Sept. 27, 2004, 1:28AM

High School Week In Review

Boys athlete of the week

• Name: Scott Oswald.
• School: Clear Lake.
• Class: Senior.
• Notable: The quarterback rushed for a game-high 237 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Falcons defeated Pearland 35-27 and kept their record perfect at 5-0.
• Quotable: "We just knew how important this game was. We know that's a good team. But we just played very well together as a team."
— Clear Lake senior Scott Oswald
• Other nominees:
Marcus Jackson, Westside — The senior quarterback threw for 281 yards and seven touchdowns — all in the first half — of the Wolves' 55-0 win over Sam Houston. Jackson completed 18 of 22 pass attempts.

Kenneth Johnson, Wheatley — The junior wide receiver caught three passes for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the Wildcats' 20-14 win over No. 9-area ranked Kashmere.

Shane Jones, Klein — The junior defensive back grabbed three interceptions in the Bearkats' 28-7 win over Oak Ridge. The interceptions matched the total number Oak Ridge QB Trent Miller gave up in the previous three games.

Clint Leal, Kingwood — The junior linebacker had two blocked punts in the first quarter, recovering the first one in the end zone for a touchdown. He also set up the Mustangs' last TD with an interception in Kingwood's 31-0 win over Beaumont West Brook.

Chad Long, El Campo —The senior running back rushed for 274 yards on 12 carries with two touchdowns in the Ricebirds' 38-0 win over Calhoun.

Girls athlete of the week

• Name: Page Jones.
• School: Lamar Consolidated.
• Class: Junior.
• Notable: The 5-9 middle blocker had 26 kills, three solo blocks, nine service aces and 19 digs as Lamar Consolidated improved to 6-0 in District 24-4A with wins over Bay City and Brazosport. Jones' 17 kills against Bay City was a season high.
• Quotable: "She's been tremendous all season long. It's not always Page as the kill leader, but she's just a tremendous player for us all the way around. She's just a leader not always verbally, but through her actions."
— Lamar Consolidated volleyball coach Jackie Garcia-Rameau
• Other nominees:
Suzanne Childress, Katy — The senior outside hitter had a match-high 17 kills in each of the Tigers' District 19-5A wins over Elsik and Katy Taylor as Katy improved to 4-0 in district.

Kelc ee Keenan, Klein — The senior won the Klein Forest Invitational with a time of 11 minutes, 58 seconds in the two-mile race.

Sarah Olson, Humble — The senior middle blocker had 32 kills in wins over Spring and Baytown Lee as the Wildcats improved to 5-0 in District 22-5A.

Elizabeth Slaughter, Willis — The junior won the Wildkat Invitational with a time of 11:54, beating out Klein Oak's Kinze Arnst and Humble's Christy Citizen in the two-mile race.

Cheryl Spring, The Woodlands — The junior was the area's top finisher in the Nike South Invitational Elite division. Spring finished the 5K race in 18:45 for third place behind two Southlake Carroll runners.

Notes

• Welcome break — It didn't take long for Katy to realize it hadn't lost a step after last week's open date.
The Tigers routed Strake Jesuit 38-7 on Saturday — two weeks since beating Humble 36-16 — and knew their break only served as a refresher for the rest of the year.

"No one usually likes having to take time off coming off a big win," Katy coach Gary Joseph said. "I think the open date came at the best time in our schedule that it could. Because once district play starts, you don't want to stop. So that break wasn't a problem."

• Making strides — James Cooper's interception, his first of the season, in the second quarter of Washington's win over Worthing didn't go unnoticed. Although the War Eagles were preoccupied trying to hold on to their 21-20 lead as the Colts battled their way to the five-yard line with just 20 seconds left in the game, it was clear the junior's defensive efforts were key to Washington's first district win.
"We stepped up the defense on plays where that was critical," Washington coach Joel North said. "It helped that we came up big when it was needed. And we like the end result."

• Total understanding — When former Ball coach Paul Lanier assumed the role of offensive coordinator at Clear Lake before the 2003 season, he installed the spread option, which this year has become virtually unstoppable.
"When the kids understand who they have and what they're doing," Clear Lake coach Troy Aduddell said, "it makes for a better time and play."

That offense racked up over 350 yards in a 35-27 win over Pearland in a District 24-5A opener for both teams. Last season's district offensive MVP Scott Oswald, Lake's quarterback, said today's success could not be envisioned.

"We had no idea how good we'd be," said Oswald, who scored three touchdowns in the win over Pearland. "All we knew was that we had athletes. Coach Lanier is one of the best coaches I've had."

EMILY DAVIS
and NIKI HERBERT