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MONTGOMERY — In front of the Alabama High School Association, the Alabama Sports Writers Association, his family and the best players in the state of Alabama, Lanett quarterback Kristian Story was named Mr. Football.

“My stomach kind of dropped,” Story said. “I was really nervous.  It was kind of like a sigh of release as well. I had been thinking of this the entire season.”

Story was also named the 1A Back of the Year, beating out Brantley’s Tucker Kilcrease and Millry’s Tate Warr for the award.

Since winning the 1A State Championship on the Plains at Jordan-Hare Stadium, Story has won seven accolades. Mr. Football is the biggest one for him.

“This is the one I wanted the most because I don’t know any better way to cap off your career than winning. Mr. Football,” Story said.

The Mr. Football plaque is significant to the senior for a couple of reasons. The first being he is the first player from Chambers County to win the award.

“It just lets everyone know that if you do what you’re supposed to do on and off the field, good things happen for good people,” Lanett head football coach and Kristian’s father said. “It lets the community know that we can get the recognition that we deserve.”

The other significant reason is Lanett is a 1A school. In the last two years, Story has heard he plays a lower level of competition when he lines up between the lines.

“From me to come from a small school, it shows that small-school kids can play as well,” Story said. “Hopefully it will pave the way for even more small-school kids behind me to win the award as well.”

The path to Mr. Football wasn’t always a given for the senior. Lanett started the year slow, as the Panthers had to replace a couple of key players on offense and Story was coming off shoulder surgery.

“I was nervous at the beginning when we started off slow,” Story said. “I was kind of scared that I wouldn’t get back to where I once was with my ability. As the season went on, I just trusted God, and he restored it back in me.”

As the season progressed, the Panthers’ offense started to roll. It was doing so well that Story didn’t have to play after the second quarter for several games.

He has proved those doubters wrong the two years Lanett was a 1A school. He set two of the hardest records as aa quarterback in state history— total yards and total touchdowns, finishing with more than 13,000 yards and 175 touchdowns. He earned a four-star rating by every recruiting list, and he was one of the top athletes in the country. On Dec. 18, he signed his official letter of intent to his dream college— the University of Alabama.