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
Braden Gilliland produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Appalachian to the win 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.
Gilliland might have his next game, a home matchup with Woodville, circled on his calendar. 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's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Ragland over Appalachian
A'Ron Lee continued his hot streak on Friday by dropping his fourth-straight game (dating back to last season) with at least 169 rushing yards. 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.
For the season, Lee has run in 14 touchdowns while averaging 153.7 rushing yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he had six rushing touchdowns.
Gamescore: 52.73
Mcelrath Came Up Big in Valley Head's 53-0 Victory
Winning always takes teamwork, but on Friday Cayson McElrath stepped things up a notch to give Valley Head the 'W'. McElrath turned in nothing short of a gem, rushing for 98 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 53 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Valley Head's win bumped their record up to 6-2. McElrath and Valley Head will get to enjoy the win for a while: their next game is against Appalachian at 7:00 p.m. on October 25th.
Gamescore: 52.03
A Season-Best Effort 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.
If history really does repeat itself, Blevins might just drop another big game when he faces off against Appalachian on Friday. When Blevins last faced the Eagles back in October of 2023, he rushed for 205 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 9.8 yards per carry.
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.
This 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
