HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Just like Maury did in Class 5, Lake Taylor has swept the top awards on the VHSL Class 3 All-State Football Team.
Titans running back Keon Johnson is the Offensive Player of the Year, senior linebacker Devaughn Powell is the Defensive Player of the Year and Hank Sawyer is the Coach of the Year.
Johnson rushed for 2,319 yards and 42 touchdowns in leading Lake Taylor to the Class 3 state championship. He ran for 89 yards and three TDs in the 48-42 double-overtime victory over Kettle Run in the title game.
Powell produced 33 sacks and more than 100 tackles, including 40 for loss. He also forced five fumbles, returning one for a touchdown, and intercepted a pass for another score.
Sawyer guided a remarkable turnaround from a three-win season in 2024 to a 13-2 record and a fourth state championship.
Titans center Kaleb Shortridge, offensive lineman Ziyon Knight and wide receiver/kick returner Magerald Clark joined Johnson on the first-team offense. Johnson also made the first-team defense as a linebacker, joining teammates Kevin Adams, a defensive back, and Powell.
Six Lake Taylor players made the second team: quarterback Kevin Adams, offensive lineman Elijah Thomas, running back/all-purpose Jeremiah Ferebee, defensive lineman Lataveon Hill, linebacker Casaun Hesson and defensive back Magerald Clark.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Two NSU players earn MEAC honors
Norfolk State guard Elijah Jamison has been named the MEAC Player of the Week, while teammate and guard Adrean Newton earned Rookie of the Week honors.
Jamison, a Louisburg, North Carolina, native, averaged 22.7 points in three games and added nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.
Newton totaled 19 points, 12 assists, four rebounds and a steal during the week.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
W&M’s Dance picks up CAA award
William & Mary guard Monet Dance has been named the CAA Co-Player of the Week.
The junior from Roswell, Georgia, averaged 17 points and totaled 14 assists in victories over Stetson and Bethune-Cookman.
COMPETITION CHEER
Kellam, NR lead all-state list
Four Kellam and four Nansemond River cheerleaders have been named to the VHSL Class 5 All-State Competition Cheer first team.
The Kellam contingent included Carlie Wyles, Elias Rodriquez, Jenna Huber and Sydney Navinskey.
The Nansemond River first-team selections were Simone Ellis, Yvonnia Gistarb, Nalyssa Haeffner and Sylan Dyson.
Cox’s Lindsey Johnson and Granby’s Anaria Williams were the other Hampton Roads cheerleaders to make the first team.
Second-team honorees included Cox’s Annabelle Knight and Trista McPhatter, Hickory’s Kylie Ripley, Kendall Linhardt and Audrey Peters, Granby’s Kyrah Davis, Amoni Tolbert and Saturday Collins and King’s Fork’s Aliyah Harrell and Sa’miya Soloman.
Grassfield’s Isabella Lugavere and Niyah Wilson have made the VHSL Class 6 All-State Competition Cheer first team. Oscar Smith’s Morgan Spellman and Western Branch’s Bianca Carter made the second team.
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/12/23/lake-taylor-claims-top-class-3-all-state-football-awards/
