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!
Jace Gomes Delivers Best Performance of Season
San Luis Obispo was led to victory by Jace Gomes, who turned in his biggest game of the season 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 effort 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 had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Gomes it was a similar story. 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
A Season-Best Effort from Jude Pritchard Leads Santa Ynez over Atascadero
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 have a little extra prep time after the defeat as they won't be playing again for a while. They'll take on Pioneer Valley at 7:00 p.m. on October 18th.
Gamescore: 42.90
Underclassman Michael Trejo Comes Up Big Against Santa Ynez
While Friday's win was certainly a team effort, someone pulling more than their own weight was underclassman Michael Trejo. Nobody could stop he on Friday as he rushed for 81 yards and two touchdowns on only six carries, and also threw for 66 yards and a touchdown. Atascadero is 2-1 when Trejo posts two or more 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 square off against Pioneer Valley at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 34.80
Hyde Posts Huge Game in 42-34 Win
Keeping Trejo company is Joseph Hyde, a fellow Atascadero player. He rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown on only six carries. He didn't just play on offense: he also made nine total tackles and defended a pass.
If the past is any indication, Hyde could be in store for another big game when he takes on 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
Sadly, Griffin Bruner posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Santa Ynez over Atascadero on Friday. 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, taking off on a dash that went for 54 yards.
On the year, Bruner has run in 7 touchdowns while averaging 39.3 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, 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