Monday, May 23, 2016 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas Sun Standout Awards
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Gerald Pentsil win inaugaral award to cap storied Eldorado career
- Sun Standout Award: Bishop Gorman High School football team
- Game of the Year: Chaparral High School football vs. Faith Lutheran
- Rising star: Undefeated wrestler Ty Smith best underclassman
- Team of the Year: Centennial High girls basketball team
- Female Student-athlete of the Year: Guadalupe Gomez-Navarro
- Female Athlete of the Year: Boulder City's Jeanne Carmell passes her way to award
- Male Athlete of the Year: Nick Quintana had 15 home runs in 89 at-bats for Arbor View
- Male Student-athlete of the Year: Christian Ong
- Moment of the Year: Desert Oasis team manager makes most of playing time
- Coach of the Year: Clark's Chad Beeten had the winning game plan
- Support Staff of the Year: Tony Betka's work behind the scenes gets athletes to games
Boulder City’s Jeanne Carmell is the best player in the four-year history of high school flag football in Nevada. The proof is in her statistics, as Carmell threw for 2,622 more yards and 35 more touchdowns than any other quarterback in Division 1A this season.
And if that’s not enough to convince you, listen to her coach.
“I’ve been the coach in this league since it’s started, and she is far and away the best player I’ve ever seen,” said coach Chris Morelli, who also coaches the Boulder City boys football team. “She’s got one of the strongest arms I’ve seen.”
The Eagles couldn’t play Carmell at quarterback during her freshman year because they didn’t have any receivers who could handle the velocity of her passes. She can heave as far as 45 yards.
But during Carmell’s sophomore year, classmates like Oshanna Remy and Paige Buettner got more comfortable catching her passes, while underclassmen lke Kenadee Bailey and Aimee Finn also proved capable targets.
In the last three seasons with her at the helm, Boulder City finished 63-1 with back-to-back state championships.
“She has changed the whole dynamic of the game,” Morelli said. “Not having a quarterback in this league makes you one-dimensional, and having Jeanne created havoc for teams. We could spread the ball around.”
Carmell threw for 5,321 yards and 66 touchdowns with only three interceptions in her senior season. She also ran for 1,539 yards and 23 more touchdowns on the ground, and intercepted five passes on defense.
“She changed the way a lot of coaches had to coach against us,” Morelli said. “No other quarterback can throw like Jeanne, so defenses would have to push their secondary back 10 or 15 yards further than normal and play completely different from every other game.”
Carmell also plays soccer and softball at Boulder City, but says she’ll play football if she decides to keep competing in sports.
Female Athlete of the Year finalists
• Katherine Ballou, soccer, Foothill: Scored 43 goals this season to surpass 100 for her career. Committed to UNLV.
• Taylor Kornieck, soccer, Coronado: Committed to Colorado after scoring 54 goals.
• Sam Thomas, basketball, Centennial: Averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game on the Team of the Year.
• Cali Thompson, volleyball, Coronado: Helped win a third straight state championship with a Nevada-best 1,262 assists. Signed to attend Portland.
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