Now a month into the 2009 high school football season, the contenders are beginning to emerge for the honor of being named MaxPreps National Player of the Year.
Friday night could serve as a launching pad toward finalist consideration for teammates Chas Dodd and Marcus Lattimore of Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.). The Rebels go on the road to face St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in an ESPN-televised affair pitting the top two teams in this week’s national rankings.
Dodd and Lattimore are the focal points of an offense averaging 61 points per game. Aquinas will counter with an emerging POY candidate of its own in senior all-purpose standout Lamarcus Joyner.
A couple of new names jumped in the race this week. Find out what Arizona’s Ka’Deem Carey, Maryland’s Marcus Coker and North Carolina’s Christian LeMay have done to warrant inclusion among the nation’s elite.
Leaders
Chas Dodd, Sr., QB, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Update: Dodd is the trigger man behind the nation’s hottest offense, which put up 60 points over the weekend against perennial power Gaffney a week after posting 85 points in a lopsided win. Against Gaffney, the Rebel signal caller hit on 14 of 19 pass attempts for 276 yards and two touchdowns. For the season, Dodd has completed 77 of 110 attempts for 1,272 yards and 17 scoring strikes. The big test for national No. 2 Byrnes comes this week in a showdown against No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas.
Marcus Lattimore, Sr., RB, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Update: Lattimore tallied 160 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in Byrnes’ aforementioned smacking of Gaffney. Expect the Rebels to offer up a heavy dose of the star senior running back against St. Thomas Aquinas in the high school game of the year.
Marcus Coker, Sr., RB, DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.)
Update: Perhaps no running back in the country has been more impressive than Coker in leading DeMatha to a 4-0 start. The 6-1, 230-pound Iowa verbal rolled up 210 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-0 win over Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) this week and earlier this season had a 391-yard, five touchdown performance against Gilman of Baltimore. Coker's totals include 844 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Malcolm Jones, Sr., RB, Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Update: Jones and the nationally-ranked Lions did not play this week. The 6-0, 215-pound two-way player has 538 yards and five touchdown runs in leading Oaks Christian to a 3-0 record. Defensively, he has 14 tackles and a sack.
Anthony Carrothers, Sr., QB, Independence (Charlotte, N.C.)
Update: Carrothers continues to guide unbeaten Independence masterfully, connecting on 17 of 20 pass attempts for 314 yards and three scoring strikes this week in a 35-13 win over East Mecklenburg. He also rushed for a score.
Scotty Young, Sr., QB, Ryan (Denton, Texas)
Update: Don’t confuse Young with being simply a statistical star. The Raiders are now 13-4 over the past two seasons with the Texas Tech verbal commitment at the controls in a competitive 4A district. This week in a 52-7 win over Wichita Falls Rider, Young completed 21 of 37 pass attempts for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His gaudy season totals stand at 1,488 yards and 23 touchdown passes through four games.
Contenders
Teddy Bridgewater, Jr., QB, Northwestern (Miami, Fla.)
Update: After a solid start, Bridgewater exploded this week in a 54-23 win over Hialeah-Miami Lakes with 327 yards through the air and a Dade County record seven touchdown passes. The junior star completed 19 of 24 pass attempts. On the season, Bridgewater has thrown for 627 yards and 12 touchdowns while leading Northwestern to a 3-0 mark. He will need to be on point again Saturday as the Bulls face undefeated Miami rival Booker T. Washington.
Ka’Deem Carey, Jr., RB, Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.)
Update: Carey is new to the list this week after rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown on just six carries in a 56-13 win for unbeaten Canyon del Oro over Nogales. Statistically speaking, that performance was meager in comparison to Carey’s first four games where he posted 190 yards or more in every outing with 11 touchdowns. Five games into his junior campaign, Carey has totaled 985 yards and 12 scores while averaging 12.3 yards per carry. He also has a kick return for a touchdown. Keep an eye on this rising star.
Mark Miller, Sr., QB, Elder (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Update: Miller had his best game of the season in a 38-14 win over St. Edward over the weekend, completing 23 of 25 passes for 303 yards and four touchdowns. Miller and the undefeated Panthers face Greater Catholic League rival St. Xavier Friday night in a big test.
Kevin Parks, Sr., RB, West Rowan (Mt. Ulla, N.C.)
Update: Mr. Consistent topped 100 yards for the 45th time in his illustrious career in a 28-0 win over South Rowan this week. Parks ended up with 164 yards and three scores as his Falcons improved to 6-0. The Virginia commitment has rushed for 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season.
Rushel Shell, So., RB, Hopewell (Aliquippa, Pa.)
Update: Shell and Hopewell passed their first big test of the season as the super sophomore rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-27 win over New Castle. The 6-0, 210-pound back has racked up 739 yards and 13 scores this fall for the 4-0 Vikings.
Robert Woods, Serra (Gardena, Calif.)
Photo by Dirk Dewachter
Michael Brewer, Jr., QB, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Update: Coming on the heels of Garrett Gilbert’s National Player of the Year season a year ago, Brewer will receive the ‘system quarterback’ tag, but he continues to produce in a big way. In a 56-31 Lake Travis victory over Killeen, the junior completed 21 of 26 passes for 363 yards and five touchdowns. During the Cavaliers’ 5-0 start, Brewer has racked up 1,681 yards and 16 touchdown passes against just one interception.
Lamarcus Joyner, Sr., St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Update: Joyner is regarded as one of the top defensive back prospects in the country, but is multi-tasking for the Raiders so far this fall. After a quiet start in the season opener against Upper Arlington (Ohio), Joyner has piled up 242 all-purpose yards over the past two weeks.
Nick Montana, Sr., QB, Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.)
Update: Montana and nationally-ranked Oaks Christian did not play this week. Montana has completed 45 of 79 pass attempts for 577 yards and eight touchdown against just three interceptions on the season.
Phillip Sims, Sr., QB, Oscar Smith (Chesapeake, Va.)
Update: Things haven’t quite clicked yet this fall for Sims and the Tigers, as evidenced by a close call in a 7-3 win over Grassfield Friday night. But considering Oscar Smith has outscored opponents 110-26 in compiling a 4-0 record, if the defending state champs do put it together – and they probably will – expect their current win streak of 19 games to run through the end of the season. In the Grassfield win, Sims hit on 10 of 21 attempts for 191 yards and a score. He has thrown for 888 yards and four touchdowns on the season.
Jake Heaps, Sr., QB, Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
Update: Heaps responded from the first loss of his high school career with a vengeance, completing 17 of 22 pass attempts for 272 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-6 win over Newport. The Brigham Young verbal commitment topped 800 yards in the air on the season and has 11 touchdown passes.
Christian LeMay, Jr., QB, Butler (Matthews, N.C.)
Update: LeMay continues to lead the charge for Butler, ranked No. 17 nationally in this week’s MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25. In a 56-13 win over Myers Park, the 6-3, 195-pound signal caller connected on 8 of 10 passes for 231 yards and four touchdowns in limited action. During Butler’s 5-0 start, LeMay has thrown for 951 yards and 13 scores.
Robert Woods, Sr., WR/DB, Serra (Gardena, Calif.)
Update: Woods finally had the breakout receiving game he has been waiting for Friday night, but it’s his contributions on both sides of the ball that keeps him on the list for now. In a 48-0 win over Palos Verdes Peninsula, the future USC Trojan hauled in four passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. He has four touchdown receptions on this season to go along with 24 tackles and three interceptions in his defensive role.
Climbing
Barry Brunetti, Sr., QB, Memphis University (Memphis, Tenn.)
Josh Dorman, Sr., QB, Birdville (North Richland Hills, Texas)
Jeff Godfrey, Sr., QB, Central (Miami, Fla.)
Dylan Favre, Sr., QB, St. Stanislaus (Bay St. Louis, Miss.)
Tony Jones, Sr., RB, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Ryan Polite, Jr., QB, De Soto (Texas)
Jameel Poteat, Jr., RB, Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Matt Viles, Sr., QB, Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.)
