1A Region 8 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!
Braden Gilliland Crosses Big Stat Threshold
Appalachian was led to victory by Braden Gilliland, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Gilliland rushed for 366 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 13.1 yards per carry. Thanks to that strong showing, he's now averaging 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game. Those 366 rushing yards gave him a new career-high.
If history really does repeat itself, Gilliland might just drop another big game when he faces off against Woodville on Friday. Back in September of 2023 (the last time Gilliland saw the Panthers), he rushed for 211 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 89.88
A'ron Lee Dazzles in Ragland Defeat
A'Ron Lee's rushing tear continued on Friday as he dropped his fourth-straight game with 169+ rushing yards dating back to last season. He rushed for 169 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 9.4 yards per carry. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 70-yard run.
On the year, Lee has run in 14 touchdowns while averaging 153.7 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had six rushing touchdowns.
Gamescore: 52.73
Mcelrath Came Up Big in Valley Head's 53-0 Win
Cayson McElrath was a major factor in Valley Head's win over Woodville on Friday. McElrath did his part (and then some), rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 53 receiving yards and a touchdown for the 'W'.
Valley Head's victory bumped their record up to 6-2. McElrath and Valley Head will have some time to savor their win since their next game is a little ways off: they'll take on Appalachian at 7:00 p.m. on October 25th.
Gamescore: 52.03
A Season-Best Performance from Tytan Blevins Leads Valley Head over Woodville
Tytan Blevins produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Valley Head to the win on Friday. Blevins rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries, and also threw for 60 yards and a touchdown on only five passes. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, forcing a fumble and making four total tackles.
Blevins might have his next game, a home matchup with Appalachian, circled on his calendar. Blevins rushed for 205 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry the last time he and the Eagles duked it out back in October of 2023.
Gamescore: 48.20
A Constellation of Stars for Valley Head
Another Valley Head player making an appearance on this list is Layne Hawkins. He picked up seven receiving yards.
For the year, Hawkins has averaged 10.9 total tackles per game.
Gamescore: 43.53
Other Notable Players
- Ben Johnson: 80 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 42.45)
- Luke Brewer: 16 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 24.25)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
