Top College Football Players from Amarillo Honored

"Amarillo's Top Four" and the winner of the annual Blair Cherry Award have been announced by the Palo Duro Chapter of AMBUCS.

"Amarillo's Top Four" and the winner of the annual Blair Cherry Award have been announced by the Palo Duro Chapter of AMBUCS.

The top four honored include Gabe Rodriguez of Amarillo High and Texas A&M-Commerce, Zach Encinias of Caprock High School and Bethany College, Horatio Smith of Palo Duro High School and Northwest Oklahoma State and Si Pennington of Tascosa High School and West Texas A&M.

The recipient of the 49th Blair Cherry Memorial Award is former Caprock standout Zach Encinias of Bethany College. Encinias was a standout quarterback for the Longhorns but has moved to receiver in college.

The award is named for legendary coach Blair Cherry. He had the unique honor of being the only football coach ever to win a Texas High school State Championship and a Southwest Conference Championship. Cherry coached Amarillo High to an 84-5 record between 1930 and 1936, winning state titles in 1934, 1935 and 1936. He led Texas to the 1950 SWC title.