Elijah Marks latest to join the list of players vying for national player of the year honors.
A wide receiver joins the mix this week as Elijah Mark's efforts for Desert Edge (Goodyear, Ariz.) cannot be ignored. He's on pace to crush all state records and he could set national records if his team goes deep in the playoffs.
Other newcomers this week include Royce Freeman of Imperial (Calif.), Patrick Mahomes of Whitehouse (Texas) and Desmon White of DeSoto (Texas).
MaxPreps National Football Player of the Year Watch
Will Grier, Davidson Day
Photo by Keith Coward
Davidson Day had little trouble with Community School of Davidson, winning 45-0. Grier completed 18 of 22 passes for 370 yards and six touchdowns, giving him 106 completions in 149 attempts for 1,818 yards and 31 touchdowns. He is also halfway to 1,000 yards rushing after gaining 54 yards on just two carries last week. He has gained 519 yards on 31 attempts.{PAGEBREAK}
Jake Browning, Folsom
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
It's impressive when a player can complete 37 of 48 passes for 596 yards and eight touchdowns and it isn't his best day as a high school player. But such is the case for Jake Browning, who led Folsom to a 67-36 win over San Ramon Valley. For the season, Browning has completed 115 of 151 passes for 1,625 yards and 24 touchdowns.{PAGEBREAK}
Shuler Bentley, Byrnes
Photo by Keith Coward
Bentley had his lowest statistics performance of the season, but Byrnes still easily defeated Clinton 62-0. Bentley completed 13 of 16 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns and now has 86 completions in 126 attempts for 1,487 yards and 22 scores. Bentley will likely break the 10,000-yard milestone this week against Boiling Springs. He has exactly 9,700 yards in his career.{PAGEBREAK}
Deshaun Watson, Gainesville (Ga.)Watson continues to add to his all-time yardage record in Georgia as he completed 24 of 29 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-6 win over Apalachee. For the season, Watson has completed 91 of 138 passes for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns. His career marks show him with 10,557 yards passing and 121 touchdown passes.{PAGEBREAK}
Elijah Marks, Desert Edge
Photo by Kevin French
Marks is on pace to obliterate all receiving records in Arizona and he could make a run at some national records as well. After catching 11 passes for 232 yards and five touchdowns in a 63-28 win over Shadow Ridge, Marks now has 46 catches for 1,005 yards and 13 touchdowns.{PAGEBREAK}
Treon Harris, Washington
Photo by Kyle Hess
Harris kept Washington safely atop the Xcellent 25 National Rankings with a 35-6 win over Jackson. He completed 10 of 14 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns and he has completed 59 of 76 passes for 815 yards and 12 scores this year.{PAGEBREAK}
Desmon White, DeSoto
Photo by Robbie Rakestraw
DeSoto is 4-0 on the season and moved all the way up to No. 2 in the Xcellent 25 National Rankings. White is a big reason why. Against Cedar Hill, he completed 15 of 19 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. He also rushed 13 times for 119 yards and two scores. For the season, White has completed 66 of 91 passes for exactly 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns with no interceptions. He has also rushed 48 times for 450 yards and seven scores.{PAGEBREAK}
Patrick Mahomes, Whitehouse (Texas)One of the top baseball players in the country, Mahomes is also an outstanding quarterback. He has Whitehouse at 4-0 and has thrown for 1,566 yards (101 for 161) in just four games with 17 touchdowns and no interceptions. Last year he completed 237 of 418 passes for 3,839 yards and 46 touchdowns.{PAGEBREAK}
Dorian Carter, Beech
Photo by Andrew Collignon
Carter cracked 1,000 yards for the season by rushing 24 times for 262 yards and three touchdowns in Beech's 31-10 win over Portland. Carter has 1,012 yards on 145 carries with 14 touchdowns in leading Beech to a 4-1 record.{PAGEBREAK}
Royce Freeman, Imperial (Calif.)Freeman has one of the best yards-per-carry averages in the nation at 15.23. He's gone over 300 yards twice in leading Imperial to a 4-0 record and he had 256 yards on 25 carries with five touchdowns in last week's 48-21 win over Mater Dei Catholic (Chula Vista). He has at least five touchdowns in three games and 19 total for the season. He has gained 1,112 yards on just 73 carries.
