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 Came Up Big in Dodge City's 40-14 Win
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).
This season, Barnett has run in 5 touchdowns while averaging 44.1 rushing yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, 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'. Nobody could stop Tafoya as he made eight total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Tafoya and Liberal will venture away from home to square off against Hays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The Redskins had to take a loss when they last met the Indians, but Tafoya had little to do with the loss: he forced a fumble and made nine total tackles (1.0 for loss). Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 54.20
A Season-Best Effort from Ayden Juarez Leads Liberal over Ulysses
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.
On the year, Juarez has run in those 1 touchdown while averaging 25.6 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 37.80
Daxton Minton Dazzles in Great Bend Victory
Great Bend picked up their seventh consecutive win on Friday thanks in part to Daxton Minton. Minton was unstoppable, rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 100 yards and a touchdown. 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. Back in September of 2023 (the last time Minton saw the Indians), 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
James Fieser Turns in Season-Best Effort
On Friday, Liberal got the W thanks in part to James Fieser playing the best football he has all season. Fieser picked up 96 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He showed off some serious burst, cutting upfield on a catch for 67 yards.
Ulysses had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Fieser it was a similar story. 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
