MaxPreps Ohio High School Athlete of the Week Award: Vote Now

By Eric Frantz Oct 3, 2023, 7:00am

Who turned in Ohio's top prep performances? You vote, you decide.

Who had Ohio's best individual performances? You vote, you decide. MaxPreps is proud to again sponsor the Ohio Athlete of the Week awards during the 2023-24 school year.

~ Each week during the season, there will be a fan-generated contest to tab weekly winners. 

~ Each winner receives a digital award patch for their MaxPreps player page. 

How does it work?

Nominees are selected from statistics submitted on MaxPreps. Coaches who do not have current access may request their free account here. Weekly finalists are released on MaxPreps every Tuesday and voting is conducted in a special poll. Voting ceases at noon on Mondays. The winners are announced the next day along with the next week's nominees.

Participants may vote as many times as they want. It's a competition. This past week, over 270,000 votes were cast! So far this school year 2-million votes have been cast.

Week 6 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Jordan Frantz, Bellbrook Girls Soccer
Junior goalkeeper became the second girl in SWBL history and 43rd girl in state history to surpass 500 career saves with 13 in a 1-1 tie against Lakota East. Followed that with back-to-back shutouts in wins over Edgewood and Miamisburg. Her 508 career saves currently ranks 41st in Ohio history.
 
* Peyton Jackson, Fairland (Proctorville) Football
Senior completed 14-of-22 passes for 363 yards and five TDs in a 40-35 win over Gallia Academy. Has thrown for 1,354 yards and 18 TDs this season.
 
* Andrew Rusnak, Madison Boys Soccer
Senior had seven goals and three assists in a 15-0 win over Lakeside and five goals and an assist in a 13-1 win over Conneaut. Has 26 goals and eight assists this season.

Here is the school year's next round of nominees...

Week 7 Ohio High School Athlete of the Week Nominees

* Xavier Mccord and Dylan Boecker, Holgate Football
Senior tandem hooked up for six TDs in an 80-20 win over Stryker. McCord completed 8-of-15 passes for 72 yards and six TDs and carried the ball 10 times for 145 yards and two TDs. Boecker, a receiver, caught six passes for 53 yards and six TDs. He also had five tackles and an interception on defense. The six TD receptions ties the state record, which is shared by seven players.
 
* Danny Blair, Fairfield Christian Academy (Lancaster) Football
Junior carried the ball 39 times for 466 yards and six TDs in a 61-58 win over Bishop Rosecrans. Averaged 11.9 yards per carry and had a. long of 95 yards.
 
* Rilynn Jones, Allen East (Harrod) Girls Soccer
Junior had six goals and two assists in a 9-2 win over Crestview and three goals and two assists in a 12-0 win over Lima Central Catholic. She has 77 points (33 goals and 11 assists) this season.
 
* Brendan Bernath, Bishop Rosecrans (Zanesville) Football
Senior completed 26-of-52 passes for 479 yards and six TDs in a 61-58 loss to Fairfield Christian Academy. Has thrown for 1,512 yards and 17 TDs this season.
 
* Taylor Karcher, Marietta Volleyball
Junior had 61 assists in a 3-2 loss to Fort Frye and 40 in a 3-0 win over Gallia Academy. She has 543 assists this season and went over 1,000-career assists and 400-career digs earlier this year.
 
* Austin Buescher, West Jefferson Football
Sophomore completed 22-of-42 passes for 396 yards and seven TDs in a 62-47 win over West Liberty-Salem. Has thrown for 2,223 yards and 25 TDs this season.
 
* Lexi Grissett, Alexander (Albany) Volleyball
Senior had 26, 23 and 22 kills last week in matches against Logan, Vinton County and River Valley. She has 309 kills this season (ranks 16th in Ohio) and 1,071 for her career.
 
* Zander Yoho, Keystone (La Grange) Boys Soccer
Senior had five goals and an assist in a 6-3 win over Wellington. Has 25 goals, six assists and 56 points this season.


Previous Winners

Week 1 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Julian Patti, Rocky River Football
Senior completed 22-of-33 passes for 421 yards and five TDs in a 55-42 win over Harvey.
 
* Karlee Plozay, Bethel (Tipp City) Volleyball
Senior had 28 kills and 24 digs in a 3-2 win over Dayton Christian.

Week 2 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Josh Biery, LaBrae (Leavittsburg) Boys Soccer
Junior became the 17th player in state history to score eight goals or more in a game when he had eight goals and an assist in a 14-0 win over Garfield Heights.
 
* Mansour M'baye, Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland) Boys Soccer
Senior started the season with five hat tricks or better en route to scoring an Ohio-leading 21 goals in wins over Cornerstone Christian, Euclid, Cuyahoga Heights, Brush and Brookside. His 45 points ranks No. 1 in the state as well.

Week 3 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Demico Harris, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place Football
Junior carried the ball 26 times for 306 yards and three TDs in a 40-20 win over Shroder Paideia Academy. Through three games he has 79 carries for 856 yards and 11 TDs.
 
* Dylan Smith, Norwayne (Creston) Football
Junior caught six passes for 147 yards and a TD and had three interceptions, one of which he returned for a TD, in a 38-25 win over Heath.

Week 4 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Korbin Johnston, Kenton Football
Junior completed 45-of-57 passes for 470 yards and four TDs and carried the ball 30 times for 208 yards and two TDs in 38-34 win over Bath. Connected with receiver Grady Kleman-Beazley as time expired for 55-yard game-winning score.
 
* Janiaus Hall, Lima Senior Football
Sophomore completed 25-of-40 passes for 438 yards and five TDs in a 45-14 win over Northview. Has thrown for 1,176 yards and nine TDs this season.
 
* Max Hagans, Wheelersburg Boys Soccer
Senior ran his string of hat tricks to four with three goals and two assists in a 6-0 win over Lucasville Valley and four goals in a 7-1 win over Fairland. Has 20 goals and six assists in seven games.

Week 5 Ohio High School Athletes of the Week

* Blake Wagener, Maumee Boys Soccer
Junior ranks No. 1 in Ohio in points (72) and goals (30). Had five goals and an assist in an 8-0 win over Liberty Center and three goals and two assists in an 11-0 win over Swanton.
 
* Nate Toton, Open Door Christian (Elyria) Boys Soccer
Senior had six goals and three assists in a 12-3 win over Lorain and four goals and two assists in 7-0 win over Brookside. Has 20 goals, 14 assists and 54 points this season.