3A Northern 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 Performance from Keeshawn Love Leads Fernley over Lowry
On Friday, Fernley got the W thanks in part to Keeshawn Love playing the best football he has all season. Love rushed for 526 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 15.0 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. His longest rush was for an incredible 90 yards.
Unfortunately for Lowry, this isn't the first big game they've seen from Love. When Love last faced the Buckaroos back in October of 2023, he rushed for 225 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 10.2 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 133.20
Erick Valencia Crosses Big Stat Threshold
Sadly, Erick Valencia posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Lowry over Fernley on Friday. Valencia rushed for 222 yards and six touchdowns while picking up 10.1 yards per carry, and also threw for 102 yards while completing 83.3% of his passes. The performance once again pushed his average rushing yardage north of 100 yards per game (114). The dominant performance gave him a new career-high in rushing yards.
Lowry is on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 1-6. Valencia and Lowry will take on South Tahoe at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 80.80
Ivan Esparza and Co. Win 21st in a Row
Ivan Esparza's big game helped extend Truckee's winning streak to 21 on Friday. Esparza produced his best game of the campaign : he rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries. He sure picked the right time to have a big game: Truckee's opponent (Elko was ranked a full 112 places higher in their respective state rankings.
Truckee's win was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 8-0. Esparza and Truckee will head out to face off against Sparks at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 35.48
Melendy Posts Huge Game in 21-14 Win
Rounding off our Top Five is Carson Melendy of Churchill County. Melendy rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Churchill County is 4-1 when Melendy posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 0-3 otherwise.
The victory got Churchill County back to even at 4-4. Melendy and Churchill County will square off against Elko at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 27.60
Other Notable Players
- Paul Ronzone: 2 sacks, 9 total tackles (2.0 for loss), and 1 forced fumble (Gamescore: 26.50)
- Luke Lauter: (1TD) and 10 total tackles (3.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 22.75)
- Joey Machado: 14 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 22.75)
- Jake Carsrud: 129 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 21.00)
- Calvin Curtis: 2 interception and 5 total tackles (Gamescore: 19.00)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
