4A 2009 AP All-State Team: Up-and-down year still nets Scotty Young POY

Last season, Denton Ryan QB Scotty Young came oh-so-close to snapping Graham Harrell's single-season passing touchdown record. With all the returning talent around him, it looked like 2009 was going to be his year. Young again fell short in 2009, but he still threw 44 touchdowns in the regular season, one of the highest totals in the state, and eventually took his team to the regional finals. We shouldn't judge quarterbacks through Harrell's lens -- Young's season was spectacular. It's as simple as that. And in somewhat of a coup, Mission's Rudy Lopez took the Defensive POY award. Although largely ignored outside of the Rio Grande Valley, Lopez was the top player on one of the best defenses in the area.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Scotty Young, Denton Ryan
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Rudy Lopez, Mission