Several Blytheville Chickasaws and Gosnell Pirates received football all-conference awards and two from each school earned all-state honors in their respective classifications. Chickasaws Larry Clark and Corey Chunn received numerous awards for their play this season, including all-state. “They’re great football play but more importantly they’re great people,” Chickasaws head coach Ben Fisher said. “They’re great kids, they say yes sir and no sir. They come to work every day and they work hard and they don’t just show up and go through the motions, they come in and go to work every day. I can’t say enough about their work ethic. I mean we have a bunch of great athletes, but we don’t have a bunch of kids that will come in every single day, not miss, and work their butts off in the classroom, in practice and on the football field.” Highly recruited by Division I schools Larry Clark received all-state honors, all-conference first team and was awarded the 5A-East outstanding offensive lineman of the year. “Larry’s [Clark] 6’4 and 330 pounds and he is a heck of an athlete,” said Fisher. “Same thing with Corey [Chunn], like I said before we have great athletes but these two kids are exceptional in the classroom and in the hall ways when you speak to them or when other teachers speak to them and when members of the community speak to them. You don’t have to tell them how to act; they know how to.” Corey Chunn, a three-sport athlete at BHS, was also named to the all-state team, the all-conference first team and was awarded by the 5A-East coaches as the most outstanding defensive back of the year. “[Chunn’s] intelligence. He was a coach on the football. He got everybody lined up on defense, made sure we had the right call in and the intangibles. You can’t coach that,” Fisher added. Also picking up all-conference honors for the Chickasaws were Josh Clay, Kadren Hunt, Tyrone Pope, Jordan Coleman, BJ Holton, LaDarius Allen and Tyler Gant. Meanwhile, Gosnell’s CaDarius Young and Brett Barbaree received all-state honors in Class 4A. “Both [CaDarius Young and Brett Barbaree] of them have been great leaders for us all year. They bring a great energy to our football team,” said Pirates head coach Brandon Barbaree. CaDarius Young made big plays for the Pirates on both sides of the ball — at running back and in the secondary. “CaDarius [Young] has been a leader. Every time we need a big yard, it’s been CaDarius Young gets it,” said Barbaree. “Both years he’s beaten Pocahontas [Redskins] on last few minute touchdowns. He’s been a go-to guy and just a great kid. He’s our safety. I think the play in the playoffs against Pulaski Robinson may have been the only big play he had given up, a really big play, but other than that he was as solid as you can get. He’s one of the best players in the conference and state.” Brett Barbaree led the Pirates in tackles at defensive end on the season and also filled in at the quarterback position throughout the season. “Brett [Barbaree] being young, a sophomore, was all-conference last year and all-conference and all-state this year,” Brandon Barbaree explained. “He led our team in tackles at defensive end. He also filled in at quarterback when Brandon [Partee] was out a couple of games. He has been a great leader and he does it by example. Does it with his energy and one of the players you can always say he loves football; he loves practice and everything about it. And just provides that positive energy to our whole team.” Eight Pirates — Barbaree, Terry Thurman, C.Young, JyDarian Young, Devin Burks, Cameron Morris, Trajan Donnerson and Fred Debose — were named to the all-conference first team. Levi Ketchum, Brandon Partee, Hunter Jolly, Zach Kibler and Brian Denkins received all-conference second team awards.