Woodlands Church Athlete Of The Week: Parker Stephenson Provides A Needed Jolt To The Willis Offense

THE WOODLANDS – This past week, we saw some awesome performances around the district, with many players putting up incredible games. Many of the district's best have been on fire in recent games, including guys like Kaden Copelin, Julian Cromartie, and Bryson Bourn. Several players could’ve been chosen this week, but this week's Woodlands Church Athlete Of The Week goes to Willis Wildcat QB Parker Stephenson, who has been balling out these past few weeks.

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Coming into the season, it was going to be hard for Stephenson to see the field. Willis already had an established QB in Linc Frazier, but Stephenson finally got his shot last week against Oak Ridge. Stephenson joined the Wildkats last year, but complications caused him to miss most of the 2025 season. Entering his senior season, his brother, Preston Stephenson, had a clear role as the team's #2 WR, but for Parker, it looked like it would be hard to get on the field at QB, as Frazier looked to be the team's starting guy. Stephenson still saw the field as the team's punter, contributing however he could, but not as the main weapon on this offense.

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That all changed last week, as Stephenson stepped into the starting role for the Wildkats against the Oak Ridge War Eagles. In his inaugural game, Stephenson played brilliantly, going 17/25 for 256 passing yards and 5 TDs. He was a huge threat on the ground too, rushing for 126 yards and another TD, giving him 382 yards and 6 TDs of total offense on the night. It was a spark plug the Wildkats needed to stomp the War Eagles and get back into the win column in district play.

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This week, Stephenson got the start again, picking up where he left off last week as the Wildkats faced a struggling Cleveland team. He was brilliant again, going 10/14 for 288 yards and 4 TDs, nearly matching his performance last week. He hit multiple WRs throughout this game, with Trey Finney and his brother Preston being his top targets. He also got guys we haven't seen much of involved, with Deshaun Williams and Daylen Wilkerson having some of their best games of the season with Stephenson at the helm. Stephenson wasn’t much of a threat with his legs, though, as the QB let his RB Jamarcus Williams do most of the running in this game. It was a fantastic 2nd game for the senior QB, and we’ll see how this QB situation plays out through the rest of the season, as Willis now has 2 guys on the roster who can make a serious impact heading into this postseason push.

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With 2 starts under his belt, Stephenson now has some of the best stats we’ve seen from a QB this season in such a short time. He’s logged 567 total passing yards through these 2 weeks, while also throwing 10 total TDs with only 1 INT, all on a 71% completion rate. This TD total is only 1 behind Frazier, who started for most of the season, which is an incredible feat for the senior QB. Willis is pushing to get back into contention in the district, and with stats like this through 2 games, it's hard to see Stephenson not getting starts for the rest of the season. It might’ve been against teams like Cleveland and Oak Ridge, but Stephenson is finally making a name for himself, even though it looked like he might never see the field. His resilience and now-outstanding play have earned him Woodlands Church Athlete Of The Week honors.