Joshua Koch

Welcome to a new VYPE feature for the 2020 football season - VYPE Helmet Stickers powered by Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine! Every week, VYPE will scour the stat sheets of the previous week and find the top performers.

Class 5A teams went into Week 9 and wow there were some amazing performances! See who earned VYPE Helmet Stickers this week. Here are the selections.

PREVIOUS HELMET STICKER SELECTIONS

- Week 1 (Sept. 24-27)
- Week 2 (Oct. 1-3)
- Week 3 (Oct. 8-10)
- Week 4 (Oct. 15-17)
- Week 5 (Oct. 22-24)
- Week 6 (Oct. 29-31)
- Week 7 (Nov. 3-5
- Week 8 (Nov. 12-14)

Jairo Garcia - Waller Football

🚨PLAYERS OF THE WEEK🚨#WeAreWaller pic.twitter.com/SF3BbbRtUT
— Waller Football (@waller_football) November 22, 2020

In last week's 43-22 victory over New Caney there were a few outstanding performances. But we will go on the defensive side of the ball for this one. Jairo Garcia gets the nod here. Garcia finished with eight total tackles, four of those for loss and two sacks. What a performance by him. With the win, Waller improves to 3-5 on the year, an improvement from their 0-10 mark in 2019. Good win for the Bulldogs.

Luke Grden (@LukeGrden) - Friendswood

Galveston Ball - 383yrds, 6 TDs: https://t.co/2jgfs3Ma1r @ihss_houston @RobertKoopmann @FwoodFootball @Coach_BenMoran @coach_needer @HamiltonESPN @LincolnRiley @OU_CoachGundy @OU_CoachHill @BobWeltonBamaFB @Lgauthier_@Stumpf_Brian @PettiboneJerry
— Luke Grden (@LukeGrden) November 22, 2020

It was a thrilling 63-60 victory over Galveston Ball last week for Friendswood. The player of the game was no doubt Luke Grden, who finished 25 of 47 for 383 yards and six touchdowns. Grden was hurt earlier this season but seems to be back to full strength leading the Mustangs' offense.

Sultan Bakare (@SultanBakare0) - Katy Paetow

Paetow defeats Angleton tonight. Great game for the Panthers! pic.twitter.com/l7DIq3LKup
— Katy ISD Athletics (@KatyISDAthletic) November 21, 2020

It was a big win for Katy Paetow last week as the Panthers improved to 6-1 on the year and clinched a playoff berth. A big player in the win was Sultan Bakare on the defensive side of the ball. Bakare finished with an amazing 16 tackles. It was a breakout game for the junior. His previous game-high for total tackles was nine earlier this year.

Rocky Ketchum (@Rocky_Ketchum) - Clear Creek

Hats off to Terry! Great game tonight! @CreekWildcats pic.twitter.com/iqsbVeq1cs
— Mike Norman (@coach_norman66) November 20, 2020

A nice win for Clear Creek a week ago as the Wildcats defeated BF Terry 36-34. A big factor in the win was the play of running back Rocky Ketchum. First off, how about that name for a running back! Awesome! Ketchum rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries for the Wildcats in the win. Clear Creek is 5-3 on the year and 3-2 in district play after the win.

Amarion Kelly - Galena Park

Great night for @GPHS_Athletics

Varsity Football BIG Homecoming Win over Sharpstown ✔

Girls Basketball gets the W over Santa Fe ✔@TheRealGPHoops picks up a 🧹 over Northbrook ✔

Enjoy the weekend, stay safe and be ready to get back to work next week. #UnfinishedBusiness
— GPHS Boys Basketball (@TheRealGPHoops) November 21, 2020

Last week was a big week for Galena Park. The Yellowjackets defeated Sharpstown 64-0 to improve their record to 6-2 on the year and 5-1 in district and have clinched a playoff berth. Wait ... Galena Park is heading to the playoffs!! That's right the Yellowjackets for the first time since 2010 are playoff bound. A big player in the win over Sharpstown was running back Amarion Kelly. In the win, Kelly rushed for 141 yards and three scores on just 14 carries. He averaged 10.1 yards per tote and has rushed for 723 yards and nine scores this season. What a big week for Galena Park football.

Reggie Branch (@reggie1branch) - Crosby

first 4 games - https://t.co/58Lqgpy7kz
— Reggie Branch ll (@reggie1branch) November 1, 2020

Crosby is absolutely rolling right now and a big reason why is the play of Reggie Branch at quarterback. In fact, in his most recent outing - a 54-14 win over Port Neches-Groves - he put up well video game numbers. Branch finished 19 of 35 for 319 yards and four touchdowns passing. He also rushed for another 110 yards. The senior finished with 429 total yards of offense and improved Crosby to 5-0 in district play.

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An Amazing Run: SBS Freshman Lauren Baker Finishes Second in Texas

Imagine you had just finished as the second-best runner in the state of Texas as a freshman.

Second Baptist School's Lauren Baker '24 set out to celebrate her recent victory by getting a hot fudge sundae from Dairy Queen.

After posting a time of 12:02.3 in her first-ever TAPPS 5A State Cross Country meet, that sundae was well-deserved.

Baker's time was just under 10 seconds behind the first-place finisher Reagan High, a junior from Southwest Christian School in Fort Worth, and 4.5 seconds ahead of Abby Metzger, a sophomore from Grace Community School in Tyler.

"I was about a mile and a half in, and I realized I had a good lead on the third person," Baker said. "I knew I could push it. I thought I could pass first, but with 400 meters left, I knew I would hold second."

Congratulations to Lauren Baker - 2nd place overall for TAPPS 5A as a freshman with a time of 12:02. #SBStogether pic.twitter.com/bIh2eMTXuT
— SecondBaptistSchoolAthletics (@SBS_Athletics) November 3, 2020

In the Top 10, Baker was one of just three freshmen to finish in that grouping and the only one to stand atop the podium.

"It feels unreal," Baker said. "I started cross country in middle school and I was in the Top 10, but I was not in the top three runners. This year I've progressed and worked hard to get here."

GAMES

RANKINGS

PREVIOUS HELMET STICKER SELECTIONS

- Week 1 (Sept. 24-27)- Week 2 (Oct. 1-3)- Week 3 (Oct. 8-10)- Week 4 (Oct. 15-17)- Week 5 (Oct. 22-24)- Week 6 (Oct. 29-31)- Week 7 (Nov. 3-5- Week 8 (Nov. 12-14)