It is fitting that
Archbishop Rummel (Metairie, La.) quarterback
Damian Williams should be the only double winner of the New Orleans Capital One Bank High Yield Student Athlete of the Week award.
After all, it was Williams' senior leadership and astute field presence that helped Rummel beat Barbe (Lake Charles), 35-14, in last week's Class 5A state championship game.
Damian Williams, Archbishop Rummel
Courtesy photo
Not only did it represent the first state football title in school history, but it capped a remarkable 14-0 season. It also came three years after Rummel made its first-ever championship game appearance.
Rummel, and Williams as an over-matched starting freshman quarterback, fell to West Monroe in that game, 30-0.
Their return to the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans gave the Raiders and Williams an opportunity to show just how far they've come.
Williams accumulated 245 all-purpose yards while rushing for 52 yards and completing 11 of 13 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns. He was named the game's Outstanding Player.
Williams engineered three fourth-quarter scoring drives that allowed the Raiders to overcome a 14-13 deficit.
Keith Fulton provided the short touchdown bursts with Williams tossing a two-point conversion pass after the first one.
"On Monday (before the game), I told him he would have to play like an MVP, and he did," said Rummel veteran coach Jay Roth, who played on the Raiders' first regular-season undefeated team in 1980. "Every time we had play-action, he was on the money."
Williams' performance earned him his second SAOW honor despite state championships for two other New Orleans-area teams that also finished 14-0.
Karr (New Orleans), playing in its its third consecutive Class 4A title game, finally won after two runner-up finishes with a 29-22 victory over Neville (Monroe, La.). It was the second state title in school history and the first since 1993.
John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) upended rival Evangel (Shreveport, La.), 35-13, for the Class 2A title and the 25th state championship in school history.
Yet, there was no one more appreciative of his team's accomplishment than Roth, whose players were quick to congratulate their coach after delighting many in the crowd of 32,740.
"One of the former Rummel players spoke to the team before the game and said, ‘You have a chance to become the first great team in Rummel history,'" Roth said. "That meant a lot to them''
Williams was quick to make an impact by directing a 13-play, 99-yard drive that ended with his 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver
Steven Dunbar at 1:04 of the first quarter.
The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Williams completed all four of his passes for 61 yards during the march that opened the game's scoring. He also gained the necessary yard on fourth-and-1 from the Barbe 13-yard line.
Barbe answered with a touchdown of its own, but Williams wasted no time in putting Rummel on the move again Another 12-yard touchdown pass, this time to tight end
Cethan Carter, completed a 10-play, 82-yard drive in 5:59.
Barbe grabbed a short-lived, second-half lead, but Williams responded as the award-winning player he is.
