While the spring sports season is well underway, honors for the 2023 high school football season are still being handed out with “The Pag Meter” presenting an All-Central Section football team on the Pagmeter website, well-known website that covers Central Section high school sports.
In the Pagmeter all-Central Section football team released on Friday, Strathmore High coach Jeromy Blackwell was honored as the Central Section Small Schools Coach of the Year while Jacob Poole was recognized as the Specialist of the Year. Blackwell was also honored as the Cal-Hi Sports 2023 Small Schools State Coach of the Year.
Blackwell and Poole were honored after they helped lead the Spartans to a 10-4 record and the CIF Division 7A State title.
Blackwell's story, of course, is well-chronicled. He came back after suffering heat stroke last summer that led him to being in a medically induced coma. The Pag Meter website stated Blackwell's story and Strathmore's season needs to be a Netflix movie or an ESPN 30 for 30 documentary.
SHS won its second state title under Blackwell as the Spartans also won the 2017 State Title with Blackwell as coach. This past season, Strathmore beat Bell Gardens 42-7 for the state crown.
Despite battling injuries, Poole had a monster season in 2023, rusihing for 1,709 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 310 yards and four scores and despite being used on returns mainly late in the season, Poole still had 417 yards in returns and another four scores on returns. He totaled 30 touchdowns and more than 2,400 yards of total offense on the season.
For the entire all-Central Section team go to https://thepagmeter.com/2024/03/22/pagmeter-all-central-section-all-star-football-team-2023/
