After some games this season, Hayden Hales’ shoulder would be sore. After others, his elbow was so swollen it looked like someone had inserted a baseball in it.

Hales shrugged off the pain, and the effort it took to get it, by saying some of his Porters Chapel Academy teammates did more. It’s hard to imagine how, though.

Hales played quarterback, tailback and linebacker, and even returned kickoffs late in the season. Quite simply, Hales did it all in leading the Eagles to the MPSA Class AA semifinals, including taking home the Vicksburg Post’s All-County Offensive Player of the Year Award. He follows running back Chris Mixon as the second straight PCA player to earn the honor.

&#8220We asked him to do an awful lot,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. &#8220I don’t know if there’s ever been anybody that’s had the kind of all-around year he’s had.”

The Post award is the latest in a long line of honors for Hales.

The 6-foot-5 senior earned the Post’s Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year award last season, and was earned first-team All-MPSA this year. He’s also the starting left fielder in baseball, and he has drawn interest from a number of colleges for baseball and football.

It’s a long way from where he started.

Hales began his career at PCA as a tailback on the ninth-grade team, then moved to tight end when he joined the varsity in his sophomore year. When quarterback Michael Busby was sidelined with an elbow injury for most of the 2005 season, Hales moved under center.

He threw for 726 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2005, with only three interceptions in 77 attempts. Although Busby was healthy this season, Hales’ performance earned him the starting quarterback job again without any controversy.

&#8220They said, ‘You played quarterback last season and did a good job, so why not play it again?’” Hales said.

With Mixon rushing for nearly 1,500 yards last season – and the Eagles blowing out opponents – Hales didn’t have to throw the ball much. This year, Wright adapted his offense to suit Hales’ talents.

Hales completed 112 of 223 passes for 2,449 yards, the second-highest total in Warren County history. His 28 touchdown passes tied a county record set by Temple’s William Wooley in 1970 and Vicksburg’s Ernest Moore in 1973.

Hales became a weapon on the ground as well, finishing the season with 968 yards and nine TDs.

In all, Hales amassed 3,652 all-purpose yards – 58 percent of PCA’s total yardage for the season.

&#8220By the time it was over, I had played so much football and it was my senior year, that I was down for anything,” Hales said. &#8220… Coach Wright said, ‘You’re an athlete. You can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it.’”.

For all his gaudy offensive numbers, Hales was equally effective on defense. As an outside linebacker, he had 105 tackles and two sacks. Factor in his special teams play, and Hales only left the field in punting situations by the end of the season.

&#8220The things he did, offensively and defensively, are absolutely incredible,” Wright said. &#8220He has just developed into a tremendous high school quarterback. He turned into a great leader for us and had an absolutely unbelievable year.”