For voters of the 2022 Clarence Cannon Conference team, it was a no-brainer to include these Panthers.

Centralia finished its season 7-3 after losing in the district semifinals to Hallsville, but nine Panthers were honored with all-conference selections — six of them unanimous and two of them for multiple positions.

Senior lineman Seth Hasekamp was voted as a unanimous first-team offensive lineman along with a first-team defensive lineman, senior Kyden Wilkerson was selected as a unanimous first-team running back along with a first-team defensive back, seniors Jesse Shannon and Brayden Shelton are unanimous first-team linebackers, senior Ethan Adams was a second-team linebacker, and the special teams tandem of senior kicker Nathan Timpe and junior punter Cullen Bennett were voted unanimous first-team players. Payton Mabrey earned a second-team all-CCC offensive lineman selection and senior offensive lineman Evan Brumback was an honorable mention.

Hasekamp, Mabrey and Brumback were part of a line that led the charge to a running game that averaged 237 yards this season. On defense, Hasekamp had 69 tackles (57 solo), six tackles for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries and was referred to as “the best offensive lineman I’ve coached,” by head coach Tyler Forsee. Mabrey was a two-year starter on the offensive line.

Wilkerson ran behind those guys, finishing with 1,369 yards on 170 carries for a 8.1 yard average, 18 touchdowns and 79 yards on six receptions. On defense, he had 98 tackles (79 solo), seven tackles for loss, one sack, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, nine pass break-ups and one interception.

Shelton, Shannon and Adams led the second line of the Centralia defense. Shelton owned a team-high 92 total tackles (79 solo) in eight games, eight tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups in his second year as a starting inside linebacker. In his third year starting at outside linebacker, Shannon had 71 total tackles (62 solo) eight tackles for loss, three sacks and three pass breakups. Adams finished with 34 tackles (15 solo), and team-highs with two interceptions, three pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.

When he wasn’t leading the offense at quarterback, Bennett was being the best punter in the conference, sending away 19 punts for a 47.9 average with three touchbacks and nine inside the 20-yard line. He broke the school record for punting average by 8.7 yards.

At kicker, Timpe converted on 26-for-28 points after touchdowns and had six touchbacks on kickoffs.