Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee began in 1957 when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the 1971 creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top amateur athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month – the honors enter their 63rd year in 2019. To be eligible, an athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region. Each of the monthly award winners are honored in the summer at the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony, hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Photo Courtesy of LSU Athletics

LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase, one of the top wide receivers in the nation, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for November. A sophomore for the undefeated Tigers, Chase had a record-breaking November, setting the school record for single-season touchdown receptions with a nation-leading 17, shattering the previous record of 12. In four games during November, the Archbishop Rummel product had 27 receptions for 708 yards – a stunning 177 yards per game – and eight touchdowns. The Harvey, La., native had eight catches for 227 yards and three touchdowns on November 16 against Ole Miss to surpass 1,000 receiving yards for the season and to earn SEC Offensive Player of the Week recognition. He added a 197-yard/two-TD effort against Texas A&M, 140 yards against Alabama and 144 yards versus Arkansas. For the season, he has 70 receptions for 1,457 yards (second in the nation), the second-most in school history. Recently named a Biletnikoff Award Finalist, he will look to extend his streak of five straight games with 100 receiving yards on Saturday afternoon when the Tigers take on Georgia in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta.

Chase was selected over two high school football stars, another college football standout and a breakout college basketball standout.

• Ashaad Clayton, a senior running back for Warren Easton, tallied 670 yards and 12 touchdowns in the Eagles’ first three playoff games. The Colorado commit had 186 yards and three scores on just nine carries in a first-round win over No. 13 Peabody then dominated No. 4 Tioga with 246 yards and four touchdowns followed by a 238-yard, five-TD performance in the quarterfinals against No. 5 Carencro.
• Chase Fourcade had a big month for Nicholls State, leading the Colonels to a perfect 5-0 record, the Southland Conference Championship and a NCAA FCS First Round Playoff victory. For the month, the Archbishop Rummel graduate completed 81-of-122 (.664) passes for 1,271 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions. He also ran for 233 yards and four more touchdowns.
• Leonard Kelly guided the three-time defending Class 4A state champion Karr Cougars to a 5-0 record in November. In those five games, Kelly completed 65-of-95 passes (68%) for 1,132 yards and 18 touchdowns with no interceptions and he rushed 24 times for 167 and three scores for the Cougars.
• Xavier University men’s basketball star Rayshawn Mart averaged 17.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Gold Rush in an 8-2 month of November. He twice matched his career-high with 25 points in wins over William Carey and Wiley and then exploded for 34 points in a win over Texas College. He was twice named Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week during November and helped Xavier climb to No. 16 in the NAIA Division coaches poll.