October 3, 2024

WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ PLAYERS OF THE WEEK! | WO’s Daniels wins another; Overton’s Edwards wins, as well

Overton's Jayden Edwards smacks a pitch. Edwards, a multi-sport athlete, had two home runs, a single and 6 RBI in a 26-0 win over New Summerfield last week, and White Oak's Larkin Daniels (below, inset) had 29 strikeouts, adding to her career record for the Ladynecks and helping them advance to the Class 3A area round of the playoffs. For that, Daniels and Edwards are the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for April 22-27. (Photo of Edwards, above, by RONNIE SARTORS - SPORT SHOT PHOTOGRAPHY; Photo of Daniels courtesy of WHITE OAK LADYNECK SOFTBALL FACEBOOK)
Overton’s Jayden Edwards smacks a pitch. Edwards, a multi-sport athlete, had two home runs, a single and 6 RBI in a 26-0 win over New Summerfield last week, and White Oak’s Larkin Daniels (below, inset) had 29 strikeouts, adding to her career record for the Ladynecks and helping them advance to the Class 3A area round of the playoffs. For that, Daniels and Edwards are the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week for April 22-27. (Photo of Edwards, above, by RONNIE SARTORS – SPORT SHOT PHOTOGRAPHY; Photo of Daniels courtesy of WHITE OAK LADYNECK SOFTBALL FACEBOOK)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally listed Jayden Edwards as a senior. Mitch had it wrong, and is happy he did… Jayden is just a junior! ETBlitz.com is glad to set the record straight.

The Overton High School baseball team had a heck of a performance last week against New Summerfield.

In fact, Overton’s athletic department has had one heck of a year.

The White Oak Ladynecks softball team?

They’ve had one heck of a season.

And this week’s player of the week honorees recognize two of the most deserving athletes that we’ve had since we’ve began these awards.

From the football team having its best season since like J.R. Ewing was doing business on “Dallas” to the volleyball team winning 35 games, basketball and its success, Kadden Williams having won the super heavyweight state powerlifting individual championship, and both golf teams going to regionals, and now both the softball and baseball teams in the playoffs.

He won the state’s Built Ford Tough Player of the Week Award during week 10 of this past football season, by the way, and also played basketball for the Mustangs. Oh, and competed at the Region II track meet in Palestine. If there were a baking competition, he’d probably have competed in that, too.

In the baseball Mustangs’ 26-0 thrashing of NSHS last week, there were a lot of standouts, but one stood out above the rest: Jayden Edwards, a junior who, like a lot of athletes at Class 2A Overton, competes in a lot of sports.

Edwards’ most recent adventure was helping the Mustangs blister the Hornets on Friday. Edwards had not one, but two home runs, added a single and finished with 6 RBI in the win.

And for that, he’s been named the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Boys Player of the Week for the week of April 22-27.

And not to be outdone…

Our girls honoree is going down in history – and it’s quite a history – as White Oak’s most decorated Queen of the K, the forward K and the backward-written K.

We’re talking, of course, about the strikeout. And when you’re talking about the strikeout at White Oak now, and you’re talking softball, there’s one name you start with.

That name is Larkin Daniels.

Daniels is but one shining star on a team of them – they’re ALL shining stars, as the Ladynecks, led by coach Ninevah Blankenship, ran through District 15-3A undefeated, and has won 14 straight games.

In a softball season, that is extremely, extremely difficult.

And Daniels is now the career record-holder in strikeouts at a program known for playing softball at a high level.

In the last two games last week – wins in a UIL Class 3A bi-district (first) round best-of-three series over another ETBlitz.com-area program, Tatum – Daniels had 29 strikeouts. She struck out 14 in game one on Thursday night, in a tight battle with Tatum pitcher Noa Cart that White Oak won, 1-0, and then struck out 15 on Friday in a 6-1 series-clincher.

She also had an RBI double in that Friday game.

And, by the way, added to her growing strikeout total, which right now stands at 1,086.

For her performances in the two playoff wins over Tatum, White Oak pitcher Larkin Daniels wins her second Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Girls Player of the Week award of the season – she also won just over a month ago, alongside Kilgore first baseman / pitcher Colt Bullard.

We’re proud of all of our winners. Here’s the complete list of all of them so far:

You know, Whataburger is our favorite here on ETBlitz.com, and here are some pretty wild facts about the ol’ orange-and-white hangout that you might not have known, found on Whataburger.com.

In 2021 – just 2021, alone – Whataburger:

  • Served enough 1-ounce Whataburger Fancy and Spicy Ketchup tubs to fill more than six Olympic swimming pools.
  • Used enough cheese slices to give one to every person in the United States. That’s over 330 million slices!
  • Served 150 school buses full of fresh-cut onions.
  • Used enough table tents that if you lined them up, they would stretch across Texas nearly four times. In the same year, more than a million of our table tents also suspiciously went “missing.”
  • Dressed burgers with enough mustard to fill a 2,600 square-foot home to the ceiling.
  • Cut fresh and served enough lettuce to cover over 30 football fields.
  • Whataburger’s original-recipe sauces are sold in 5,000 grocery stores across 25 states and Mexico – that’s more than five times as many stores as we have restaurants in more than twice as many states.

Whataburger stores are open all the time – they don’t close – for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and their menu is easy to navigate (if it wasn’t, Mitch couldn’t do it!) at the link above. Go today. We actually probably will – and then again tomorrow night, right before (or after) the baseball or softball game we’re covering!

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