Peninsula - Bay Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances across Friday and Saturday's football action (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
Elijah Vallejo Delivers Best Effort of Season
On Friday, Wilcox got the W thanks in part to Elijah Vallejo playing the best football he has all season. Vallejo rushed for 187 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. His longest rush was for an impressive 66 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.
Vallejo and Wilcox will stay at home for another week and welcome Menlo-Atherton at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Vallejo will face off against Evaimalo Ama, the Bears' star RB. Will the match be decided in the trenches? We'll have our answer very soon.
Gamescore: 56.48
Joseph Kessler Turns in Season-Best Effort
On Friday, Palo Alto got the W thanks in part to Joseph Kessler playing the best football he has all season. Kessler rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on only nine carries, and also picked up 67 receiving yards and a touchdown. The performance marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in September. He got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 64 yards.
Palo Alto moved to 6-5 with that win, which also ended their four-game losing streak. Kessler and Palo Alto will square off against Aptos at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 56.17
Brayden Rosa and Co. Win Seventh in a Row
Brayden Rosa's big game helped extend Wilcox's winning streak to seven on Friday. Rosa's rushing production has been exceptional recently as that marked his fourth straight game with at least 105 rushing yards.
Rosa and Wilcox will stay at home for another week and welcome Menlo-Atherton at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Chargers got just the result they wanted when they last faced the Bears, probably because Rosa had a solid game then too: he forced a fumble and made six total tackles (1.0 for loss). Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 45.52
Isaiah Phillips' Rushing Yards a New Career-High
Isaiah Phillips produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Palo Alto to the win on Friday. Phillips rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on only 14 carries, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He has become a key player for Palo Alto: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns, but 3-5 otherwise.
For the season, Phillips has run in 6 touchdowns while averaging 48 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 21.91 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 41.40
A Season-Best Effort from Erik Taylor Leads Palo Alto over Half Moon Bay
Erik Taylor produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Palo Alto to the win on Friday. Taylor wasn't messing around, making 12 total tackles and defending a pass in addition to snagging three interceptions. The matchup was his fourth straight with one or more defended passes.
This season, Taylor has averaged 6 total tackles per game and for the season has 4 interceptions. He is looking even better than he did last year: after 11 games last season, he was only averaging 0.91 total tackles per game.
Gamescore: 31.50
Other Notable Players
- Kyle Chai: 80 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 30.20)
- Xander Eschelman: 213 yards passing (Gamescore: 22.00)
- Angelo Marin: 73 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 21.92)
- Roman Jacobs: 20 total tackles (1.5 for loss) (Gamescore: 21.00)
- Jt Roeder: 121 yards receiving, 1 TD (Gamescore: 18.52)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
