THE WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ PLAYERS OF THE WEEK | White Oak’s Addison McClanahan, Troup’s Bryce Wallum!

It’s supposedly 7 ½ miles from Arp to Troup.

Or from Troup to Arp, if you’d rather say it that way. Guess it depends on which way you’re coming – or which way you view it.

We’re pretty sure we know which way Troup High School football player Bryce Wallum views it.

Bryce and the Tigers got out of the gate to an 0-2 start this season, losing to Shelbyville (no shame in that), 53-40, and to Edgewood, 56-28.

Coach Sam Wells and the Tigers began to turn it around – as luck would have it – on Friday, the 13^th, believe it or not, as in Friday, Sept. 13, in a home game against Harleton, dealing the Wildcats a 31-13 loss.

Since then, Troup hasn’t lost. They went on the road and beat Rusk, 24-14, on Sept. 20, and then last week, they opened District 11-3A, Division II play with a 31-20 win at Arp, and if you’re from Troup – or Arp – you know that game has a circle around it from the minute it’s scheduled.

Bryce was nothing short of spectacular in the win, running for 227 yards and three touchdowns, kicking all four extra points that the Tigers scored in the game, and hitting a 20-yard field goal for good measure. In fact, we even got a report that he cooked the pregame meal (we don’t really believe that, but we’re fact-checking it).

This season, Bryce has completed 32-of-55 passes for 482 yards and six touchdowns. He’s ran for 661 yards and seven touchdowns on 62 carries and averages just under 11 yards a carry. He leads Troup in all-purpose yards (896) and averages 179 yards a game.

He punts for the team – he’s punted nine times this season and averages 37 yards a kick.

He returns kickoffs – he’s got 11 of them this year, and averages 17.3 yards a return.

He’s hit 17 of the 18 extra points he’s kicked, and he’s 3-of-4 in field goal kicks.

And ever so often, he plays defense. He’s got 14 tackles so far this season, and an interception and a fumble recovery.

We wouldn’t be surprised to find out he drove the team bus home from Arp.

Congratulations to Troup High School’s Bryce Wallum – he’s the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com boys Player of the Week for Sept. 23-28.

Now, there’s the matter of the girls player of the week.

A young lady in White Oak has had some near-misses for that award a few times this year, like a week and a half ago, when her team took state-ranked Tatum to the limit, to five sets.

White Oak’s Addison McClanahan had almost brought home the player of the week award at least twice.

Well, now we can take that “almost” off the table.

This week, in a unanimous vote (and that does NOT happen often), Addison is the Whataburger / ETBlitz girls Player of the Week for Sept. 23-28!

Last week, in a sweep of Troup, she had nine kills, but last Friday, she had 20 kills, six digs, three aces and two blocks in a22-25, 25-13, 25-17, 25-21 win at state-ranked West Rusk.

White Oak is 21-15 overall, 3-1 in District 16-3A volleyball, which is in its entirety, an “All-ETBlitz” district: White Oak, Gladewater, Sabine, Arp, Troup, West Rusk and Tatum. We cover every one of those programs.

On the season to date, McClanahan has 291 kills in 68 sets played – she averages just over four kills a set, leading the team. She’s scored 94 points, 26 total blocks, and 175 digs. She’s second on the team in digs this season, and digs per set and in aces.

Just a reminder about our awards…

Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week were established in January, and come from the 12 high schools in the ETBlitz.com coverage area – that’s (in alphabetical order) Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk and White Oak – and Kilgore College.

A male and female athlete is recognized each Tuesday, and our criteria is based on statistics and quality of competition. These are awards for athletic achievement.

Nominees are simply pulled from their performances – there is no set number of nominees each week. It’s based solely on the performances of the student athletes. One week, 15 football players might have outstanding numbers. The next, there might be nine. The same with volleyball.

In addition to Bryce and Addison, here are our winners so far this school year:

• 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!

Our two newest winners can look forward to a visit from a certain someone from Whataburger to bring them a gift. And we’ll have photos from that here on ETBlitz.com later this week!

But you don’t have to wait – you can get to the world’s greatest restaurant every day, anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because they’re always open.

And you can order ahead of time, or see their fantastic menu, right here: Whataburger | Order Online with Curbside and Delivery.

There are a few items you’ll notice, if you click the link, that are only on for a limited time, and we’ve tried ‘em: the jalapeno cheddar biscuit; the Dr. Pepper shake; the Buffalo chicken strip sandwich; and the Whatawings.

Take that “limited time” thing seriously! Do not miss those items, man!

And congratulations to White Oak’s Addison McClanahan and to Bryce Wallum of Troup, our Whataburger / ETBlitz Players of the Week!