Sunset 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 Effort from Jace Gomes Leads San Luis Obispo over Pioneer Valley
Jace Gomes produced his most outstanding game to date while leading San Luis Obispo to the win on Friday. Gomes rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns on only seven carries, and also threw for 163 yards and a touchdown while completing 83.3% of his passes. The performance marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in October of 2023. His longest rush was for an incredible 70 yards.
Pioneer Valley's probably not too fond of Gomes given he always seems to get the better of them. When Gomes last faced the Panthers back in September of 2023, he rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.3 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 67.07
Jude Pritchard Delivers Best Performance of Season
Sadly, Jude Pritchard posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Santa Ynez over Atascadero on Friday. Pritchard threw for 234 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries. The performance marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in September of 2023.
Santa Ynez's loss dropped their record down to 2-5. Pritchard and Santa Ynez will get a bit of extra time to process the defeat as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Pioneer Valley at 7:00 p.m. on October 18th.
Gamescore: 42.90
Underclassman Michael Trejo Major Player in Atascadero Win
It was an underclassman who stole the show on Friday as Michael Trejo came into the match on a mission. Santa Ynez had no answer to Trejo as he rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 66 yards and a touchdown. Trejo has become a key player for Atascadero: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise.
Atascadero's victory ended a four-game drought at home dating back to last season and bumped them up to 3-3. Trejo and Atascadero will take on Pioneer Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 34.80
Big Game from Hyde As Atascadero Won 42-34
Keeping Trejo company is Joseph Hyde, a fellow Atascadero player. He rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making nine total tackles and defending a pass.
If history really does repeat itself, Hyde might just drop another big game when he faces off against Pioneer Valley on Friday. When Hyde last faced the Panthers back in October of 2023, he rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on only 11 carries.
Gamescore: 34.75
Griffin Bruner Turns in Season-Best Performance
On Friday, Santa Ynez had to settle for second even though Griffin Bruner put up the best numbers he has all season. Bruner rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He was no stranger to the big play, turning on the jets for a run that went for 54 yards.
This year, Bruner has run in 7 touchdowns while averaging 39.3 rushing yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he was only averaging 9.43 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 30.38
Other Notable Players
- Austin Smith: 106 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 24.50)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
