes, blocked four kicks, broke up 12 passes and was in on 52 tackles.

Offensively, Florence rushed for 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns and had 11 kickoff returns for 313 more yards. The senior was a first-team All-Region 2-AA selection as a defensive back and as a running back. He was also the league’s Special Teams Player of the Year and an honorable-mention All-State selection named by the Georgia Sports Writers Association (GSWA).

Mainor was also a GSWA honorable-mention All-State pick. The senior Hornet led the Tiftarea with seven interceptions. He was in on 50 tackles and broke up five passes.