The Baton Rouge Advocate’s 33rd Star of Stars ceremony to honor high school athletes from across the Baton Rouge metro area was held May 21 at the Shaw Center for the Arts. Individual athletes and teams were selected as the best in their sports for the 2017-18 school year based on all-district, all-metro and all-state honors, performances at regional and state competitions, as well as recommendations of area coaches.
The West Feliciana football team was named as a finalist for team of the year honor based on a 14-1 record and 2017 Class 3A State Football Championship. The season featured 11 straight wins, including the title victory over Richwood. Ten seniors on the team signed letters of intent to play college football. Coach Rob Odom was present for the ceremony, saying it was, “A great honor for our team to be nominated.”
Senior quarterback Derek Turner was named the Star of Stars for football based on his Outstanding Offensive Player performance for Class 3A year on the all-metro team. Turner accounted for 2,445 yards of offense for the Saints with 1,049 rushing yards and 1,396 yards through the air. He also accounted for 35 touchdowns. “Derek is a class act on and off the field. Everyone sees the accolades but don’t know the work ethic, leadership and toughness he has,” Odom noted.