Desert Empire 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!
Palm Springs Gets a Boost from Rapolla in 31-16 Loss
Starting off the list is Palm Springs's Koa Rapolla, who we judged to be the best player in the league this week. Rapolla made 16 total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defended a pass.
Palm Springs' loss ended a five-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 3-3. Rapolla and Palm Springs will face off against Shadow Hills at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Gamescore: 43.93
Underclassman James Madden Ruberg Comes Up Big Against Palm Springs
While it always takes a team to win, one person punching above their weight class on Friday was James Madden Ruberg. He turned in nothing short of a gem, rushing for 268 yards while picking up 10.3 yards per carry. He was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 65 yards.
La Quinta pushed their record up to 5-1 with the victory, which was their third straight on the road. Ruberg will try to repeat (or improve) on that dominant performance when he faces off against Xavier Prep on Friday.
Gamescore: 43.20
Jeremiah Williams Crosses Big Stat Threshold
Jeremiah Williams was a major factor in Rancho Mirage's win over Shadow Hills on Friday. Williams made a major impact, rushing for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The performance once again pushed his average rushing yardage north of 100 yards per game (103).
This season, Williams has run in 5 touchdowns while averaging 103 rushing yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after six games last season, he was only averaging 64.83 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 33.88
A Season-Best Effort from Pedro Trujillo Leads Shadow Hills over Rancho Mirage
On Friday, Shadow Hills had to settle for second even though Pedro Trujillo put up the best numbers he has all season. Trujillo threw for 227 yards and two touchdowns while completing 78.1% of his passes, and also rushed for 76 yards, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process.
This season, Trujillo has thrown 6 touchdowns while averaging 149.3 passing yards per game. It gets even more impressive: after six games last season, he was only averaging 38.9 passer rating per game. This year he is averaging 79.93 passer rating.
Gamescore: 32.73
Jackson Wilson Delivers Best Effort of Season
On Friday, Palm Desert got the W thanks in part to Jackson Wilson playing the best football he has all season. Wilson rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He is becoming a predictor of Palm Desert's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
The win got Palm Desert back to even at 3-3. Wilson will try to repeat (or improve) on that dominant performance when he faces off against Rancho Mirage on Friday.
Gamescore: 31.87
Other Notable Players
- Brandon Peffers: 87 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 24.12)
- Sebastian Osorio: 13 total tackles (Gamescore: 22.65)
- Duran Gabriel: 2 sacks, 9 total tackles, and 1 forced fumble (Gamescore: 21.00)
- Francisco Franco: 1 interception and 9 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 19.75)
- Jackson Bishop: 2 sacks and 5 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 18.00)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
