Mid-State Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances from Friday's football action (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
A Season-Best Effort from Alex Leugers Leads Franklin Community over Greenwood
On Friday, Franklin Community got the W thanks in part to Alex Leugers playing the best football he has all season. Leugers rushed for 338 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.5 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 64 yards.
Greenwood had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Leugers it was a similar story. Back in October of 2023 (the last time Leugers saw the Woodmen), he rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 82.30
Kasmir Hicks Has Career-Day on Friday
Kasmir Hicks posted a new career-high in rushing yards on Friday. He made two total tackles. He also made an appearance on special teams (luckily for Decatur Central): his a 46-yard strike wound up winning them the game.
The win was the fourth in a row for Decatur Central, bringing their record for this year to 5-2-1. Hicks and Decatur Central will challenge Franklin Community at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 39.53
Sadly, Allen Zupan posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Perry Meridian over Decatur Central on Friday. Zupan threw for 164 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 139 yards, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process.
On the season, Zupan has thrown 11 touchdowns while averaging 167.4 passing yards per game. That doesn't tell the whole story though: at this point last year, he was only averaging 0.13 rushing yards per game. This year he is averaging 50.75 rushing yards.
Gamescore: 36.93
Grady Gardner Turns in Another Game with at Least Seven Total Tackles
Martinsville was led to victory by Grady Gardner, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Gardner wasn't messing around, making seven total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defending three passes in addition to snagging three interceptions which he returned for a touchdown. The matchup was his third straight with seven or more total tackles dating back to last season.
The win for Martinsville keeps them at an undefeated 8-0. Gardner and Martinsville will challenge Plainfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 34.50
Byron Hon Delivers Best Effort of Season
On Friday, Perry Meridian had to settle for second even though Byron Hon put up the best numbers he has all season. Hon picked up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He is becoming a predictor of Perry Meridian's success: when he posts at least two receiving touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-4 when he doesn't).
For the year, Hon has caught 8 touchdowns while averaging 77.8 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had five receiving touchdowns.
Gamescore: 33.83
Other Notable Players
- Gunner Ruppert: 120 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 33.50)
- Trey Bennett: 45 yards rushing; 38 yards receiving, 1 TD (Gamescore: 32.70)
- Kaden Bruhn: 75 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 30.50)
- Clayton Ratliff: 19 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 24.50)
- Andre Watson: 2 sacks and 9 total tackles (3.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 23.00)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
