Jared May – Courier Player of the Week

Football runs in the family for Legacy Prep senior Jared May. Both of his older brothers played the game in high school, leaving footsteps for their younger sibling to follow in. But May is determined to make his own mark with the Lions this season, and he is a big part of the reason the team is currently 6-1.

The perfect example came this past Friday night as Legacy Prep rolled to a 34-7 home victory over Bay Area Christian. May led the charge, completing 12 of 22 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 81 yards on 11 carries and collected an interception from his safety position on defense.

“He’s an all-around athlete,” Legacy Prep coach Clint McDonald said on Monday afternoon before practice. “He plays safety for us, he’s played quarterback, he’s played receiver, running back, so he’s got the skill set to be able to do that, which helps us out as a coaching staff. That’s really neat to be able to coach a kid like that.”

May was selected as The Courier’s Player of the Week in an online poll, earning 54.9 percent of the votes. He beat out Montgomery running back Alex Nunn (38.7 percent), The Woodlands running back Bryeton Gilford (3 percent), Magnolia West running back Preston Deming (2.2 percent), Magnolia running back Anthony Johnson (0.5 percent), Oak Ridge linebacker D.J. Hurd (0.4 percent) and Porter linebacker Bradley Moore (0.3 percent) to win the honor.

The Lions have now won three consecutive games and will travel to face Lutheran North (3-4, 3-4) on Friday night. The only defeat for Legacy Prep this season came on the road against Cypress Christian, a 39-20 loss to the team currently at the top of the TAPPS District 6-3A standings with a flawless 7-0 record.

The Lions went to the second round of the playoffs last season and are looking for an even deeper run this time around.

“It’s been absolutely amazing, especially since it’s my senior year,” May said. “It’s different this year because I’ve had to become flexible, but it’s been so much fun. … We want to get this school its first state championship, and we want to go as deep as we can in the playoffs because this school has never done that before. We just want to make history.”

May has learned a great deal about the game from his two older brothers, Travis and Ryan. Travis is a sophomore defensive lineman for Texas Lutheran, while Ryan walked on as a linebacker at Sam Houston State after a standout high school career for Legacy Prep.

“Both of my older brothers were a lot bigger than me, and I learned a lot from them,” May said. “They were smart when they played football, and I’m glad I got to play with them. It’s unique that I’m playing by myself now, but it’s still just as much fun.”

When the Lions began the season, first-year head coach and athletic director Nash Murray was in charge of the program. But that all changed when Murray left his post at the onset of the season and McDonald took the reins. Despite the transition, the players have responded well.

“It’s been a weird year for us, but our kids have transitioned really well for us to go from Coach Murray and all of sudden to me,” McDonald said. “Of course I was already on the staff, but they’ve done a really good job of dealing with that.”

Perhaps the tougher challenge has been competing in a district loaded with talent. But the Lions have handled that obstacle with great success as well and appear ready to make some noise once the postseason commences.

“It’s probably one of the toughest districts there is,” May said. “It’s a tough ride, but we’ve done a great job of getting after it every week and keeping our players with good grades and keeping our players in good shape so we can keep playing ball games.”

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