Quarterbacks continue to dominate the National Player of the Year Watch with Northwestern's Mason Rudolph joining the list this week after eclipsing the 10,000-yard milestone.
Last week also saw the end of the record-breaking career of Will Grier of Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.), who finished second in the nation in career touchdowns and fourth in career yardage.
See the MaxPreps playoff brackets from across the nationNational Football Player of the Year Watch
Will Grier capped off a spectacular prep career and is a serious contender for National Player of the Year honors.
Photo by Keith Coward
Grier led his team to its third-straight NCISAA Division II state championship with a 69-28 win over Harrells Christian Academy. Grier went 34-4 as the starting quarterback for Davidson Day. His career numbers show him with 887 completions, 1,264 attempts, 14,565 yards and 195 touchdowns. For the season, he currently ranks first in the nation with 77 touchdowns. He has completed 314 of 446 attempts for 4,989 yards.
Shuler Bentley, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Bentley and Byrnes are just two wins away from a South Carolina 4A Division I state championship and he could finish as the national leader in touchdown passes before it's done. He currently has 69 touchdown passes after throwing six last week in a 63-21 win over Lexington. For the season, Bentley has completed 273 of 389 passes for 4,722 yards.
Jake Browning, Folsom (Calif.)
Browning and his Bulldog teammates face a Jesuit team in the Sac-Joaquin Section semifinals that they already defeated 56-14 earlier in the season. Browning threw for 443 yards and five touchdowns in that game. The holder of the single season touchdown record in California, Browning should add the single-season yardage record if Folsom can get past Jesuit. Browning set the state record last year with 5,248 yards. For the season, Browning has completed 346 of 446 passes for 4,710 yards and 68 touchdowns.
Deshaun Watson, Gainesville (Ga.)
After a tough outing against M.L. King two weeks ago, it was smooth sailing for Watson and the Red Elephants in a 51-12 win over South Paulding in the Class AAAAA state playoffs. Gainesville faces Mundy's Mill in the quarterfinals this week. Watson had his best passing yardage game of the season against South Paulding, throwing for 432 yards and five touchdowns. He also added 107 yards rushing. For the season, Watson has thrown for 3,242 yards and 42 touchdowns. He has rushed for 956 yards.
Elijah Hood, Charlotte Catholic
Photo by Keith Coward
Hood went over 3,000 yards rushing for the second year in a row after gaining 308 yards on 33 carries with four touchdowns in a 42-21 win over High Point Central in the North Carolina 4A playoffs. It marked the fourth time this season that Hood has gained more than 300 yards rushing in a game. He has 3,119 yards on 296 carries with 45 touchdowns on the year. He has 8,369 career yards, which ranks fifth in North Carolina state history. He has 128 career touchdowns.
Desmon White, DeSoto (Texas)
White accounted for four touchdowns in a 34-30 win over Coppell as he completed 11 of 18 passes for 160 yards and three scores and ran 16 times for 136 yards and a touchdown. For the season, White has completed 209 of 307 passes for 3,420 yards and 36 touchdowns. He has rushed 122 times for 1,324 yards and 15 scores.
Trey Quinn, Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Hahnville limited Quinn to just 61 yards on six catches with no touchdowns after he had amassed more than 500 yards and seven touchdowns in his previous two games combined. Nevertheless Barbe won and advanced to a semifinal matchup with Acadiana. Quinn has 103 catches for 1,858 yards and 21 touchdowns. For his career, Quinn has 6,457 yards, 68 touchdowns and 352 receptions.
Grant Sherman, Kenton (Ohio)
Sherman tied a national record last week with 56 completions in 78 attempts in a 46-43 quarterfinal win over Bryan in the Ohio Division IV playoffs. Kenton faces Clinton-Massie in this week's semifinals. Sherman threw for 488 yards and five touchdowns against Bryan and has 5,454 yards passing with 63 touchdown passes.
Kellen Overstreet, Penney (Hamilton, Mo.)
Overstreet had 211 yards on 37 carries with two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough to lift Penney over Marceline, which won 42-22 in the Missouri Class 1 semifinals. Overstreet fell just short of the state record of 3,382 yards, held by Max Mickey, as he finished the year with 3,327 yards on 361 carries with 53 rushing touchdowns. Overstreet did break the state record for overall touchdowns in a season with 63. Overstreet heads into his senior season with 5,216 career yards and 98 touchdowns.
Mason Rudolph, Northwestern (Rock Hill, S.C.)
With 197 yards passing (15 of 19) in a 39-7 win over York last week, Rudolph went over 10,000 yards passing in his career. He has completed 874 of 1,256 passes for 10,179 yards and 118 touchdowns in three seasons as the quarterback for Northwestern and he has the Trojans just two wins away from the South Carolina Class AAA Division II championship. He ranks fifth all-time in career yardage in the state and for the season he has completed 282 of 386 passes for 3,570 yards and 50 touchdowns.
