Introducing our WXXV Student Athlete of the Week, West Harrison’s Jordan Stapleton!

This past Friday night, the West Harrison Hurricanes defeated a gritty St. Martin Yellow Jacket team with a final score of 26-21. Not only was it their first regional win in class 7A, it’s also the first time in school history that West Harrison is entering week six undefeated.

“Starting off 5-0 feels great,” said Senior running back Jordan Stapleton. “God made us wait and now He’s blessing us and this team. I’m glad it’s my class doing it because it’s really a new West Harrison. Coach Patrick has done a great job with us. From now on until as long as Coach Pat is here, West Harrison is going to be different. I feel like it’s going to be a powerhouse for here on out and I feel like our class is starting it.”

Head Coach Quincy Patrick has truly turned the program around, he’s done it with the help of his running back room made up of Jordan Stapleton, Sean Fairley, and Austin McInnis.

“We’re really close. Our chemistry is unmatched. Last year Sean played with us and Austin was at corner, so this is our first year together, but I feel like this is the best running back ground West Harrison has probably ever seen. We run off of each other. If I see Austin do something, then I’ve got to match it. If Sean does something then I want to match him. They’re the same way too, and we’ve got to block for each other, so we try to block our butts off for each other. We also just want to lead the team,” Stapleton said. “We feel like the offense flows through us, but all shoutout to the offensive line because we couldn’t do it without them. We set the intensity. You’ve got to worry about everything this year. You have to worry about me getting the ball, Austin getting the ball, Sean getting the ball, we’ve got a great quarterback, and we’re feeling good about our offense. Our defense has been balling out too, so we feel good about the season.”

If you had senior Jordan Stapleton in the backfield, you’d feel pretty good about the season too. As a junior last year, he broke West Harrison’s rushing yard and total touchdown record of over 2,000 yards and 26 touchdowns. Now in his senior season and fourth year starting varsity, Stapleton has 830 rushing yards,12 touchdowns, and averages over 10 yards per carry after only five games. 

The recently named Bernard Blackwell All-Star says what motivates him on the field and through life is his faith and his family.

“I play for God’s glory. He blessed me with my abilities, so why not show it,” said Stapleton. “I also play for my family. I don’t want my mom to pay a dime for college, and my little brother plays football, so I want him to feel my shoes. I just play for my family because they’ve been with me ever since I was five years old when I started playing the sport, so I play for them week in and week out.”

With big motivation comes big dreams. Stapleton plans to suit up and play on the gridiron as long as he’s able.

“The goal is to go all the way to the league but right now I’m trying to worry about where I’m at. Right now the goal is to go 1-0 every week, make the playoffs then the State Championship and then have free college. I don’t want my mom to pay anything, go Division I. I just want to live out my dreams and see how far football can take me.”

The next step towards obtaining that division title and going to the playoffs is welcoming the also undefeated Warriors from D’Iberville. What an absolute showdown that will be this Friday night!