The Mount Vernon News sports department’s 15th ATHLETE OF THE WEEK nominations continue the established procedure of spotlighting student-athletes’ skills and performances on the fields and courts of action.
Based on performances, we ask ADs, coaches and the community to nominate one boy and one girl from their athletic programs to compete against other schools’ nominations. We ask for a recap of their worthy performances and a picture. Please send your nominations to me, Mike Blake, MVN Sports Editor, at mike.blake@mountvernonnews.com. Make sure YOUR school is represented.
This week, we have four stellar performances on the hard court: two girls who fueled their teams’ victories and two boys who took control on the court.
FEMALE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Ella Proper
Danville trailed by five points entering the fourth quarter of its game against Mount Gilead. That is when Ella Proper went to work. The sophomore had already put up numbers in the second quarter when she hit for seven of Danville’s 10 points and kept the Blue Devils in the game and tied at halftime. In the deciding fourth quarter, Proper hit for 11 and assured the victory. Proper was game-high scorer with 22, converted eight of 10 free throws, made three steals and accounted for seven rebounds and two assists.
Danville coach Matt Proper said, “Ella helped us get the win against Mount Gilead by scoring 11 of her 22 points in the fourth quarter. She is one of our team leaders through her effort and attitude. She is also a leader in the classroom. She serves as the president of the sophomore class and ranks at the top of her class academically.”
Nevaeh Williams
Last Saturday, the Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets began their game against Lexington with a 13-2 run and never looked back. To make sure that Lexington never got into the game, Nevaeh Williams worked both ends of the court and put up a double-double to help fuel Mount Vernon’s 50-38 Ohio Cardinal Conference victory.
Williams’ stat line for the game included 11 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and four steals.
Jackets coach Nathan Short said, “Nevaeh is definitely a difference-maker. She’s power. She moves people around and gets position. She did a good job today finishing. She definitely was a difference-maker in our game against Lexington last Saturday. I really challenged the team to be the aggressors from the start, and Nevaeh was aggressive from the start and made great adjustments defensively in the second half to get that steals number to four in the game. It has been fun to watch Nevaeh's progress this season."
MALE ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Beau Bridges
Mount Vernon also got an inspiring performance on the boys team. Beau Bridges had two big games for the Yellow Jackets. On Dec. 14 in a thrilling 63-61 win over Wooster, Bridges took the game over with 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Three days later, as the Jackets polished off Mansfield Madison, 56-50, Bridges made his presence felt with a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds and handed off three assists as well.
Mount Vernon coach Nick Coon said, “Beau had a great week for our team in two conference wins. Beau has put a lot of work into becoming a good basketball player and is continuing to improve as a player and teammate each day. We are excited about Beau's growth for our basketball team as we keep moving forward this season.”
Elijah Chafin
A two-time nominee and ATHLETE OF THE WEEK for his Nov. 30 performance against Loudonville, Elijah Chafin of Mount Gilead scored 27 points in 31 minutes in the Dec. 17 victory over Danville, 68-57.
Chafin hit nine of 18 shots from the field, including going 7-for-13 from two-point range and 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. He also sank seven of eight from the foul line.
Chafin's dominating performance from start to finish spearheaded the victory. The Indians rode nine points by Chafin in the first to keep the game tied at 17-17. The Indians pulled away in the third as Chafin added seven for a 49-44 lead. Chafin closed it out with seven more in the fourth as the Indians tacked on 19 points to win by 12.
Mount Gilead coach Dan Strasser said, “Elijah is starting to play really well. He is slowing down a bit and letting the game come to him. This is helping his offensive efficiency and assist/turnover ratio. He loves basketball and it shows.”
Chafin followed up with a 28-point game against Cardington-Lincoln this week.
Congratulations to Ella Proper and Elijah Chafin on being named this week’s MOUNT VERNON NEWS ATHLETE of the WEEK. And congratulations to all of the nominees … you all deserve top honors and recognition for your leadership, skills and student-athlete performance.
