OROVILLE – Oroville quarterback Luke Kindred’s performance against Lake Roosevelt two weeks ago earned him the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s Athlete of the Week award, the the high school association announced on Oct. 18.

The WIAA gives out the award to one boy and one girl in each classification each week. Kindred, a junior, joined Makena Schoene of Bear Creek as the class 2B honorees last week.

“When I first found out about the award, I was surprised,” Kindred said. “But it felt good to be noticed. It feels good to know that all the hard work we’ve been putting in as a team this year is paying off.”

His 84 yards and two rushing touchdowns, as well as 69 yards passing with a touchdown, led the Hornets to a 45-19 victory over the Raiders on Oct. 12. He was even better against a far superior opponent last Friday as he ran for 144 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown while passing for another as Oroville gave highly-regarded White Swan a scare in a 41-30 loss.

“I thought he played a nice game against LR,” said Oroville coach Tam Hutchinson. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell when you’ll get it or not. But I thought it encouraged him a bit, and he really took control of the game against White Swan and followed it up by playing extremely well.”

Kindred was the third Central Washington 2B League athlete to receive the award so far this year, but the first boy. The other recipients were Liberty Bell soccer player Tulie Budiselich and Bridgeport volleyballer Alex Martinez.

Kindred said his progress and the the team’s growth — with just three seniors on the roster – were a credit to Hutchinson.

“I think without Tam none of our success this season would be possible,” he said. “He has really pushed us to be our best. We’ve been playing with real heart this year, and that heart really showed in White Swan.

“Overall I’m just proud to be a Hornet.”