Rivers shines as MVP in Birmingham Bowl victory

Former Beaumont United standout Chandler Rivers was named the Birmingham Bowl MVP after he and the Duke Blue Devils beat Troy, 17-10, on Dec. 23 in Birmingham, Alabama.

Rivers, a sophomore, finished with five tackles (two for a loss), three pass breakups and one quarterback hurry. His three pass breakups rank second all-time in Duke’s bowl records.

Texas Tech freshman Amier Washington helped the Red Raiders defeat California, 34-14, in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 16 in Shreveport, Louisiana. Washington, who graduated from LCM and was The Examiner’s coverboy on the 2022 Southeast Texas High School Football magazine, had four tackles for a loss, three sacks and one forced fumble in the game.