Two of Hillsborough County’s finest football players now have something else in their trophy cases to show for it after four years of hard work with their high school programs.
The Guy Toph Award for the most outstanding player in Hillsborough County, also believed to be one of the oldest continuous athletic awards in the country, now belongs to Plant City wide receiver Mario Williams. It shouldn’t come as a surprise for those who have followed the Raiders’ top playmaker throughout his career: Williams, ESPN’s top-ranked receiver for 2021, recorded 740 receiving yards, eight touchdown catches, 141 kick return yards and 1,002 total yards through the Raiders’ nine games in the 2020 season. He was selected for the Under-Armor All-American Game and signed with Oklahoma back in December 2020.
Williams is the third Plant City Raider to win a Guy Top Award in the last six seasons, joining Markese Hargrove (2015-16) and former teammate Braxton Plunk (2018-19) in the school’s elite company as the only PCHS players to win the award since its inception in 1939.
The James “Jimbo” Kynes Award for the county’s top offensive and/or defensive lineman was presented to Durant’s Wyatt Lawson on Jan. 21. Lawson, a four-year starter on the Cougars’ varsity team, has been a cornerstone of Durant’s offensive and defensive lines at guard and defensive tackle during his time at Cougar Path. Lawson’s steady presence at guard especially helped Durant’s run-heavy offense average nearly six yards per carry over the last four years and he also made the Hillsborough County East-West All-Star Game roster this past season. Lawson signed with Florida International University in December 2020 and will look to become a cornerstone of the Panthers’ o-line during his time in Miami.
Lawson is the first Cougar to win the Jimbo Kynes Award, which was created in 1994.