NH Bay County defensive player of the year: Mark Hicks

Mark Hicks made well in excess of 200 tackles during his high school football career at Mosley, but it was a play that he didn’t make this season that won’t go away.

“I remember I could have won the Niceville game for us but I missed an interception, I can’t catch very well,” the senior linebacker recalled. “It was the fourth quarter, about two minutes to go and we were leading (13-7).

“It hit my hands, but I’m just not a very good receiver. I dropped it. That same drive they scored a touchdown” and Niceville went on to win a key District 2-6A matchup 14-13.

Lest that memory be foremost for Hicks in the future, he always can look back on 2011 as the year he was named News Herald Defensive Player of the Year in Bay County.

Hicks, 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, had plenty of competition for the honor, notably on his own team. The Dolphins were drastically improved on defense during Hicks’ senior season, and fellow linebackers A.T. Brown and Austin James also were prominent.

So was defensive end Kenny  Creel, who again led the county in sacks.

Rutherford defensive back Dondrayas Harris paced the county in total tackles, and Bay linebacker Dance Estes produced a number of big plays, forcing fumbles and returning two interceptions for touchdowns.

Bay County also had a 5-star recruit at safety in Arnold’s Eddie Williams, but Williams filled a needed void at quarterback on offense most of the season for the Marlins’ and didn’t see extended time on defense.

Mosley coach Perry Brown pinpointed Hicks’ contribution.

“His intensity, his leadership, he was very consistent,” Brown said. “He led by example. There were others ... Creel, and Austin James played his butt off over there, too.

“It all started with Hicks, him being the captain and pretty much the leader of that bunch. They all played really well, but he kind of spearheaded it.”

Hicks had 97 total tackles, 35 of them solo.

“We worked really hard, we were hoping to at least go to the playoffs,” Hicks said. Mosley instead finished 5-4 overall, a disappointing 2-3 in 2-6A. “We had the team to do it … I did all that I could.”

Hicks credited the experience and camaraderie of Mosley’s senior-laden defensive unit for keying a turnaround from recent seasons when it had a difficult time getting off the field.

While that might have made his role less intensive, it didn’t preclude him from having to overcome a herniated disk in his back and a wrist injury during the course of the season.

“I played through injuries,” Hicks said. “Last year I was having a good year and got injured and didn’t play through it.

“We were all seniors. We hang out at school, and hang out outside of school. We have the closeness to tell each other what was wrong without getting offended.”

Hicks’ immediate future concerns academics and quite possibly physical therapy for his football-related injuries. He’s contemplating playing college football, but hasn’t fielded any offers, nor does he have any prospects he’s enthused about.

If that doesn’t transpire, Hicks is comfortable with an alternative game plan and has done his own scouting in that regard.

“Academics comes first,” he said. “Troy, UF, UWF … I hope to go into accounting. Be a CPA, or go into accounting and work my way up to financial advisor.”

As Defensive Player of the Year, he definitely was able to maximize his assets.