Little Illini 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!
Gavyn Cothern Turns in Season-Best Effort
Gavyn Cothern produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Richland County to the win on Friday. Cothern rushed for 254 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 79 yards and a touchdown on only six passes.
The victory for Richland County keeps them at an undefeated 7-0. Cothern will try to repeat (or improve) on that dominant performance when he faces off against Casey-Westfield on Friday.
Gamescore: 83.12
Lucca Giannavola Sets Career High in Rushing Yards
Lucca Giannavola produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Marshall to the win on Friday. Giannavola rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles.
Giannavola must have Lawrenceville's number; he was a force to be reckoned with the last time he faced them too. Giannavola rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry the last time he and the Indians duked it out back in October of 2023.
Gamescore: 56.10
Aj Knoblett's Big Game Leads Robinson over Newton
Aj Knoblett's big game helped extend Robinson's winning streak to three on Friday. Newton had no answer to Knoblett as he picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Knoblett continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played.
For the year, Knoblett has caught 8 touchdowns while averaging 70.1 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 33.43 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 46.55
Ryan Richards Delivers Best Effort of Season
On Saturday, Casey-Westfield got the W thanks in part to Ryan Richards playing the best football he has all season. Richards picked up 211 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 84 yards.
The victory for Casey-Westfield keeps them at an undefeated 7-0. Richards and Casey-Westfield will head out on the road to square off against Richland County at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 38.68
Other Notable Players
- Nolan Clement: 286 yards passing; 34 yards rushing (Gamescore: 38.27)
- Luke Karras: 77 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 37.25)
- Ian Pianfetti: 70 yards receiving, 1 TD ; 43 yards rushing (Gamescore: 30.05)
- Reese Johnson: 280 yards passing; 40 yards rushing (Gamescore: 29.37)
- Dom Huisinga: 38 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 17.55)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
