Tyrone Swoopes, Derrick Henry headline MaxPreps Player of the Year Watch

Tyrone Swoopes, Kelvin Taylor and Derrick Henry all had strong performances in their first outings of the season to up their stock in the race for MaxPreps National Player of the Year.

Jake Browning, meanwhile, threw for 300 fewer yards than last week with six fewer touchdowns, but he still had an impressive 375-yard outing with four scores.

Here's a look at how the candidates for the MaxPreps National Player of the Year performed last week.

MAXPREPS NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH

Jake Browning, Folsom (Calif.)
No national records this week, but still an impressive performance in Folsom's 31-20 win over San Ramon Valley. Browning completed 28 of 45 passes for 375 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 1,064 yards on 62 of 96 passing with 14 touchdowns. {PAGEBREAK} Tyrone Swoopes, Whitewright (Texas)
Don't bet against Swoopes as one of the nation's leading rushers this season. The option quarterback carried 21 times for 281 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-47 loss to Nocona. He also completed 16 of 24 passes for 167 yards and three scores to give him six touchdowns accounted for on the night. {PAGEBREAK} Su'a Cravens, Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.)
Cravens helped spark a second-half comeback by Vista Murrieta in a 37-26 win over ThunderRidge (Colo.). Besides catching a touchdown pass, Cravens helped spark the defense with tackles "all over the field", according to the Riverside Press Enterprise. {PAGEBREAK} Johnny Stanton, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
Stanton posted another four-touchdown game in Santa Margarita's 35-6 win over Jordan (Long Beach, Calif.). Although limited to just 10-of-20 passing for 95 yards, he did throw two touchdown passes. He gained 75 yards rushing on seven carries, but had a 74-yard touchdown run and another score on a short run. {PAGEBREAK} Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day (Belle Glade, Fla.)
The Florida-bound Taylor ran for 313 yards on 28 carries with three touchdowns, according to the Miami Herald, in a 28-20 win over Monsignor Pace. The yardage total puts Taylor unofficially at 9,707 career yards, including his eighth grade season on the Glades Day varsity. {PAGEBREAK} Jalen Hurd, Beech (Hendersonville, Tenn.)
Hurd came on strong in the second half to lift Beech to a 41-7 win over Station Camp (Gallatin, Tenn.). Hurd, the nation's leading rusher, had 245 yards on 22 carries with three touchdowns. In three games, Hurd has carried 75 times for 945 yards and 12 touchdowns.


{PAGEBREAK} Austin Kafentzis, Jordan (Sandy, Utah)
In an odd game, East led Jordan 28-27 when a fire next door to the stadium halted the game in the third quarter. The two teams did not resume the contest, which is currently listed as a tie game. The statistics from the game do count, however, and Kafentzis scored four times to lift his season total to 14 combined touchdowns rushing and passing. He had 193 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns against East and he completed 10 of 19 passes for 150 yards and one score. For the season, Kafentzis has completed 43 of 69 passes for 627 yards and five touchdowns and he has rushed 47 times for 581 yards and nine scores. {PAGEBREAK} Derrick Henry, Yulee (Fla.)
Henry became the third all-time leading rusher in Florida history over the weekend as he rushed for 336 yards on 31 carries in a 51-28 loss to Gainesville. Henry, who rushed for over 100 yards for the 33rd straight time, has 8,200 yards rushing in his career. He needs 600 yards to surpass No. 2 Emmitt Smith, who had 8,804.




{PAGEBREAK} Robert Nkemdiche, Grayson (Loganville, Ga.)
No. 2-ranked Grayson had little trouble with Central (Miami), winning 35-3. Nkemdiche led the scoring for the winners as he scored on a pair of short touchdown runs. {PAGEBREAK} Max Browne, Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
Facing Bothell, one of the top-ranked teams in the state of Washington, Browne shined, completing 24 of 35 passes for 291 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Browne also ran 11 times for 25 yards and scored on a 4-yard touchdown run. {PAGEBREAK} Charlie High, Christian Academy of Knoxville (Knoxville, Tenn.)
High has had three straight games over 400 yards, throwing for 432 in a 46-34 win over Stone Memorial (Tenn.). He completed 28 of 33 passes with five touchdowns in the win. For the season, High leads the nation with 89 completions in 111 attempts for 1,377 yards and 14 touchdowns.