HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Boys
Travis Sims, Spring
Notable: The junior found his way onto ”SportsCenter” on Saturday after catching eight passes for 111 and three touchdowns, including the 51-yard Hail Mary from Bishop Davenport, to defeat rival Westfield 27-23 as time expired Friday. He scored every offensive touchdowns for the Lions. It was Spring’s first win over Westfield since 2011.
What coach Trent Miller said: “It’s funny. Probably in the second quarter I think it was, he was kind of down on himself. I said ‘What’s going on, man?’ This is after he caught a touchdown (earlier in the game). He said ‘Coach, I missed a tackle on kickoff. It won’t happen again. I’m like ‘Dude, it’s OK.’ That just speaks volumes of him and his character.”
Other nominees
Jonas Jackson, Worthing: Jackson collected three interceptions — two returned for touchdowns — and a receiving TD in a 34-8 win over Scarborough.
Maddox Kopp, St. Thomas: In a 65-14 win over San Antonio Christian, the University of Houston commitment completed 20 of 35 passes for 541 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception. He also rushed for 58 yards on two carries.
Khaimon Samuel, Lamar: Samuel returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a 51-6 win over Westbury.
Girls
Julia Newman, Episcopal
Notable: The freshman and rising star set a personal record at Magnolia’s Run the Dog Pound invitational, running the 5,000-meter course in 19 minutes, 25.3 seconds for fourth place. It helped Episcopal win the silver bracket standings for a second consecutive meet title. Newman has top-five finishes in all six races this year, including two wins and two second places.
What coach Julius Michael said: “She has a high cross country and running IQ. She has her big sister to look up to. Ella Newman is a junior on the team. During quarantine, her family would just go out and run. Every day she gets better.”
Other nominees
Audrey Cataline, Tomball Memorial: The junior outside hitter had 14 kills and 25 digs in a four-set win over Klein Collins. Tomball Memorial also beat Klein Forest last week and is in second place in District 15-6A.
Heidi Nielson, Cinco Ranch: One of the top runners in the state, the senior ran 17 minutes, 45.25 seconds for first place at Atascocita’s cross country invitational.
Lyla Traylor, Memorial: The outside hitter collected 16 kills, four aces and 15 digs in a five-set win over Cypress Creek. She added 21 digs and eight kills in a win over Cy-Fair.