High school football season is officially BACK on the Gulf Coast, and the first week of the year brought some very exciting action to the area as teams got back on the field for the first time in eight months.
Every week during the season, Pigskin Pete and his crew on the Friday night postgame show select an athlete from one of the teams that we cover and name them the Bryant Bank Player of the Week for their outstanding performance and helping their team to get the victory.
This week, the postgame crew named Baker Hornets senior running back Jailen “Speedy” Wheeler to receive the first 2025 edition of the prestigious award.
Wheeler carried the ball 20 times for 184 yards and would score two touchdowns on the ground as well as a receiving score in Baker’s thrilling 42-31 win over the Theodore Bobcats. It was the head coaching debut for new Hornets HC Eric Scott, and he talked about how exciting Wheeler’s game is on WNSP on Monday morning.
“I told him to go prove it, and he certainly did,” Scott said of the nickname “Speedy”.
Now that Wheeler is in his senior year and with a new coaching staff, he is one of the most key factors to the offense being able to find their stride and get it done in a very difficult 7A Region 1.
The Hornets will be trying to de-throne the Mary G. Montgomery Vikings, who looked strong once again this year in their thrilling week one victory over Pace. Last year, it was an overtime 34-31 all-time game between the two which decided the region, so this year, games like this from Wheeler could go a long way towards Baker changing their luck.
The Hornets take on Alma Bryant next week as Wheeler tries to continue his hot hand and lead his team to a second straight victory and a tremendous start to region play.
