Also during the postseason, Sides joined standout Springwood underclassmen Adam Baltes, Remington Gauntt and Russell Lauderdale in representing the Wildcats at the Gatlinburg All-American Bowl in December, which brings together the top players from private schools and homeschools across the nation.
“Each player spent several days training and preparing to play in this event. It is a great honor to be selected to play in this event. Just being invited tells us that during your regular season you were able to produce film showing you belong playing with the best. It also indicates that you were a leader of your team. Our players always enjoy meeting and working with different players and coaches. It lets them see just where they stack up against the competition from various levels of play. It also infuses our program with new ideas and different ways of doing things that they pick up at these events,” Burch shared.
Springwood brought home some hardware, too. Lauderdale won the Hambone Award, the award for the Best Lineman, in the Rising Stars game.
“We know what type of player Russell is, he’s a very versatile player for us. It’s great that he was able to perform at such a high level that others also recognize his effort and ability,” Burch said.