THE WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ PLAYERS OF THE YEAR AWARDS… | Congratulations to Overton’s Still, Gladewater’s Thompson

Shortly after ETBlitz.com was launched on October 20, 2023, we began presenting a weekly award for boys and for girls called the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Player of the Week award.

Today – not at the end of a calendar year, because that makes no sense – after the conclusion of the 2024-25 school year, we present the awards for the best performers, male and female, of this past school year.

Without delay, here they are.

The Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Year for the 2024-25 school Year are Overton High School’s Bryce Still, and Gladewater High School’s Paytin Thompson.

Now, how we got here.

For nine months and some change, Texas high schools are in session, and student athletes in various sports are competing throughout: volleyball starts before the first bell of class even begins, and football scrimmages are under way weeks before the Labor Day break.

Cross country and fall tennis are in place shortly thereafter and we’re off and running. From there, it doesn’t stop until the state baseball tournament, which doesn’t even wrap up until after graduation for most of the guys who reach Dell Diamond the first week of June.

Point being: sports are fun, but it’s hard sometimes. It’s a challenge, whether you’re great in one sport, two sports, or three, or whether you excel in just one. It’s not easy. And just try to be an A student and roll back into the ol’ driveway at 11:46 p.m. on a Tuesday after getting back from a trip to Texarkana, a basketball game on a rainy night in November when you also have a paper due.

That’s the NFL: the No Fun League, pal.

That’s what these kids deal with, and I don’t mean just the ones who play football, or softball, who play basketball, baseball and golf. I mean the cheerleaders, the drill team, the ones who get up and get to the trainer at 6:45, then have class, stay after and maybe play another sport AFTER they’ve already gone to their own practice, AFTER they’ve had seven classes, AFTER they’ve learned the halftime show, or a new routine.

Or 10 new plays for the playbook. Or mastered a new pitch.

This award? I’d love to give it to EVERY SINGLE ATHLETE in the ETBlitz.com coverage area. All of ‘em. But I can only give it to a boy and a girl.

It breaks my heart, because it was so close. Our voting was so close, and with a seven-person panel, I only had one vote. I wanted to give it to Jayden Sanders, and to Bryce Still, to Kamden Scott and to Paytin Thompson.

I also wanted to give it to LaKeyleon Graves, and to Landon Hill. And to Elle Litchenburg, and Aundrea Bradley. I wanted to give it to Luke Sigler, to Alexis Kemp, and to Lucas Cano.

I wanted to give it to Chloe Ellis, and Addi Standley.

I would like to give it to all of ‘em.

But we voted, and this is how it turned out. These are the best of the best of the best, the very best student athletes in the East Texas area, which is what the “ET” stands for in “ETBlitz.” And the schools we cover – Arp, Gilmer, Gladewater, Henderson, Kilgore, Leverett’s Chapel, Overton, Sabine, Tatum, Troup, West Rusk, and White Oak – at some point were all represented by some outstanding young women and young men. I can say we did this without bias, we did this at times by comparing apples and oranges, and we did this by looking not just at numbers, but by looking at playoff runs, individual performances, and intangibles.

It was close, so close, on both, particularly for the boys. Still and Kilgore’s Jayden Sanders were separated by only 0.91 percent of the overall vote.

They combined for 46.79 percent of votes. Still, Sanders and Tatum’s JaCorie Bradley, the top three finishers, combined for 58.72 percent of the overall vote.

 The vote for the girls’ player of the year wasn’t nearly as close, but still close: Gladewater’s Thompson finished first, with 25.71 percent of votes, and Tatum’s Kamdyn Scott had just under 22 percent.

See the tables for both below.

Still was a three-year starter at quarterback in football and had his best season as a senior, completing 233-of-350 passes (66 percent) for 3,435 yards, 42 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions, throwing for an average of 264 yards a game.

The Mustangs won the ETBlitz.com Game of the Year in an overtime battle at Mount Enterprise, and also upset multi-time state finalist Mart in the second round.

Still was the ETBlitz.com offensive player of the year on our All-ETBlitz.com 2024 Gridiron Team.

In basketball, he averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game in 29 of 30 total games for the Mustangs, helping the Mustangs to a 24-6 record and a district championship. And he was named the most valuable player of the District 22-2A all-distrirct team.

And in baseball, just over a week ago, he and his teammates got all the way to the UIL Class 2A, Division II state championship game, losing there to back-to-back state champ Collinsville. As an outfielder and a pitcher, Still helped Overton to a 31-9 record, including an inside-the-park home run and a come-from-behind win in a playoff game, five doubles, and 13 total hits.

He’s the only male four-time winner of the Whataburger / ETBlitz Player of the Week award (Addison McClanahan of White Oak is the only female four-time winner), and also won the DCTF / Panini America Quarterback of the Week award this past season as well.

This wasn’t a career achievement award, but in his career at Overton, here’s Still’s numbers in only football: he threw for 8,350 yards, 105 touchdowns, just 31 interceptions, rushed for 1,707 yards and 31 touchdowns.

Sanders, of course, is incomparable: he was the most valuable player in both football AND basketball for Kilgore, and is headed to the University of Michigan, where he’ll likely star as a defensive back.

On defense at his natural position as a DB, Sanders finished the season with 46 tackles, 14 pass break-ups, and three interceptions. On offense, he had 54 catches, 958 yards and 12 touchdowns. He was the overall most valuable player for District 9-4A in football, was named to the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Rising 100 along the way, and to the DCTF / Whataburger Super Team, chosen by the fans in a vote where 300,000 votes were cast. That award was presented here locally, at the Kilgore store.

In basketball, Jayden averaged 12.6 points, five assists, 4.7 steals, 4.4 rebounds and just over one blocked shot a game.

Rounding out the top five vote-getters for the Whataburger / ETB Player of the Year: Tatum phenom JaCorie Bradley, among the leaders of the Eagles’ boys state basketball team; Kilgore quarterback Kayson Brooks, who helped guide the Bulldogs’ offense to the 4A-DI state championship game against Celina; and then a tie for fifth place between Tatum’s Cayden Tatum and Gilmer’s Lucas Cano. Cano, of course, won two gold medals at the state track meet (in 4A, in shot put and in discus) and Tatum was on the boys basketball title team for the Eagles, was a multi-sport position in football, and was the most valuable player for Tatum in all-district for baseball.

Rounding out the top vote-getters for the boys were Overton’s Jayden Edwards, Tatum’s Bryce Wallum, White Oak’s Jaxsen Ludlow, Leverett’s Chapel’s Trent Wheat, Henderson’s Jesstin Starling, Tatum’s Luke Sigler, and Overton’s Rylan Holleman.

Paytin Thompson had a school year that was beyond impressive, herself.

Thompson, just a sophomore, delivered night after night for the Lady Bears on the court in basketball, to the point that she was named co-offensive most valuable player (with Troup’s Qhenja Jordan) in District 16-3A, on the all-district team.

Then, her attention turned to track.

And that proved to be bad for the opposition, just like it did a year ago.

Thompson teamed with Peyton Hunter, Ki’zyah Miles and Adyson Evans at the University Interscholastic League State Track & Field Championships in Austin to win the 3A girls 400 meter relay, doing so in the time of 47.66 seconds.

Shortly thereafter, Thompson went on her own for another: she took third, a bronze, in the 3A girls 200 meter dash, running it in 24.09 seconds.

Like Gladewater fans will be glad to have Thompson back for a couple of seasons, Tatum fans can’t wait for Scott’s senior season coming up in August – in both volleyball and basketball.

That’s because she owned both, and helped Tatum win district titles in both, last year.

In volleyball, Scott was chosen by her coaches the District 16-3A player of the year – as a junior – had 612 kills, 367 digs, 28 assists, 74 aces, and 74 blocks. She turned right around to basketball, she averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, 4 ½ steals, 2 ½ assists and three blocks a game.

Thompson and Scott combined for 47.61 percent of the votes.

Rounding out the top five vote-getters for the girls player of the year award: White Oak’s Addison McClanahan, and two Kilgore seniors, Phenix Rivers and Ruby Almanza.

McClanahan just graduated as one of White Oak’s most decorated girls athletes in school history in both softball and volleyball; Rivers leaves Kilgore soccer with 117 career goals, having scored 39 in her senior season; and Almanza went to the UIL State Cross Country meet in every single season of her high school career.

Also receiving votes for the girls player of the year award: Gilmer softball standout Alexis Kemp; Henderson multi-sport star Addi Standley, from both volleyball and softball; West Rusk’s Adelaide Murphy, a state-qualifier in both cross country and track and field; Overton softball phenom Kelsey Vaught, just a sophomore; Troup softball super-senior Taylor Gillispie; Sabine’s Analiyah Fierros, who played in the Texas Association of Soccer Coaches (TASCO) state all-star game; and Sabine basketball and track star Sarah Roberts.

ETBlitz.com congratulates not only all of those student athletes who received votes, but all student athletes in our coverage area, and thanks Whataburger for their continued support and participation as one of our advertising partners. Literally without our ad partners, ETBlitz.com could not keep our site at no cost to you guys, the readers. We have no paywall, and we’re able to do so because of ad partners like Whataburger, Energy Weldfab, ETX Electrical, Clower Meats, Goudarzi & Young, LLP, Kilgore-Gilmer Eye Care Centers, Denny’s, Zippy J’s Community Stores / Gateway Travel Centers, Wash Masters, and Cozy Coffee Station.

VOTES FOR WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ BOYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (2024-25 SCHOOL YEAR)