Honorable mention
Christian Bell, Soddy-Daisy: The senior scored three touchdowns for the third straight week, rushing for a season-best 245 yards in a victory over Cleveland.Alex Darras, Notre Dame: The senior quarterback bounced back from a disappointing game at Tyner by completing 20 of 26 passes for 254 yards and three touchdowns while also completing a 2-point conversion pass and kicking four extra points.Caleb O’Neal, Gordon Lee: The dual-threat quarterback ran 20 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns and also completed 6 of 11 passes for 115 yards and another score in a win over LaFayette.Coaches are invited to nominate players by emailing Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com by 2 p.m. each Saturday.
Knowing how badly his team needed a win, Tra Stamper took matters into his own hands. Literally.
Once the Red Bank senior defensive end began getting his hands on Howard ball carriers, good things happened for the Lions, who went on to claim their first win of the season, 28-12 at home on Friday.
The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Stamper took over and helped the Lions control the game, making 12 tackles and three sacks, forcing three fumbles and recovering one of those in the Region 3-3A victory. That defensive effort earned Stamper this week's Waffle House All-Star player of the week honor, as selected by the Times Free Press sports staff.
"He's our tone-setter on defense," Lions coach Chad Grabowski said after the game. "To get him going that early in the game, it really helped the whole defense. The defense was stout all night and didn't allow (Howard) to do a whole lot of anything. We needed a win to get going, and getting a win in our first region game definitely helps."
Led by Stamper, Red Bank's defense limited the Hustlin' Tigers to 93 yards of total offense, including just 45 rushing yards on 41 carries. The Lions forced six turnovers.
Stamper set the tone for his big night right away by making a tackle for loss and stuffing a run for no gain on Howard's game-opening possession. Later, his sack and forced fumble deep in Howard territory set up the Lions' first score.
Just before halftime, with Howard trying to close to within one touchdown, it was Stamper who again came up with a game-altering play. With 4 seconds left in the first half, Howard, trailing 21-6, had the ball on the Lions' 1-yard line. On the final play of the half, Stamper got into the backfield to force a fumble, snuffing out the scoring threat and giving his team momentum heading into halftime.
"I could see our crowd and our sideline getting pumped up after those first three plays," said Stamper, a member of this year's Times Free Press Dynamite Dozen who began his varsity career with 13 tackles and three sacks in his first start as a sophomore.
"They (Howard) knew we weren't going to make it easy for them, especially at the end of the half on the goal line. It feels good to get our first win."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.