Karr’s AJ Samuel named November Amateur Athlete of the Month

NEW ORLEANS – Anterious “AJ” Samuel, the star quarterback for Edna Karr High School, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for November. Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Samuel led the Cougars to a 4-1 month of November, which included the No. 2 seed in the LHSAA Class 4A state playoffs. The sophomore completed 48-of-78 (62%) of his passes for 829 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also ran for three scores during the month. He closed the month with a pair of exceptional games, throwing for five TDs in back-to-back wins – the first on Nov. 21 against Helen Cox in the regular-season finale and then second on Nov. 28 against Ellender in the first round of the state playoffs. Enda Karr, which is hoping for its fifth straight state championship in 2020, will play sixth-seeded Warren Easton on Friday night in the Class 4A state semifinals.

Samuel was selected for the honor over four other nominees.

– Dominican volleyball star Katie Baker was the MVP of the LHSAA Division I Volleyball Championship when she notched 23 assists and 14 digs in a 3-1 win over St. Joseph’s Academy. Earlier in the month, Baker had an impressive 37-assist performance in a 3-0 win over Chalmette to lift Dominican to the quarterfinals. Dominican finished the year with a 31-2 record.

– Jared Butler, a 6-3, 195-pound preseason All American, started off this season where he left off last year. The junior from Riverside Academy (Reserve, La.) averaged 16.3 points per outing in November (seventh-best in the Big 12). He was second in the conference in steals (2.7 per game) and also distributed four assist per game. Butler shot 48.8% from the field and ranked 13th in the conference in three-point percentage at 43.8%. His best outing was a 20-point, five-assist performance against Washington on November 29th.

– Xavier University of Louisiana basketball star Rayshawn Mart posted two exceptional November performances. The 6-3 guard from Houma scored 26 points to go with 10 rebounds and a career-best four blocks in a home victory over William Carey on Nov. 2 and then erupted for 31 points and nine rebounds in a Nov. 7 loss to city-rival Loyola. A preseason All-GCAC selection and a preseason first-team NAIA All-HBCU by Black College Sports Network, Mart was named the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Week for his two November games. However, XULA’s season was put on hold until January due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

– Nia Washington was the MVP of the LHSAA Division V Volleyball Championship as she tallied 19 kills, three aces and six digs to lead Country Day to a 3-0 win over McGehee. It was the fifth straight state title for the top-seeded Cajuns. Washington, a junior, had seven kills in the first 10 points of the third set for the Cajuns. She opened the state tournament on Nov. 4 with a dominating performance in a straight-set win over Southern Lab as she collected 22 kills, 18 digs and five aces. Country Day finished the season 23-9.

The Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee has been selecting an Amateur Athlete of the Month each month since 1957. The athlete must be a native of the greater New Orleans area or must compete for a team in the metropolitan region in order to be eligible.