JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Friends, family, coaches, and some of the region’s brightest football stars filled a ballroom Monday night for the 2025 WJHL High School Football Player of the Year Banquet.From South Greene to Eastside and everywhere in between, twelve of this year’s Player of the Week honorees gathered to celebrate each other’s grit and dedication this season.And at the end of the night, Greeneville senior quarterback Caden Baugh took home the stiff-arm trophy as the 2025 WJHL High School Football Player of the Year.“Happy to be here, privileged to be here. I couldn’t do it without my teammates and God. I’m really grateful right now,” Baugh said.The honor followed a remarkable season by the Greene Devil signal caller. Baugh completed 122 of 159 passes for 2,653 yards and another 1,152 yards on the ground. When it was all said and done, the senior quarterback tallied 3,805 all-purpose yards and 50 total touchdowns this season, earning a spot as one of the three finalists for the Class 4A Mr. Football Award.Greeneville head coach Eddie Spradlen said Baugh’s leadership set the tone for the entire program. “When your hardest workers are your best players, you’ve got a chance to be successful, and you’ve got that with Caden,” said Coach Spradlen. “He really bought in and led this football team in the weight room and got an ultimate buy-in by the whole team because of how hard he was working.”Baugh became the second member of his family to take home the award, following in the footsteps of his father, Cody Baugh, who won the title in 2002 and now serves as Greeneville’s offensive coordinator. “I’ve got to give Caden a lot of credit. He put it on himself to really improve and become a lot more accurate,” said Coach Baugh. “I’m there to throw in my two cents every once in a while, but he’s been throwing a football a very long time.”For Baugh, sharing the moment with his family made it even more meaningful. “It means everything,” he said. “My dad’s a big part of my life. My grandfather’s a big part of my life. To be able to follow in his footsteps… I’m grateful for it.”Cherokee High School running back Jayden Weston earned the People’s Choice Player of the Year in a landslide, finishing with nearly 1,200 more votes than the runner-up. Weston said the overwhelming support meant the world to him. “That makes me feel great, seeing people in the community support me like that and just seeing what my small town can do.”The junior delivered a breakout season, breaking Cherokee’s program record for single-game rushing yards and toppling the single-season rushing record that had stood since 1985.The night marked the end of another memorable year of high school football filled with standout performances, rising stars, and a community that continues to rally behind its athletes. For Baugh and Weston, it was an evening that celebrated not only what they accomplished on the field but the people and places that helped shape their journeys.Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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