Justin Worley, Northwestern
Photo by Ron McCann
This week's look at MaxPreps.com's National Player of the Year candidates;
Mike Bellamy, RB, Charlotte (Punta Gorda, Fla.)
Team record: 7-0
Last weekend: Behind Bellamy's 266 yards and four touchdowns on 27 carries, the Fightin' Tarpons cruised by Venice, 33-14.
Season: With other Floridians putting up big numbers for nationally-ranked teams, Bellamy undeservedly slipped off our Player of the Year radar early on. But with four-straight games with 230 yards or more on the ground, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior is firmly back on it. The Clemson verbal commitment has 1,544 yards and 29 touchdowns this season on just 120 carries – an average of 12.8 yards every time Charlotte hands the ball off to him and a TD on about one out of every four touches.
Kapri Bibbs, RB, Plainfield North (Plainfield, Ill.)
Team Record: 6-2
Last weekend: In a 34-14 win over Oswego East, Bibbs ran 37 times for 279 yards and three touchdowns.
Season: After missing Plainfield North's season opener, Bibbs has surpassed 2,000 yards on the ground in just seven games. Unofficially, the Colorado State verbal commitment has carried the ball 228 times for 2,174 yards and 32 touchdowns.
Paul Canevari, RB, Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Team record: 5-0, No. 7 in this week's Xcellent 25 High School Football Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Last weekend: Did not play.
Season: Canevari's totals stand at 1,011 yards and 11 touchdowns at the mid-point of the regular season for the defending national champions.
Qyendairs Griffin, RB, South Panola (Batesville, Miss.)
Team record: 8-0, No. 2 in this week's Xcellent 25
Last weekend: Griffin ran for a season-high 305 yards to go along with five touchdowns as South Panola blasted Tupelo 62-6.
Season: The 6-foot, 215-pound senior's totals stand at 1,520 yards and 22 touchdowns on 151 carries heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.
Jeremy Hill, RB, Redemptorist (Baton Rouge, La.)
Team record: 7-0
Last weekend: The future LSU Tiger needed just three quarters to pile up 223 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in a 47-20 win over Baker.
Season: Hill has churned out 170 yards or more in every game this season en route to totals of 1,473 yards and 24 touchdowns on the ground.
Johnny Manziel, QB, Tivy (Kerrville, Texas)
Team record: 7-1
Last weekend: The march toward a possible 3,000-yard passing/2,000-yard rushing season continued as Manziel picked up 257 through the air and another 174 on the ground in a 62-21 win over Medina Valley.
Season: Leading Tivy to an average of 55.5 points per game, the future Texas A&M Aggie has thrown for 2,288 yards and 30 touchdowns while picking up 1,155 more yards with 19 TDs on the ground. It's staggering to think of what Manziel's numbers could have been this fall had he not spent so much time on the bench during the second half of blowout games.
Maty Mauk, QB, Kenton (Ohio)
Team record: 7-1
Last weekend: In a 58-6 win over Defiance, Mauk tied a season-low output with 379 yards – yes, a season-low – and six touchdowns through the air on 29 of 44 passing.
Season: The 6-2, 185-pound junior continues to produce at an astonishing rate. Mauk now has 3,590 yards and 44 touchdowns (against just 10 interceptions) through the air, completing 68 percent of his attempts in the process. He has also found time to carve out 499 yards and 10 more scores on the ground.
Shaq Thompson, RB, Grant (Sacramento, Calif.)
Team record: 7-0, No. 11 in this week's Xcellent 25
Last weekend: Grant barely survived against Monterey Trail (Elk Grove), 28-22, as Thompson accounted for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns on just eight carries. He also recorded six tackles, defensively.
Season: Despite getting just 20 carries over the past three games due to lopsided scores and an injury, Thompson has 988 yards and 16 touchdowns. A versatile performer, the 6-1, 195-pound junior has 1,214 all-purpose yards with two more scores through the air to go along with 31 tackles and a forced fumble on the other side of the ball.
Marquise Williams, QB, Mallard Creek (Charlotte, N.C.)
Team record: 8-0, No. 25 in this week's Xcellent 25
Last weekend: Big totals through the air and on the ground have become commonplace for Williams this season. He did it again during a 48-0 win over North Mecklenburg, passing for 225 yards and combining for five touchdowns.
Season: A North Carolina verbal commitment, Williams has combined for over 2,700 total yards and accounted for 40 touchdowns.
Justin Worley, QB, Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Team record: 8-0, No. 21 in this week's Xcellent 25
Last weekend: The Trojans continued to march toward the state playoffs with a 34-13 win over Lancaster. Worley topped the 300-yard passing plateau for the fifth week in a row with 319 and three touchdowns on 34 of 40 attempts.
Season: Worley has thrown just six interceptions in 309 attempts this fall en route to 2,698 yards and 34 touchdown passes.
