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 65th year in 2021. 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.

Kyle Cannon, a sophomore football standout from St. Charles Catholic High School, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for December.  Cannon was superb as he led third-seeded St. Charles Catholic to the LHSAA Division III state championship to cap an undefeated season despite the school being in the heart of one of the many areas of the region devastated by Hurricane Ida. In the state championship game on December 4 at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium, Cannon dominated the game defensively as the Comets shocked top seed and four-time defending state champion Lafayette Christian, 32-27. Cannon finished the game with 11 tackles, including nine solo tackles and three tackles for loss, and an interception. His biggest play of the game came with 2:26 to play and the Comets trailing – an errant snap slipped away from the Lafayette Christian punter and Cannon recovered the loose ball for the game-winning touchdown as he earned the game’s Most Outstanding Player honor.

“Before the game, I really was thinking that we really made it to the championship, all of our hard work and dedication was fixing to be put to work. I had to keep it up for the seniors because I know it was going to be their last ride and I just had to hold up my end of the bargain for them,” said Cannon.

Cannon earned the honor over three standout college basketball players who had abbreviated months of action.

• Jalen Cook, a freshman guard for the Tulane men’s basketball team, averaged 16 points per game in two games for the Green Wave in a COVID-shortened December schedule. In a big 85-84 win over Memphis on Dec. 29, Cook scored 25 points on 9-of-16 shooting to open American Athletic Conference play on a high note. The victory snapped a 12-game losing streak against Memphis. Cook followed that performance with a 20-point effort in a Jan. 1 win over Cincinnati as he was selected as the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Player of the Week. For the season, the six-foot product of Walker (La.) leads the Green Wave and ranks second in the American with 19.7 points per game. He also averages 3.3 assists per outing.
• Lance Williams, a 6-1 freshman guard; scored a career- and game-high 23 points in 27 minutes in an 84-57 win over William Carey in the Gold Rush’s only December game. The Baton Rouge product made five consecutive three-pointers in a first-half span of 5:38 to help XULA increase its lead from 17-12 to 34-22. He finished with seven made threes, most in a game by a XULA freshman since 1989 and one less than the XULA overall record. Williams was named Red River Athletic Conference Player of the Week as a result of this performance.
• Zach Wrightsil and the No. 1 ranked Loyola Wolf Pack played two games during the month of December, defeating conference rival William Carey and in-state foe LSU Shreveport in a pair of road games as they maintained their perfect record for the season. In the 78-71 win over Carey in Hattiesburg on Dec. 2, Wrightsil scored 20 points and pulled down six rebounds to go with a game-high five steals and four assists. A week later, Wrightsil’s 21 points, six steals and six rebounds led the Wolf Pack to a 76-69 win over LSUS. As of Jan. 4, Wrightsil leads the Wolf Pack with 16.3 points per game while shooting 58.3 percent from the field. He also has 8.2 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game. Loyola, which claimed the No. 1 ranking in the nation for the first time in school history on Dec. 15, remains perfect at 16-0.