1B Southeast - Grape (8 Man) Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances in games played on Thursday and Friday (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
Charlie Branning Dazzles in Liberty Christian Win
Liberty Christian picked up their eighth consecutive win on Thursday thanks in part to Charlie Branning. Branning turned in nothing short of a gem, rushing for 120 yards and two touchdowns on only nine carries. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in November of 2023.
If history really does repeat itself, Branning might just drop another big game when he faces off against Pomeroy on Friday. When Branning last faced the Pirates back in September of 2023, he rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also picked up 160 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Gamescore: 42.65
Joey Isley and Co. Win Eighth in a Row
Joey Isley was instrumental in extending Liberty Christian's winning streak to eight on Thursday. Isley was dynamite, picking up 37 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He continues to roll, besting his previous point total in each of the last three games he's played.
For the season, Isley has caught 14 touchdowns while averaging 57.2 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had two receiving touchdowns.
Gamescore: 26.45
Sunnyside Christian was sadly handed a loss on Friday, but Jake Smeenk did his best to prevent it. Despite the defeat, Smeenk was still balling out as he rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Smeenk and Sunnyside Christian will be playing in front of their home fans against Waitsburg at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Knights got just the result they wanted when they last faced the Cardinals, probably because Smeenk had a solid game then too: he threw for 162 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 64 yards. Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 26.43
Gunnar Alseth Has Career-Day on Friday
Gunnar Alseth posted a new career-high in rushing yards on Friday. He rushed for 74 yards on only nine carries.
On the season, Alseth has averaged 15 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 1.67 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 25.28
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
