Meet the all-area football team, headlined by Maliki Wilson and O'Rien Vance

Maliki Wilson misses practice.

"I wish I would have gotten to play one more game, but I really wish I could have spent one more week with those guys at practice,' he said. 'I know we always praise our linemen, but those guys are the smartest, biggest, nicest guys. They would all punch somebody in the mouth for me."

A senior who helped lead Cedar Rapids Xavier (11-1) to the Class 3A semifinals, Wilson has been selected as the offensive player of the year on the 2016 Gazette area football team.

Cedar Rapids Washington's O'Rien Vance repeats as the defensive player of the year.

The 36-man team was selected by The Gazette's sports staff. Iowa City West swept the two biggest awards — Oliver Martin is the player of the year and Garrett Hartwig is the coach of the year.

Xavier, Washington and West each landed three players on the area team, as did Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Mount Vernon.

Wilson added 40 pounds to his frame this season — 'It made a big difference. I could truck people when I wanted, and I still had the speed,' he said — and he led 3A with 2,054 rushing yards on 217 carries with 20 touchdowns. He also collected three receiving TDs.

'Some of the moves he made, you just can't teach guys to make jukes like that,' Xavier Coach Duane Schulte said. 'He'll go down as one of the best we've had, and one of the best Cedar Rapids has had.

'There were a lot of games in which he didn't play in the fourth quarter. Otherwise, his numbers would have been even more impressive.'

Perhaps his signature game came in the fourth quarter at Linn-Mar in Week 2, in which the Lions contained him for most of the game.

Held to 31 yards in the first three quarters, Wilson exploded for touchdown runs of 71, 97 and 66 yards in the final 8 minutes, helping Xavier transform a 17-14 deficit into a 45-17 victory.

He finished with 266 yards that night.

'Those were some long runs,' Wilson recalled. 'I remembered after the second touchdown, the defense forced a fumble right away, and I was thinking, 'Really? Couldn't you have waited a play or two?''

Wilson hasn't made a college choice yet; he has received an offer from Wayne State (Neb.) and is drawing interest from South Dakota State, Minnesota State and others.

Vance, on the other hand, is locked in with Iowa State. The 6-foot-3, 235-pound linebacker collected 82 tackles (13 for loss), intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Washington (10-2) won a district championship and advanced to the 4A semifinals before falling to Iowa City West.

'He has been extremely important to our success the last three years,' Washington Coach Paul James said. 'He creates havoc for opponents because of his athleticism, his quickness and his strength. He has a knack for finding the ball.'

Because of his instincts, James and defensive coordinator Maurice Blue gave him a lot of freedom.

'He could kind of pick and choose where he was going to go,' James said. 'He studied and understood the scouting reports. He understood where the ball was going.'

Vance is a repeat selection on the honor team. So are Iowa City West receiver Oliver Martin, Mount Vernon quarterback Drew Adams and offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs, and linebackers Tavian Rashed (Cedar Rapids Jefferson) and Derek Greiner (Williamsburg).

This year's team consists of 33 seniors and three juniors.

Player of the year — Oliver Martin, Iowa City West

Coach of the year — Garrett Hartwig, Iowa City West

Offensive player of the year — Maliki Wilson, Cedar Rapids Xavier

Defensive player of the year — O'Rien Vance, Cedar Rapids Washington