Vicksburg High’s run to the Class 5A football playoffs paid off handsomely in a confidence boost for the program and some individual awards for the players who helped make it happen.

Five players — wide receiver Te’Darious Brown, cornerback Paul Wilson, linebacker Antonio Brown, defensive end Jomon O’Neal and punter Greg Hayden — were selected to the All-Region 2-5A first team.

Defensive lineman Michael Sullivan, wide receiver Raheam Moore and defensive back Markel Haggard were on the All-Region second team.

Five of the eight Gators selected came off the team’s defense, a sign of how much it improved under first-year defensive coordinator Bill King.

Antonio Brown led the team with 71 tackles, while sophomore linemen O’Neal and Sullivan combined for 20 of the team’s 35 sacks. Wilson, a four-year starter, only had one interception but broke up 10 passes and finished with 62 tackles.

Haggard, another senior, also had 10 pass breakups and 29 total tackles.

Vicksburg allowed 19.3 points per game this season, its best defensive showing since 2008. It allowed 26.5 per game in 2014.

Among the offensive players selected, Tedarious Brown and Moore were the Gators’ top receiving threats.

The senior Brown caught 70 passes for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns, while the junior Moore had 27 receptions for 381 yards and five TDs.

Brown was also selected to the Class 5A All-State team as a return specialist — he averaged 29.1 yards per kickoff return — and will play in the Bernard Blackwell Mississippi All-Star Game Saturday in Gulfport.

Brown’s 70 receptions were the second-highest single-season total in Warren County history, and he is just the sixth player ever to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season. He finished his high school career as the county’s all-time leader in receptions, with 123, and second in receiving yards with 1,832.

Hayden, a sophomore, averaged 40.0 yards on 27 punts, and helped the Gators win at least two games with his punting. In the season-opening 14-13 win over Harrison Central he averaged 45.0 yards per punt, placed three inside the 20-yard line, and had a long of 58 yards.

On Oct. 23, in a 19-16 win over Canton, Hayden unleashed a 60-yard punt late in the game when the Gators were backed up in their own end that flipped field position and allowed the defense to close out the game.

Hayden was also VHS’ kicker and went 5-for-6 on field goals and 26-for-31 on PAT attempts. His longest field goal was 37 yards.