NEW ORLEANS (January 14, 2025) – Jy'Heim Williams, a two-way star for the South Plaquemines High School football team, has been selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl Athlete of the Month for December. Athletes of the month have been selected by the New Orleans Sports Awards Committee since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region to be eligible. Williams is the first South Plaquemines athlete to earn the honor since at least 1998.
 
Allstate Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month
 
Williams did all the scoring – and then some – for South Plaquemines as it won the LHSAA Division IV state championship on December 12 at the Caesars Superdome. The senior recorded two touchdown receptions, one rushing score, and a two-point conversion run as the Hurricanes defeated top-seeded and 17-time state champion Haynesville 20-7.
 
In addition to his dominant performance on offense, Williams played safety on defense and intercepted a deep pass with about four minutes remaining to all but seal his school's third state championship victory, its first since 2008.
 
Primarily a running back on offense, Williams had six receptions for 69 yards and 15 rushes for 45 yards. That, along with his interception and five tackles on defense, was enough for him to earn the LHSAA outstanding player award.
 
"The touchdowns and the most outstanding player, I expect that out of myself because of how hard coach Lyle (Fitte) pushes me and how my team looks up to me every day at practice, in games," Williams said. "I'm just thankful for my coach and team."
 
"It's like I told him, 'We're going to need you to step up,'" said Fitte, who played on South Plaquemines other two state title teams in 2007 and 2008.
 
In the state semifinal win over Logansport on December 6, Williams ran 13 times for 112 yards and a touchdown.
 
Williams won the honor over six other area standouts, including two other high school football state champions.

• John Johnson from the Edna Karr football team accounted for 358 yards in total offense and five touchdowns (three rushing, two passing) in a 53-8 state championship rout of Alexandria. The junior completed 10-of-17 passes for 197 yards and added 19 carries for 161 yards.
• Grace Keene, a talented Northshore High School freshman finished second in the 5,000-meter run at the AAU Cross-Country Championships on a 21-degree day in Charlotte, N.C., on Dec. 7. Keene's first year running at Northshore saw her set school records in cross country and finish third at the Division I state meet. She's also an avid soccer player and will continue to run while playing soccer for the Panthers.
• Northshore High School senior boys' basketball standout London Lee averaged 14 points and eight rebounds on 50% shooting as the Panthers went 7-3 in the month of December.
• A junior from Converse, Texas, Amira Mabry led the Tulane women's basketball team to a perfect 5-0 record in December. She was named MVP of the Tulane Holiday Tournament Dec. 21 after a 21-point, 12-rebound performance in the championship game against ULM. She backed that up on Dec. 29 in the Green Wave's American Athletic Conference opener with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds in a win at Florida Atlantic. For the month, Mabry averaged 16.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 59.6% from the field.
• Jasper Parker, a Michigan signee for the Archbishop Shaw football team rushed 19 times for 174 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown run that put his team ahead, in a 28-25 state championship win against E.D. White.
• Addison Pontiff, a senior for the St. Scholastic girls' basketball team, recorded her 1,000th career rebound during a 64-22 win over Catholic Pointe Coupee on Dec. 21. She posted a double-double in that game (20 points, 10 rebounds). She scored her 1,000th career point last season.
• Kam Shelley averaged 16.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in a perfect month of December for the Xavier University of Louisiana women's basketball team. The graduate student from Albany, Ga., made Xavier's biggest shot of the month on Dec. 2 when she beat the buzzer with a 30-footer to give the Gold Nuggets a 65-62 victory at LSU-Shreveport that snapped the Pilots' 30-game win streak in Red River Athletic Conference games. Shelley scored a season-high 22 points at LSUS. Xavier entered Christmas with a 12-0 record – the best start in the Gold Nuggets' 47-year Title IX history – and a No. 25 ranking in the NAIA coaches poll.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.