StM News

Harlem Berry '25, St. Martin's running back and one of the top-rated high school football players in the nation, has been selected as the Greater New Orleans Amateur Athlete of the Month for September. Monthly award-winners are selected by the Greater New Orleans Sports Awards Committee, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. He’s the first St. Martin’s Episcopal athlete to win the honor in over 25 years.

Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month

During the month of September, Berry was instrumental in the Saints posting a 4-0 record. Offensively, the 5-11, 185-pounder rushed 64 times for 805 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 199 yards per game and 12.4 yards per carry. He also caught 10 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns and returned a punt 52 yards for a score, giving him a total of 19 touchdowns in the four games. Berry also completed his only pass attempt for 50 yards. Defensively, Berry had 10 tackles, including a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Following his Sept. 15 performance in a 58-28 win over Riverdale, Berry was recognized as the area Player of the Week by the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club, Crescent City Sports, NASH ICON 106.1, and Friday Night Football after running 16 times for 221 yards and five touchdowns, catching three passes for 106 yards and two scores; and recording five tackles with a forced fumble. He tallied 231 rushing yards in a 42-17 win over Pope John Paul II, 228 yards in a 24-21 win over The Willow School, and 115 (on just seven carries) in a 53-7 win over Ben Franklin.

“In all my years, I have never coached or seen a better player than Harlem,” St. Martin’s coach Kevin Dizer said. “He was brilliant. We do not win the game or games without him.”

Berry was selected for the honor over three other local stars:

• Eli Friend led Newman Football to a 4-0 record in September, including victories over Hahnville, Riverside, Benton and Many. Overall, Friend completed 50-of-74 passes (67.5%) for 910 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception while rushing 28 times for 264 yards (9.4 avg.) and five touchdowns. Friend, who is coached by Nelson Stewart, went over 200 yards in three of the four victories while accounting for 16 total touchdowns.
• Gustavo Oliveira led Xavier University of Louisiana’s first-year men’s soccer program to a perfect 6-0 September. The junior forward tallied a team-best seven goals -- half of Xavier's September goal total – including three game-winning goals, as well as one assist. He scored two goals apiece in victories against Southwest (N.M.) and Texas A&M-Texarkana. The first-year intercollegiate program is currently 7-2 on the season and tied for first place in the Red River Athletic Conference.
• Mt. Carmel’s Catalina Reichard established herself as the top girls’ cross-country runner in New Orleans and one of the best in the state with an exceptional September. The junior closed the month with her best performance, posting a time of 17:23.8 on the 3-mile course at Highland Road Park to win the St. Joseph’s Academy Invitational against a strong field on Sept. 30. Reichard also won the Mount Carmel Cub Run on Sept. 23 at City Park with a 3-mile time of 18:12 and the Episcopal Roundtable Run on Sept. 9, also at Highland Road Park. Reichard had opened the month with a second-place effort at the Mobile Cross Country Challenge of Champions at Langan Park in Mobile with a time of 19:00.26 in the 5,000-meter run on Sept. 2.

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.

Recent Greater New Orleans Amateur Athletes of the Month:

2023

September      Harlem Berry                                Football                                      St. Martin’s Episcopal

August              Kyron Bussey                                Track & Field                             S.A.C.S. Track & Field Club

July                    Olivia Pierce                                  Gymnastics                               Dominican High School

June                   Cade Beloso                                  Baseball                                      LSU

May                   Kali Magana                                  Track & Field                             Louise S. McGehee School

April                   Giancarlo Arencibia                   Baseball                                      Archbishop Rummel High School

March               Ellie Schneider                             Softball                                       Metairie Park Country Day School

February          Spencer Lanosga                         Wrestling                                   Jesuit High School

January            Kameron Johnson                      Basketball                                  Archbishop Shaw High School

2022

December        D’Wanye’ Winfield                     Football                                      Lutcher High School

November       Tyjae Spears                                 Football                                      Tulane University

October            Michael Pratt                               Football                                      Tulane University

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 103 Hall of Fame players, 52 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 89-year history. The 90th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2024. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting nearly $2.4 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit allstatesugarbowl.org.

-www.AllstateSugarBowl.org-