1A Smoky Mountain 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!
Jonathan Saylor Turns in Season-Best Performance
On Friday, Cherokee got the W thanks in part to Jonathan Saylor playing the best football he has all season. Saylor threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown.
Cherokee's win was their third straight at home, which pushed their record up to 4-3. Saylor and Cherokee will square off against Hayesville at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 30.23
Graves Made His Presence Known in Hayesville's 12-7 Win
Hayesville took down Swain County on Friday, a win that might not have happened without Tre Graves's performance. Graves was dynamite, rushing for 83 yards and a touchdown. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 61 yards.
This season, Graves has run in 4 touchdowns while averaging 75.1 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 25.75
Michael Mauney Makes It Two for Hayesville
Keeping Graves company is Michael Mauney, a fellow Hayesville player. He picked up 97 receiving yards and a touchdown. He showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 66 yards.
On the season, Mauney has caught those 1 touchdown while averaging 37.4 receiving yards per game. That doesn't tell the whole story though: at this point last year, he was only averaging 3.29 rushing yards per game. This year he is averaging 24.14 rushing yards.
Gamescore: 25.25
While Robbinsville might've come up empty on Friday, Roman Jones wasn't going down without a fight. Despite the defeat, Jones was still balling out as he made nine total tackles (1.0 for loss).
For the season, Jones has averaged 2.9 total tackles per game. That doesn't tell the whole story though: at this point last year, he was only averaging 0.71 rushing yards per game. This year he is averaging 66.43 rushing yards.
Gamescore: 22.35
The second Cherokee player making an appearance here is Brandon Santiago, and for good reason. He rushed for 109 yards on only ten carries. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 60 yards.
For the season, Santiago has averaged 79.9 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 18.29 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 21.55
Other Notable Players
- Javin Garcia: 89 yards receiving, 1 TD (Gamescore: 15.40)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
