D2 District 5 (8 Man) 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!
Calvin Carraher Turns in Season-Best Performance
On Friday, Franklin got the W thanks in part to Calvin Carraher playing the best football he has all season. Carraher rushed for 355 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 17.8 yards per carry, and also threw for 116 yards on eight of 15 attempts. The effort marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in October of 2023. He was no stranger to the big play, taking off on a dash that went for 61 yards.
Carraher and Franklin will take on Axtell at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The matchup will pit Carraher up against the Wildcats' star signal caller Jacob Halvorsen. So who wins this QB-duel? There's only one way to know for sure.
Gamescore: 125.98
Elijah Bergstrom Has Career Rushing Day
Axtell was led to victory by Elijah Bergstrom, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Bergstrom rushed for 272 yards and seven touchdowns while picking up 10.5 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for five straight games.
The victory (which was Axtell's third in a row) raised their record to 3-4. Bergstrom will try to repeat (or improve) on that dominant performance when he faces off against Franklin on Friday.
Gamescore: 89.75
Adam Denkert Dazzles in Kenesaw Loss
Adam Denkert's rushing tear continued on Friday as he dropped his fourth-straight game with 113+ rushing yards. He rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 63 receiving yards and a touchdown. Kenesaw is 3-1 when Denkert posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-2 otherwise.
This season, Denkert has caught 5 touchdowns while averaging 58 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 50.57
Wilcox-Hildreth Wins Fourth-Straight Thanks to Graiden Ritner
Graiden Ritner's big game helped extend Wilcox-Hildreth's winning streak to four on Friday. Ritner turned in nothing short of a gem, rushing for 69 yards and two touchdowns, while also picking up 47 receiving yards and a touchdown. He is becoming a predictor of Wilcox-Hildreth's success: when he posts at least two rushing touchdowns the team is undefeated (and 1-2 when he doesn't).
Wilcox-Hildreth's victory was their fifth straight at home dating back to last season, which pushed their record up to 5-2. Ritner and Wilcox-Hildreth will square off against Elm Creek at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 49.45
A Season-Best Performance from Caiden Peterman Leads Franklin over Blue Hill
On Friday, Franklin got the W thanks in part to Caiden Peterman playing the best football he has all season. Peterman rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. His longest rush was for an incredible 71 yards.
This year, Peterman has run in those 1 touchdown while averaging 54.9 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 6.43 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 38.60
Other Notable Players
- Keston Beavers: 101 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 24.03)
- Brody Schopke: 14 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 17.75)
- Tristen Benson: 58 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 16.18)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
