Buckingham County High School’s varsity football team received outstanding recognition with the announcement of the 2018 All-James River District honors, netting 10 selections overall, including six on the first team.

“I just was proud of the players,” Knights Head Coach Seth Wilkerson said. “Those guys who made it were leaders on and off the field and worked hard and deserved it.”

The Knights finished the season with a 6-5 overall record, returning to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Seventh-seeded Buckingham fell in the first round of the Region 2C playoffs to No. 2 Glenvar High School.

Knights making the all-district first team included junior Walter Edwards, who was named as both a running back and all-purpose defensive player. He also made the 2018 All-Region 2C second team as a running back.

“He did a good job for us and was kind of ‘the guy’ on both sides of the ball,” Wilkerson said.

On offense, Edwards ran for 1,341 yards and 13 touchdowns through all 11 games this year, and on defense, he piled up 101 tackles while serving as a linebacker and as a safety.

Buckingham junior Cole Edmondston made the all-district first team as both an offensive lineman and a defensive end. On offense, he recorded nine pancake blocks and facilitated a run game that gained 26 touchdowns and close to 2,900 yards this year.

“Defensively, he doesn’t have impressive stats, but … he did the little things that helped the linebackers and safeties to get their numbers,” Wilkerson said.

Edmondston still finished with 44 tackles, including 12 tackles for a loss, with 4.5 sacks.

Knights senior Quantarius Stanton made the all-district first team as a linebacker, registering 63 tackles, including 10 for a loss, with 3.5 sacks this season.

“He had some experience from the year or two before, and he was able to help us with any adjustments and anything on the field, and that was his main contribution,” Wilkerson said. “He was able to just get us lined up and get everybody on the same page before each play and (was) just a defensive leader out there.”

Of the 35 players to make the all-district first team, Buckingham sophomore Xavier Copeland was the only player younger than a junior to make the cut. He was named as a defensive back (DB), producing 42 tackles and one interception.

Wilkerson highlighted how much Copeland improved from the summer.

“He really worked and turned into one of our best DBs,” the coach said. “He’s just real coachable, just listened and just got better each week. A lot of times, we put him on a team’s best receiver or put him on (the) side of the best receiver …”

Copeland also made the all-district second team as an all-purpose offensive player.

The other Knights making the second team included junior center Garrett Hafley, junior defensive back Nathan Brickhill and sophomore punter Wesley Snoddy.