Derrick Henry could solidify his spot as the MaxPreps National Player of the Year this week when he goes for the all-time career rushing yardage record. The Yulee standout needs just 102 yards to pass Ken Hall of Sugar Land (Texas) on the all-time list.
Of course Henry and his teammates have a bigger goal in mind since this week's contest is the first round of the Florida Class 4A playoffs. Nevertheless a strong performance by Henry — he's yet to rush for under 200 yards in a game this season or 100 yards in a game in his career — would go a long way in achieving both the record and a first-round win.
See football playoff brackets and state champions from across the country
Several new players were added to this week's list, including Mentor's Mitch Trubisky, who led an upset over St. Edward, Folsom's Jake Browning, who could be in line for several state records in California, Davidson Day's Will Grier, who set a national record with 837 yards passing in one game last week, and Wakefield's Connor Mitch, who just completed a stellar season in North Carolina.
Derrick Henry remains the favorite for National Player of the Year honors as he attempts to break the all-time career rushing record on Friday.
Photo by Gray Quetti
It's only fitting that the National Player of the Year award given away by the U.S. Army is named after Ken Hall. Following Henry's 404-yard effort last week in his final regular season game against Hamilton County, he is poised to pass Hall as the nation's all-time career rushing leader. Henry enters the game with 11,131 yards and needs 102 to take over the all-time lead. For the season, Henry has 3,270 yards on 319 carries with 44 touchdowns. Henry is also 1,486 yards away from the single season record of 4,656 yards, set by John Giannantonio of Netcong (N.J.) in 1950.
Top Contenders
Max Browne, Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
Browne completed 10 of 21 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-0 win over Lake Stevens to up Skyline's record to 11-0. For the season, Browne has completed 210 of 292 passes for 3,442 yards and 37 touchdowns. For his career, Browne has 11,870 yards and 134 touchdown passes.
Thomas Tyner, Aloha (Beaverton, Ore.)
Tyner had his second-best game of the season in rushing for 431 yards in a first-round playoff game against Glencoe (Hillsboro, Ore.). He has 3,228 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day (Belle Glade, Fla.)
Taylor had 241 yards and four touchdowns in a 56-55 loss to South Fork, dropping Glades Day to 8-2 on the season. Taylor now has 2,001 yards and 36 touchdowns on the season and increased his Florida state record to 11,659 yards. Taylor is just 37 yards away from passing his father's all-time NFL total. Fred Taylor rushed for 11,695 yards in 13 NFL seasons.
Keep an Eye On
Connor Mitch, Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.)
One of the top passers in the country, Mitch completed the season with 306 completions in 497 attempts for 4,701 yards and 63 touchdowns. He had a single-game high of 667 yards and nine touchdowns this year.
Austin Kafentzis, Jordan (Sandy, Utah)
Kafentzis guided Jordan into the Utah Class 5A championship game against Syracuse with a 35-14 win over Lone Peak. He completed 13 of 17 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown and he also ran 18 times for 128 yards and a score. For the season, Kafentzis has completed 189 of 298 passes for 2,776 yards and 29 touchdowns. He has also run 226 times for 1,841 yards and 23 scores.
Shuler Bentley, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Bentley threw for 379 yards and five touchdowns in a 51-21 playoff win over Spring Valley (S.C.). His 54 season touchdowns breaks the school record of 53, held by Willie Korn. Bentley is 10 away from the state record of 64, set by Justin Worley of Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.) in 2010. For the season, Bentley ranks third in the nation with 4,277 yards on 263 completions in 398 attempts.
Cord Sandberg, Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.)
Sandberg continued to improve on his season passing percentage as he completed 9 of 10 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown in a 49-6 win over Lakewood Ranch in the final regular season game of the year. He has completed 129 of 180 passes (.717) for 1,877 yards and 24 touchdowns and just one interception.
Jake Browning, Folsom (Calif.)
Browning returns to the list after a 7-touchdown performance in a 59-12 win over Atwater in the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. Folsom could potentially play five more games, if it receives a bowl bid, and that would allow Browning to set some all-time state records for single-season passing yardage (5,185 set last year by Folsom's Tanner Trosin) and touchdowns (65 by Robert De La Cruz of Cathedral). Browning has completed 296 of 445 passes for 4,147 yards and 50 touchdowns.
Moving up Fast
Cody Thomas, Heritage (Colleyville, Texas)
Thomas led Heritage to a 35-30 win over Bell (Hurst, Texas) by throwing for 403 yards and five touchdowns. He has completed 208 of 324 passes for 3,407 yards and 38 touchdowns for 9-1 Heritage.
Will Grier, Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.)
Any quarterback who throws for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns has to join the Player of the Year conversation. Grier leads the nation with 5,294 yards passing and 64 touchdowns following last week's huge performance in a 104-80 win over Harrells Christian Academy.
Mitch Trubisky, Mentor (Ohio)
Following his performance against St. Edward, Mentor's Mitch Trubisky joins the list. He threw for 476 yards and rushed for 102 in the 63-56 thriller that knocked St. Edward, one of the top teams in the country, out of the Ohio Division I playoffs. Trubisky has completed 212 of 315 passes for 3,302 yards and 37 touchdowns on the season and he has also rushed for 657 yards and 12 scores.
