KAYSON & KARLY! | Kilgore’s Brooks, Tatum’s Stroud the Whataburger / ETBlitz Players of the Week!

“Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.” – Former University of Miami and Washington receiver Santana Moss

Moss’ quote has been changed and taken by others since he said it after beating rival Florida State in the 2000 season, but he’s still 100 percent correct. Big-time players DO make big-time plays in big-time games.

And last week, both Kayson Brooks of Kilgore and Tatum’s Karly Stroud made a bunch of them.

Brooks had another fantastic performance, helping to lead and lift his team to a 42-21 win over Lindale, and Stroud, a member of the highly-ranked Tatum Lady Eagles, did what she always does: come up big when needed most, in a pair of wins over White Oak and Sabine.

For that, Kilgore’s Kayson Brooks and Tatum’s Karly Stroud have been named the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for the week of Oct. 14-19!

For Ms. Stroud, and for the entirety of coach Leven Barker’s Lady Eagles volleyball team, it’s time to take care of business every Tuesday and every Friday.

Sometimes, that’s a sweep – Tatum only has 30 of them this year. Only 30.

Sometimes, it’s a five-game marathon, like it’s been twice against district rival White Oak.

But Tatum has only lost five times this year; the Lady Eagles are 36-5, and are ranked second in the state in the Texas Girls Coaches Association’s volleyball poll. Only Bushland, with the same record as Tatum, is in front of the Lady Eagles.

Stroud is, week-in and week-out, a big reason why. She’s the libero for the Lady Eagles, defined as a player whose main purpose is to receive serves and digs. And Stroud, who apparently takes her job pretty seriously, is quite good at it.

This past week, she had 21 digs and three assists in Tatum’s dramatic 25-20, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-4 win over White Oak, allowing the Lady Eagles to remain undefeated in district – and to survive a second five-set matchup with the Ladynecks.

Stroud also had 15 digs and two aces in Tatum’s 25-15, 25-13, 25-11 sweep of Sabine on Friday.

She’s the third player this season from Tatum’s roster to win this award: Kamdyn Scott and Kaysen Foster have also won.

The Lady Eagles were to be off tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 22) and will be back in action at home on Friday, a 4:30 p.m. varsity start against Troup, and that’s senior night. Tatum finishes the regular season on the road at Arp on Tuesday, and then will head into the UIL Class 3A playoffs.

Oh, by the way: Tatum has won every single home game they’ve played this season (16-0), and they’ve also won 16 straight games.

Congratulations to Karly Stroud, the Whataburger / ETBlitz girls Player of the Week!

Our boys winner is one who has been nominated for this award almost every week of this season.

His journey began as a back-up last year, and then he was thrown into the spotlight with a fantastic performance in Kilgore’s football playoff game against Needville.

It’s continued this year, as Kayson Brooks is letting people know the Bulldogs have a lot of talent – and one of those special talents is at quarterback.

Last Friday night, with Kilgore facing yet another District 9-4A, Division I rival and needing its quarterback to be ‘on’ for the win, Brooks showed he wasn’t only ‘on:’ he was nuclear.

Brooks went 14-of-15, missing only one pass, for 259 yards and five touchdowns, and for good measure, he had a 63-yard touchdown run.

The five TDs: two to Javon Towns, last week’s player of the week, and one each to Lakeyleon Graves, Rayshaun Williams and Jayden Sanders.

And that touchdown came in the second half, to put Kilgore in front, 42-7. Lindale scored two late touchdowns.

Brooks on the season now is 111-of-171 for 1,677 yards, 19 touchdowns, and six interceptions this season, and has helped the Bulldogs score 231 points, about 29 points a game.

For his performance in the win over Lindale, Kayson Brooks is the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com boys Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 14-19! Congratulations, Kayson!

And he and Stroud join an impressive list. Here are the players of the week so far this school year, with links to read those stories:

• WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ.COM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | Tatum’s Scott, Sabine’s Sparks win first honors of the school year!
• OVERTON’S STILL, TATUM’S FOSTER | They’re the Whataburger / ETBlitz Players of the Week!
• WHITE OAK’S LUDLOW, HENDERSON’S STANDLEY | They’re the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week!
• AND THE HONORS GO TO… | Tatum’s Scott and LC’s Wheat, the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week!
• THE WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | White Oak’s Addison McClanahan, Troup’s Bryce Wallum!
• IT’S ELLE, DODSON! | They’re the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week!
• THE WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ.COM PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | Hey, it’s JT and Overton’s Skyler Colvin

ETBlitz.com has partnered with the good folks at DKT Investments / Whataburger to present these awards each week, a girl and a boy each week, from the programs we cover at (in alphabetical order) Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Kilgore College, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk, and White Oak.

Awards are typically announced each Tuesday, with winners receiving a special gift sometime that week.

We love Whataburger, by the way, and judging by how busy they are when we’re there, you do, too! Whataburger is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you’d better be when you serve food like that.

Like this: the new Bacon Blaze Jalapeno Double, two Whataburger 100 percent beef patties, with aged cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, spicy jalapeno peppers, and Whataburger’s Jalapeno Ranch and Jalapeno Cream Cheese on a pair of toasted buns.

Dang. Hungry now?

If you want to see their menu, do it here: Whataburger | Order Online with Curbside and Delivery, and don’t forget, Whataburger begins serving breakfast at 11 p.m. every single night.

The ETBlitz.com crew spends its time there, and we’ll see you there this weekend, after one of our games.

Congratulations again to Kilgore’s Kayson Brooks and to Tatum’s Karly Stroud, the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week!