Western 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!
Barnett Posts Huge Game in 40-14 Victory
Starting off the list is Dodge City's Cade Barnett, who we judged to be the best player in the league this week. Barnett rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. He is becoming a predictor of Dodge City's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-3 when he doesn't).
On the year, Barnett has run in 5 touchdowns while averaging 44.1 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 10.14 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 60.75
Winning always takes teamwork, but on Friday Xavier Tafoya stepped things up a notch to give Liberal the 'W'. Ulysses had no answer to Tafoya as he made eight total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Liberal's win was their sixth straight on the road dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Tafoya and Liberal will face off against Hays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 54.20
Ayden Juarez Delivers Best Effort of Season
Liberal was led to victory by Ayden Juarez, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Juarez rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
For the year, Juarez has run in those 1 touchdown while averaging 25.6 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 37.80
Daxton Minton's Big Game Leads Great Bend over Hays
Great Bend picked up their seventh consecutive win on Friday thanks in part to Daxton Minton. Minton did his part (and then some), rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 100 yards and a touchdown for the 'W'. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in November of 2023.
Hays's probably not too fond of Minton given he always seems to get the better of them. When Minton last faced the Indians back in September of 2023, he threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
Gamescore: 31.77
A Season-Best Effort from James Fieser Leads Liberal over Ulysses
Liberal was led to victory by James Fieser, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Fieser picked up 96 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He showed off some serious burst, lighting up the secondary with a catch for 67 yards.
Fieser must have Ulysses's number; he was a force to be reckoned with the last time he faced them too. Back in October of 2023 (the last time Fieser saw the Tigers), he picked up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Gamescore: 27.93
Other Notable Players
- Ian Premer: 85 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 26.27)
- Ryan Gonzalez: 104 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 22.80)
- Giovani Duran: 1 sack and 8 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 20.00)
- Landon Martinez: 8 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 17.50)
- Tevin Cotter: 119 yards passing (Gamescore: 16.93)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
