D2 District 7 (8 Man) 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!
Morgan Kinney Delivers Best Effort of Season
Morgan Kinney produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Ainsworth to the win on Friday. Kinney wasn't messing around, rushing for 151 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also throwing for 132 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes. The contest was his third straight with three or more rushing touchdowns dating back to last season.
Kinney and Ainsworth will look to defend their home field on Thursday against Elgin/Pope John at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs got just the result they wanted when they last faced the Wolfpack, probably because Kinney had a solid game then too: he picked up 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 87.65
Cooper Arehart Crosses Big Stat Threshold
On Friday, Neligh-Oakdale had to settle for second even though Cooper Arehart put up the best numbers he has all season. Arehart rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns, and also threw for 264 yards and a touchdown. Thanks to that strong showing, he's now averaging 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game. His longest rush was for an incredible 75 yards.
Arehart and Neligh-Oakdale will square off against St. Mary's at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The match will pit Arehart up against the Cardinals' star signal caller Gage Hedstrom. With so much talent on the field, fans are surely in for an exciting game. The only thing left to see is who brings home the W.
Gamescore: 84.65
Grady Drueke Sets Career High in Rushing Yards
On Friday, Elgin/Pope John got the W thanks in part to Grady Drueke playing the best football he has all season. Drueke rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, making 11 total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging an interception.
On the year, Drueke has run in 13 touchdowns while averaging 126 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had four rushing touchdowns.
Gamescore: 55.85
St. Mary's Gets a Boost from Hedstrom in 66-20 Victory
Gage Hedstrom continued his hot streak on Friday by dropping his fourth-straight game (dating back to last season) with at least two rushing touchdowns. He rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries, and also threw for 80 yards and two touchdowns. He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 71-yard run.
For the season, Hedstrom has thrown 19 touchdowns while averaging 176.7 passing yards per game. That doesn't tell the whole story though: at this point last year, he was only averaging 72.33 passer rating per game. This year he is averaging 113.77 passer rating.
Gamescore: 54.48
Jacob Held Makes It Two for Ainsworth
The second Ainsworth player making an appearance here is Jacob Held, and for good reason. He picked up 61 receiving yards and a touchdown.
On the year, Held has caught 3 touchdowns while averaging 24.1 receiving yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he was only averaging ten receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 54.18
Other Notable Players
- Logan Schroedl: 71 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 34.93)
- Jace Rosenkrans: 68 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 33.45)
- Chris Fernandez: 115 yards passing; 85 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 29.17)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
