THE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AWARD RETURNS TONIGHT, AND WITH IT COMES OUR FIRST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK NOMINATION FROM OUR WEBSITE, MYVICTORIAONLINE.COM. IN THIS CASE THE E-MAIL CONFIRMED MY CHOICE.

IT'S JUST THE LATEST HONOR THAT CALHOUN QUARTERBACK JAMES EZZELL HAS EARNED THE PAST WEEK.

EZZELL GARNERED TEXAS FOOTBALL CLASSIC MVP HONORS AFTER RUSHING FOR 133 YARDS AND THREE TD'S IN THE SANDCRABS WIN OVER MERCEDES.

"My linemen did great", said Ezzell. "They got all their blocks every play, they executed everything well and we just read the offense. Did you figure you would score and gain as many yards as easily as you did? No sir. We thought it'd be pretty tough, but we practiced as hard as we could that week. We were pretty focused and ready for that game."
"James did a great job", said head coach Richard Whitaker. "Running the option is really tough. I don't know if people realize there are a lot of split-second decisions being made on most every play that we run. His grade was probably around 90 percent and that's because he made the right decisions most of the time. That's what makes this offense go. He had a big game, and for an opening game that was tremendous, especially in that atmosphere. This is his second year as your starting quarterback. How much has he grown in that role? A great deal. The game slows down for kids that have experience under center. For a kid that steps in and has never played that position at the varsity level, things happen so fast sometimes you miss those reads. For a kid that gets that experience, things just slow down a little bit for you and you start recognizing even pre-snap before the ball is snapped. You'll be reading and pitching, and James has really grown into that. I feel a lot better about it because I know I don't have to sit there and worry about losing my spot as much as I did last year. I worked a lot harder this year because I'm a senior and I have to show examples. I'm ready and I'm excited about this year."

THE SANDCRABS' HOME OPENER IS FRIDAY NIGHT AGAINST BRAZOSPORT, COACH WHITAKER TELLS ME TICKETS ARE GOING FAST.

I PLAN TO BE THERE TO JOIN CRAB NATION, THEN BRING BACK THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR FRIDAY FOOTBALL FEVER, 10:20 FRIDAY NIGHT.