MARIETTA - Kell's Brian Randolph took home the top honor from Thursday night's Cobb County Touchdown Club awards banquet after being named the county's player of the year.

The senior was a two-way star this season.

From safety, he amassed 162 total tackles, including 98 solo, and had four interceptions. At running back, he ran for 1,068 yards and 16 touchdowns on 145 carries, while adding 17 receptions for 414 yards and five TDs.

Randolph also returned seven kickoffs for 191 yards and one touchdown on special teams in helping lead Kell to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the first time in school history.

"This is a big honor considering all of the talent here in the county," said Randolph, who has committed to play at Tennessee. "There are a bunch of Division I prospects in this room, so this is a big deal for me.

"It took a lot of hard work and determination to take care of my grades, and to get up on those days when I didn't want to, so I could become a better player. It was hard to do everything, but I had a lot of people supporting me along the way, and I just want to thank them."

Several other players were honored for their achievements this season. Hillgrove quarterback Gage Henry was the offensive player of the year, while South Cobb's William Smalls was the defensive player of the year.

In his first year as Hillgrove's starting quarterback, Henry set school records for total yards, passing yards and touchdowns. He threw for 2,222 yards and 20 touchdowns, rushed for 1,007 yards and nine scores and helped the Hawks to the quarterfinals of the state playoffs for the first time in the program's young history.

"Gage is a person who just took advantage of his opportunity," Hillgrove coach Phil Ironside said. "Even back in eighth grade, he knew he'd be playing behind (former quarterback) Synjyn Days. But he waited, learned and showed what he could do."

Henry was very surprised about the honor, considering how far he had come as a football player.

"This award really means the world to me," Henry said. "It's great that Hillgrove is getting so much recognition (Thursday), and all of this is just a culmination of a dream come true. I knew I wouldn't be able to start at quarterback until my senior year, but I never expected this or how good our team would be this season."

Smalls was a stalwart as a linebacker on South Cobb's defense for the past two seasons, having led the team in tackles in back-to-back years, including 123 this past season. His efforts helped turn around a South Cobb program that went 7-4 after finishing 2-8 in 2009.

"I first started playing football in the eighth grade, and for a while, my coaches didn't play me," Smalls said. "But my mom kept pushing me and said that one day my time would come, so I stuck with it. It took hard work and dedication, and I stayed committed, and this award means a lot to me because I never gave up."

Ironside and Kell's Derek Cook were honored as the co-coaches of the year. Ironside guided the Hawks to their first 10-win season in their first year as a Class AAAAA program, while Cook led the Longhorns to an undefeated regular season and the school's first region championship.

Kell and Hillgrove were also named the teams of the year.

Other winners included Pope's Garrett Brown (receiver) and Holland Frost (quarterback), Kell's Brett Gillespie (offensive lineman), Allatoona's Miles Jones (running back), Hillgrove's Clayton Castleberry (defensive lineman) and Jabari Hunt-Days (linebacker), McEachern's De'Nard Ford (defensive back) and Harrison's Eric May (48-minute man).

Allatoona coach Gary Varner won the Corky Kell Excellence in Coaching award, while Harrison's Rich Robinson (defensive coach) and McEachern's Geoff Pastrick (offensive coach) were also honored as the top assistants.