With a large crowd in attendance, Marshall County High School honored the 2014 Tiger football team Monday, December 15 at its annual football banquet. The event was sponsored by the Tiger Quarterback Club.

Emcee Mike Keny welcomed the crowd and recognized special guests in attendance, which included Director of Schools Jackie Abernathy, Deputy Director Jacob Sorrells, school board members, representatives of radio stations WJJM and WAXO, as well as family members of the Tiger coaching staff, players and cheerleaders.

"This is a night of celebration for an outstanding group of young people and I want you to show your appreciation for all their hard work with a lot of cheering tonight," Keny told the audience. "We may be here a while but any time you can recognize our youth in a celebratory type of way it's time well spent."

Every member of the Tiger football team was individually recognized by members of the coaching staff, as were the team managers. Also recognized for their hard work were members of the school's cheerleading squad.

First-year head coach Thomas Osteen had many complimentary things to say about his football team, but he lavished lots of praise on the team's senior members. "This group of seniors was very special and made a first-time head coach very proud," Osteen said.

"They have been through so much; I was their third head coach in four years. They didn't have to buy in to what I was bringing to Tiger football. But they bought in from day one, worked extremely hard and were great examples to the younger guys. As we continue to work to get this program to where we want it to be in the years to come, we will look back and say they laid the foundation. I can't thank them enough."

Each player on the 64-man team received a new Tiger football hoody, as the 8-3 season, which included the top spot in the 4A division of the region and a number one seed in the state playoffs. In addition, all senior members of the squad received a mini Tiger football helmet and specialized Tiger dog tags.

"We're off to a good start here," remarked Osteen in his concluding remarks. "I want to say a special thanks to my coaching staff who worked extremely hard, our administration and faculty who have been so supportive, the Quarterback Club for all their hard work and to the parents of all the players for allowing us the opportunity to work with their sons. I'm excited about the future of Tiger football."

Permanent captains of the 2014 team were named as selected by the players. They were Chris Walker, Hunter Hobby, Cale Shelton and Kacy Pleas.

Several special awards were presented at the end of the evening. Receiving the respective awards were:

Folk Lambert Memorial Scholarship -- Hunter Hobby

Ollie Orr Memorial Scholarship -- Kacy Pleas

Blood, Sweat, Tears Scholarship -- Chad Page

Freddy Mayes Award -- Chris Walker

Keith "Killer" Wiles Award -- Gunnar Southerland

Bob Smartt Pound for Pound Award -- Cale Shelton