Vote now: Who should be SBLive’s Florida High School Athlete of the Week (Oct. 24-Oct. 29)?
Here are the candidates for SBLive’s Florida High School Athlete of the Week for Oct. 24-Oct. 29 as nominated by fans, readers and SBLive’s staff. Read through the nominees and cast your vote at the bottom of the page. Voting will conclude on Sunday, Nov. 6th at 11:59 p.m and the winner will be announced Monday, Nov. 7th. If you would like to nominate an athlete, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveFL.
THIS WEEK’S FLORIDA ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINEES:
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
Willie Pollard, Bradford, Football: With Manny Covey out due to injury, Pollard had to step up in a big way against Palatka. Pollard responded with 219 yards rushing on 29 carries and three touchdowns.
Waltez Clark, Plant, Football: In winning the district championship, Plant got a huge lift from running back Waltez Clark. The sophomore rushed for 204 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 42-0 win over Alonso.
Anika Groom, Bishop Moore, Volleyball: The Bishop Moore Hornets made quick work of Lake Placid in the Class 4A-Region 2 quarterfinals and Groom made a big impact. Groom ended the night with 12 digs and seven aces in the playoff sweep.
Jimez Hamilton, Dr. Phillips, Football: The Panthers’ wide receiver was instrumental in helping Dr. Phillips defeat Ocoee. Hamilton had six catches for 74 yards, three touchdowns, six tackles on defense and three pass breakups.
Carmello Murphy, Mandarin, Football: Murphy saved one of his defensive performances for last when Mandarin defeated Sandalwood 24-14 on Thursday night. The linebacker racked up a team-high 13 tackles in the victory.
Taron Dickens, Miami Northwestern, Football: Dickens threw for three touchdowns and 281 yards in a 44-0 win over LaSalle. The Miami Northwestern signal caller unofficially now has 10,076 career passing yards and set a new Miami-Dade County passing record.
Breanah Rives, Seacrest, Volleyball: The Seacrest senior added 18 kills in her team’s sweep of Victory Christian in the Class 2A, Region 3 quarterfinals. The Seacrest senior set the state record for career kills in the district championship game, and she now has 2,072 in six varsity seasons after her most recent match.
Carlos Mitchell, Lake Wales, Football: The Highlanders had district championship shirts all made up before their game against Auburndale and Mitchell helped make sure those were unpacked for the win. Mitchell had a touchdown catch and then an interception return for a score in the win.
DeShon Jenkins, Bishop Verot, Football: The freshman running back was the infusion of offense that Bishop Verot needed to upend undefeated Estero on Friday night. Jenkins rushed for 153 yards and scored four touchdowns in the 57-10 victory.
Braden Joyner, Brooksville Central, Football: The ‘Battle of the Hexam’ ended with the Bears making sure they secured their first non-losing campaign since 2016. Joyner completed 18-of-25 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
George Stamas, Tarpon Springs, Football: The junior quarterback helped get the Tarpon Sprimgs Spongers back on track with a 14-10 win over North Port. Stamas went 4-of-7 for 90 yds and carried the ball 26 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns.
