HomeTeam Hot Shots
A spotlight on the Times’ bay area players of the week
Male Hot Shot: Willie Barrett, Anclote
Sport: Football
Skinny: One of Tampa Bay’s leading rushers showed versatility in last week’s Class 5A, District 6 tiebreaker. In two must-win, one-quarter contests, Barrett dominated both sides of the ball. The 6-foot junior recovered a fumble against Zephyrhills that set up a field goal that gave the Sharks a lead with two minutes left. He intercepted a pass in the game’s closing seconds and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown to seal the first win. The bruising Division-I prospect finished the two quarters with 105 rushing yards and touched the ball on 23 of Anclote’s 33 offensive plays to help the Sharks clinch their first playoff appearance in program history.
Female Hot Shot: Briannah Nemetz, Fivay
Sport: Volleyball
Skinny: The Falcons were down 2-0 and fading in last week’s Class 5A region semifinal against rival Ridgewood before Nemetz helped spark Fivay. She recorded five kills in a crucial stretch to help the Falcons get back into the match and come back for a five-game victory. The junior outside hitter finished the contest with a team-high 21 kills to go with two aces and 24 digs and led Fivay to its first ever region final appearance. Nemetz is one of the North Suncoast’s leaders in kills (274) and digs (372) on a team that lost to Bartram Trail in Saturday’s region finals.
Voting results
Briannah Nemetz, Fivay volleyball 529 36.685%
Willie Barrett, Anclote football 323 22.399%
Clare Fleming, Holy Names swimming 238 16.505%
Aaron Banks, Plant football 83 5.756%
Kendra Secrest, River Ridge soccer 65 4.508%
Shelby Younger, East Lake volleyball 65 4.508%
Ryan McRae, Palm Harbor University swimming 42 2.913%
Jordan Harris, River Ridge football 31 2.15%
John Nolte, Robinson swimming 27 1.872%
Sydney Pickrem, East Lake swimming 15 1.04%
Maddie Hess, Newsome swimming 14 0.971%
Tristan Sanders, Palm Harbor University swimming 10 0.693%
Total: 1442 votes