As we have done each of the previous four seasons, we cap our 2025 awards with the 615 Preps Iron Brigade team.
This group of 11 players is a selection of some of the area’s most talented players who play both offense and defense. Ironman football, while now only confined to the high school game and seemingly in less usage with each passing year, still embodies the spirit of the prep ranks, when the best players didn’t leave the field.
The 11 players selected this season proved to be invaluable to their teams – 10 of the 11 players were on teams that reached at least the second round of their respective classes’ playoff brackets, though that wasn’t necessarily a requirement for selection. Six of them competed on BlueCross Bowl championship weekend, and three were named Mr. Football semifinalists this season.
After poring through stats, coach nominations, and our observations, we landed on the 11 players below, with several more being highly considered for inclusion as well. Of the 11, at least four must play a lineman spot on either side of the ball. This makes our Iron Brigade team one of, if not the most exclusive teams to be named for a postseason award in our 82-team coverage area.
This year’s awards are presented by Lookout Pest Control.
The stats listed were provided by teams.
Here are the 11 players, in alphabetical order, making up the fifth-annual Iron Brigade team in the 615 Preps coverage area:
Noah Anliker, OL/LB, Jr., Grace Christian
Anliker was a driving force behind Grace Christian’s 8-4 mark in the Lions’ first year as a Division II-Class AA program. He finished with 103 tackles (eight tackles for a loss), three sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries with one returned for a touchdown.
Isaiah Anthony, OL/DL, Sr., Pearl-Cohn
Anthony was an anchor for the Firebirds’ offense that racked up nearly 5,000 total yards in 2025, and spent plenty of time in opposing backfields with 16 tackles for a loss and two sacks among his 46 total stops this year.
Jermaine Cobbins, WR/DB, So., Springfield
Cobbins had a solid touchdown rate on offense, scoring one out of every five times he touched the ball. He finished with 41 receptions for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns and added nine carries for 62 yards and another score on the ground. He had 41 total tackles and one interception, which was a 100-yard pick-six. And he still has two more years at the prep level.
Nate Fleming, OL/DL, Sr., BGA
One look at Fleming’s tackle numbers might not reveal much, but it’s the types of stops he had that helped BGA’s defense be the unit it turned out to be. The Vanderbilt signee had seven sacks and 11 tackles for a loss among his 35 total tackles in 2025. And his offensive line work was key for a unit that ended up with more than 6,000 total yards on the way to the Wildcats’ first state title since 2003. Fleming makes his second consecutive appearance on the Iron Brigade team.
Zach Groves, RB/DL, Sr., East Robertson
Groves, a Tennessee signee, brought home Mr. Football honors in Class 2A following a season in which he made contributions in multiple ways for the Indians. He had 675 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 82 carries, nine catches for 119 yards and a touchdown, 77 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, one interception which he returned for a score, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Hicks Hunter, RB/DB, Sr., Sycamore
Sycamore won seven games in a season for the first time since 2012, thanks in large part to its Swiss Army Knife in Hunter. He contributed touchdowns five different ways in 2025, but his main work came on the ground with a 1,607-yard season and 20 scores. He threw a touchdown pass and caught another, while also returning an interception and a punt for scores. Hunter had 49 tackles and 12 for a loss, with a sack, five pass breakups and a fumble recovery as well.
Landan Left, RB/DB, Jr., Pearl-Cohn
Left is an appropriate name for the area’s most lethal punt returner, because he left enough defenders in his wake in 2025. He brought five punts back to the house to go along with four rushing touchdowns and a receiving score on offense, as well as a pick-six. His final numbers: 52 carries for 465 yards and four scores, 12 receptions for 94 yards and a touchdown, 45 tackles, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Keilan Neal, OL/DL, Jr., FRA
Neal served as an anchor for FRA’s outstanding lines in 2025, helping lead the Panthers to their first BlueCross Bowl championship game appearance since 1991. He had 65 tackles and eight sacks on defense, while serving as a key cog on the FRA offensive line that earned him our Medium Class Lineman of the Year honors this season.
Omarii Sanders, WR/DB, Jr., FRA
Sanders led the Panthers in receptions (58), receiving yards (1,064) and receiving touchdowns (12) while also collecting a team-high 73 total tackles and two interceptions. The Vanderbilt commitment will head into the 2026 season with plenty of momentum as our Medium Class Athlete of the Year for an FRA team that did everything but win a state title in 2025.
Terris “Peeti” Smith, RB/LB, Sr., Ezell-Harding
Smith’s impact for the Eagles was quite large that he makes the team despite Ezell-Harding missing the postseason. He rushed for 1,256 yards and 12 touchdowns on 123 carries, caught 13 passes for 227 yards and two scores, picked off two passes and returned one for a touchdown, forced two fumbles and finished with 55 total tackles, nine of them for a loss.
Craig Tutt, RB/DB, Sr., Oakland
Tutt’s one of two returning players to this team in 2025 and one of two who ended up as Mr. Football finalists this season. He was our Large Class Athlete of the Year for his multi-faceted contributions. In 2025, he ran for 1,168 yards and 22 touchdowns on 160 carries, while also recording 43 tackles, nine pass breakups, five tackles for loss, three sacks and two forced fumbles on defense. His final two acts were his finest, with more than 400 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in a semifinal win over Blackman and a championship game rout of Ravenwood (which he scored seven times).
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