ST. ANDREW’S JOHN WILLIAM WALKER EARNS JUNCTION DELI METRO JACKSON FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

By Robert Wilson

John William Walker helped St. Andrew’s to the MHSAA Class 2A state baseball championship this past spring, the first state baseball title since 2018 and second one in 39 years.

Now, Walker is doing his best to help the Saints’ football program reach new heights, and last week he had his best game of the season in one of the biggest wins in many years.

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound junior wide receiver-safety-kicker had seven catches for a career-high 183 yards and four touchdowns, had five tackles, an interception and pass deflection, to lead St. Andrew’s to a 32-27 victory over Puckett in a huge Class 2A, Region 6 game at St. Andrew’s in Ridgeland.

For his outstanding performance, Walker has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Football Player of the Week.

Walker was the starting second baseman and had a team-high .412 batting average and helped St. Andrews to a 32-7 record (one short of the school record for wins) and its sixth state title in school history.

Now, he’s helping the Saints on the football field.

Walker made big play after big play Friday against Puckett, especially in the first half. He caught a 70-yard TD pass from Will Crowder on the first play of the game. Then Walker caught a 24-yard TD pass from Crowder with 8 minutes, 33 seconds to play in the first quarter. He caught TD passes from Crowder of 8 yards and 38 yards, the last one with 1:06 to play before halftime to give St. Andrew’s a 26-21 lead. Walker had five catches for 167 yards in the first half.

Walker intercepted a Puckett pass at the St. Andrew’s 10 with nine minutes to play in the game.

He also replaced injured starting kicker Drew McDonald and kicked off Friday night.

With the win, St. Andrew’s has won more games (five) than it did last year (four) and tied for the most wins since 2015 when it finished 6-5.

Walker has caught 30 passes for 674 yards and 10 TDs and has 17 tackles, four interceptions for 123 yards and one TD with one pass breakup and one fumble recovery this season.

“John stepped up when we needed him most,” first-year St. Andrew’s coach Channing Ward said. “His focus and energy were on another level, and he played a huge role in securing this win for us.

“John’s been consistent all season, but what stands out is his growth as a leader on the field. He gives everything for the team, and his hard work is paying off in a big way. John is the kind of player who makes everyone around him better. He’s got a winning mentality, and it’s contagious. He’s been a key to our success this season.”

Walker caught 47 passes for 620 yards and five TDs and had 21 tackles and one interception last season as a sophomore. He had a career-high 185 receiving yards against Pisgah.

Walker is the son of Tom and Crissie Walker. Tom played baseball at Forest High and graduated from Mississippi State with a law degree from Ole Miss. Crissie was a cheerleader at Lake High and graduated from the Mississippi University for Women. His brother Friend played football and baseball at St. Andrew’s and is now a freshman at Mississippi College. Friend was the starting third baseman and pitched on last year’s state championship team. Walker’s uncle, Jason Wooten, played baseball at Lake and East Central Community College.

St. Andrew’s, 5-3 overall and 2-1 in region play, plays at Raleigh, 7-1 overall and 2-0 in region play, in a region game Friday at Raleigh.

Mississippi Scoreboard selects a football player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.