Harlem Berry from St. Martin’s Episcopal, recognized as one of top high school football players in the country, was selected as the Allstate Sugar Bowl’s Outstanding Male Athlete from the New Orleans area for 2023-24. The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selects annual award winners in a variety of categories; it also selects Sugar Bowl Athletes of the Month and each year’s New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame class. Berry is the first St. Martin's Episcopal athlete to be selected for the honor.
Berry ran for 2,080 yards during the 2023 season, averaging 13.2 yards per carry while scoring 37 touchdowns. The Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club 2023 Player of the Year added 20 catches as a receiver for an additional 401 yards and seven more scores. For good measure, he doubled as a defensive back and recorded 36 tackles with three for loss and a sack. Berry returned a fumble 62 yards for another score. During his tenure at St. Martin’s, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder has amassed 7,285 total yards and 114 touchdowns. Widely considered the nation’s top running back prospect for the class of 2025, Berry committed to LSU in January.
“Harlem is a rare breed,” said St. Martin’s head coach Kevin Dizer. “He can pretty much do it all on the football field. What is most impressive is who he is off the field. I can’t wait for the world to get top see him on the big stage, and for people to get to know who he is off the field.”
Berry, who was a key part of the St. Martin’s basketball team in its run to the LHSAA Division IV Select State Championship game, also starred for the St. Martin’s track team. He finished second in the state in the 200-meter dash (21.80) and anchored the Saints third-place effort in the 4x100 relay (43.88) at the LHSAA Class 1A state championships.
Additional finalists for New Orleans’ Outstanding Male Athlete were Dagan Bruno (John Curtis Christian Football, Basketball, Baseball), Allen Graves (Ponchatoula Basketball), and Spencer Lanosga (Jesuit Wrestling). Bruno was the leader of the Curtis football team, a standout player on the basketball team, and a star for the Patriot baseball team that posted a runner-up finish in the state. Graves, the Gatorade Louisiana Basketball Player of the Year, led the Green Wave to a second consecutive state championship as he averaged 20.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.6 blocks, and 1.6 steals per game. Lanosga pinned all five of his state championship opponents in the first two-minute period to win his third consecutive individual state championship and to lead the Blue Jays to a second straight team title.
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together 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 and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, 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 as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 68th year in 2024.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 107 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 90-year history. The 91st Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2025. 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.
