Sequoyah Grad Earns MVP

TAHLEQUAH, Okla.—For Sequoyah graduate Matt Billy, his high school football career may have ended, but his time on the field has just begun.  Billy earned the most valuable defensive player award in the Native American All-Star game this summer in Spokane, Washington, making him the first Sequoyah graduate to receive this honor. 

            According the organization’s Web site, www.nativeallstar.com, Billy was an instrumental force in helping his team win the game by playing outstanding defense and not allowing the opposing team to score. 

            “Matt is a hard worker and he has earned his title as an all-star,” said Brent Scott, Sequoyah Schools’ head football coach.  “I am very proud of him and all that he has accomplished.  Football has been good for him. It’s helped him earned awards and now it’s helping him go on to college.”

            Billy is also Sequoyah’s first football All-State player to actually play in the All-State game. 

            “We’ve had several other kids earn the All-State title, but none of them have ever actually been able to play in the game, so this is a first for us.  Hopefully, a first of many.” 

            Billy, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation from McAlester, Oklahoma, will continue his football career at Haskell University this fall. 

Sequoyah Schools, a boarding school for Native American students, originated in 1871 as an orphan asylum to care for children who were orphaned by the Civil War.  Now known as Sequoyah Schools, it is named for Sequoyah, the scholar who developed the Cherokee syllabary. The school is regionally and state accredited for grades 7-12 and has become the school of choice for more than 400 Native American students every year.  Sequoyah Schools is located five miles southwest of Tahlequah, Okla.  For more information call (918) 453-5400 or visit the Sequoyah Schools’ Web site at http://sequoyah.cherokee.org.