Kyle Poynter made a big splash in three sports. Erica Keeney was strong in two.
The duo was recognized for their performances in multiple sports Saturday night when they were named the male and female players of the year at the second annual HHS sports banquet.
Bud Evans, a volunteer coach with the baseball and basketball programs, received the Larry Southern Award.
More than 225 people attended the event inside Hiett Gymnasium, which was presented by the Houston Tiger Booster Club. The evening featured a catered meal and video presentation of the year in photos.
Poynter, a junior transfer from Lebanon, earned all-state honors as a kick returner in football, led the basketball team in nearly every statistical category en route to all-conference and all-district honors and is currently the leading hitter and top pitcher for the baseball team.
Poynter, who missed the first three games of the football season before becoming eligible, had 636 receiving yards and nine touchdowns.
He was even better in basketball, leading the Tigers in scoring (23.5), rebounds (8.2) and assists (1.5). He was named the team’s MVP at the banquet.
On the baseball field, Poynter is hitting .500 through 17 games with team highs of three home runs and 23 RBIs. He’s also 4-1 on the mound with a 1.31 ERA.
Keeney, a sophomore, was the only female HHS athlete to receive individual honors in multiple sports. She was named second team all-district as the team’s leading hitter and was the second-leading rebounder and third-leading scorer on the basketball team en route to honorable mention all-conference recognition.
Keeney led the Lady Tigers volleyball team with 120 kills and 67 blocks. She also had 98 digs and 14 aces.
In basketball, Keeney 9.4 points on 58-percent shooting and grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game.
The players of the year were selected by board members of the booster club from a list of nominees from each sport.
Male nominees were: Martin Crawford and Ty Scheets, football; Poynter and Scheets, basketball; Poynter and Caleb Smith, baseball; Dustin Blackburn, golf; Michael Shea, tennis; and Kyle Jones, track.
Female nominees were: Keeney and Sarah Pierce, volleyball; Holly Thomas and Keeney, basketball; Paula Chernowsky and Bethany Korte, softball; Megan Graeff, tennis; and Danielle Pounds, track.
Evans was the first-ever recipient of the Larry Southern Award, which honors an individual’s “dedicated support of Houston athletics.” He was presented the award by HHS basketball and baseball coach Brent Hall and the family of Southern, who died in January.