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 by Herb Gomez, Nola.com

Christian Westcott, senior quarterback for Lakeshore High School, was selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for September. During the month, the Titans went 4-0, largely due to the performance of Westcott in all three phases of the game. On offense, Westcott completed 55-of-95 passes for 842 yards with 12 touchdowns and he rushed 66 times for 503 yards and 12 more scores. On defense, Westcott had 22 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He added one interception, broke up two passes, forced two fumbles and had one fumble recovery. As a punter, Westcott averaged 40.2 yards on eight punts. While the Titans blew out three of their September opponents, Westcott was critical in their season-opening 48-41 win over crosstown rival Fontainebleau. The senior passed for 324 yards and two touchdowns, including a 97-yard hook-up, and ran for 123 yards and three more TDs. The Titans other wins came against South Plaquemines (56-16), Northshore (43-0) and Moss Point (53-28).

Westcott was one of five players nominated for the monthly honor. Also nominated were:

• Xavier University women’s tennis star Angela Charles-Alfred registered a 13-1 record in September matches. She won singles and doubles titles at the HBCU National Championships in Atlanta and the doubles title at the ITA NAIA South Regional Championships in New Orleans.
• Collin Guggenheim, the talented option quarterback who’s headed to Army, keyed a perfect 4-0 start to lead John Curtis to the top-ranking in the Nola.com Large Schools Super 10. He passed for 258 yards and ran for 454 yards while accounting for 11 total touchdowns.
• Newman freshman Arch Manning completed 80-of-119 passes for 957 yards and 13 touchdowns with just one interception as he led the Greenies to a perfect 4-0 September and the top ranking in the Nola.com Small Schools Super 10.
• Pearl River High’s Corey Warren led the metro area in rushing for September with 795 yards and 18 touchdowns. He carried the ball just 57 times for an average of 13.9 yards per attempt as he led the Rebels to a perfect 4-0 month.