5A-1 Region II District 5 Top Football Player Performances

Highlighting the Best of the Best

By Team Reports

Oct 12, 2024, 12:29am

5A-1 Region II District 5 Top Player Performances of the Week

Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances in games played on Thursday and Friday (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!

Greg Ard's Big Game Leads Mckinney North over Lebanon Trail

Starting off the list is McKinney North's Greg Ard, who we judged to be the best player in the league this week. Ard rushed for 143 yards and three touchdowns on only seven carries. His longest rush was for an impressive 62 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total.

The victory was the third in a row for McKinney North, bringing their record for this year to 3-3. Ard and McKinney North will square off against Reedy at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Gamescore: 45.68

A Season-Best Performance from Denzel Okekeuche Leads Heritage over Sherman

Heritage was led to victory by Denzel Okekeuche, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Thursday. Okekeuche rushed for 157 yards and two touchdowns on only 13 carries, and also caught a touchdown. The performance once again pushed his average rushing yardage north of 100 yards per game (107.2). He really tore up the turf during one magnificent 74-yard run.

On the year, Okekeuche has run in 5 touchdowns while averaging 107.2 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 11.6 rushing yards per game.

Gamescore: 45.58

Vincent Hooper Turns in Season-Best Effort

On Thursday, Heritage got the W thanks in part to Vincent Hooper playing the best football he has all season. Hooper picked up 127 receiving yards and two touchdowns, and also punched in two touchdowns on the ground. He showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 55 yards.

On the year, Hooper has caught those 2 touchdowns while averaging 76.2 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he was only averaging 42.8 receiving yards per game.

Gamescore: 39.37

Hudson Eidem Delivers Best Performance of Season

On Friday, Lebanon Trail had to settle for second even though Hudson Eidem put up the best numbers he has all season. Eidem rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns, and also picked up 63 receiving yards and a touchdown.

Lebanon Trail is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 2-3. Eidem and Lebanon Trail will challenge Centennial at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Gamescore: 34.00

A Season-Best Effort from Jackson Hand Leads Centennial over Wakeland

Sadly, Jackson Hand posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Centennial over Wakeland on Friday. Hand picked up three sacks and made nine total tackles (5.0 for loss).

If history really does repeat itself, Hand might just drop another big game when he faces off against Lebanon Trail on Friday. Hand picked up 2.5 sacks and made 12 total tackles (4.0 for loss) the last time he and the Trail Blazers duked it out back in November of 2023.