6A District 9 Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances from Thursday's football action (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
A Season-Best Effort from Corey Simms Leads Mitchell over Wiregrass Ranch
On Thursday, Mitchell got the W thanks in part to Corey Simms playing the best football he has all season. Simms rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.5 yards per carry. The performance marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in October of 2023.
Simms must have Wiregrass Ranch's number; he was a force to be reckoned with the last time he faced them too. Simms rushed for 186 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 7.8 yards per carry, and also picked up 32 receiving yards the last time he and the Bulls duked it out back in September of 2023.
Gamescore: 60.92
Chance Houston Sets Career High in Rushing Yards
On Thursday, Land O' Lakes got the W thanks in part to Chance Houston playing the best football he has all season. Houston threw for 245 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 10.7 yards per attempt, and also rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He got the majority of those rushing yards when he took off on a run that went for an incredible 62 yards.
On the season, Houston has thrown 19 touchdowns while averaging 177.4 passing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 1.3 passing yards per game.
Gamescore: 50.92
Nathan Mcneil's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Wiregrass Ranch over Mitchell
Nathan Mcneil posted a new career-high in rushing yards on Thursday. He rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 7.4 yards per carry. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 71 yards.
With the loss, Wiregrass Ranch broke their nine-game winning streak and moved their record to 9-1. Mcneil and Wiregrass Ranch will square off against Royal Palm Beach at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 33.78
While Sunlake might've come up empty on Thursday, Nathan Merriman wasn't going down without a fight. Land O' Lakes had no answer to Merriman as he picked up 132 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Merriman showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 56 yards.
For the year, Merriman has caught 3 touchdowns while averaging 33.2 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 25.93
Clemente Came Up Big in Land O' Lakes' 56-21 Win
The second Land O' Lakes player making an appearance here is Xavier Clemente, and for good reason. He picked up 96 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He got the majority of those receiving yards when he pulled down a pass and took off for a gain of 58 yards.
On the season, Clemente has caught 12 touchdowns while averaging 76.6 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: 22.02
Other Notable Players
- Dylan Leighton: 13 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 20.50)
- Donovan Faria: 1 interception (1TD) and 4 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 18.50)
- Hayes Mcguire: 142 yards passing (Gamescore: 18.17)
- Tj Morrow: 89 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 16.07)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
