Little Illini Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances across Friday and Saturday's football action (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
A Season-Best Effort from Gavyn Cothern Leads Richland County over Paris
Gavyn Cothern produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Richland County to the win on Friday. Cothern rushed for 254 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 79 yards and a touchdown on only six passes.
The win for Richland County keeps them at an undefeated 7-0. Cothern and Richland County will welcome Casey-Westfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 83.12
Lucca Giannavola Has Career-Day on Friday
Marshall was led to victory by Lucca Giannavola, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Giannavola rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles.
Lawrenceville's probably not too fond of Giannavola given he always seems to get the better of them. Back in October of 2023 (the last time Giannavola saw the Indians), he rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 56.10
Aj Knoblett Delivers Electric Effort Vs Newton
Aj Knoblett was instrumental in extending Robinson's winning streak to three on Friday. Newton had no answer to Knoblett as he picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Knoblett is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for four straight games.
For the year, Knoblett has caught 8 touchdowns while averaging 70.1 receiving yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he was only averaging 33.43 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 46.55
Ryan Richards Delivers Best Effort of Season
Ryan Richards produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Casey-Westfield to the win on Saturday. Richards picked up 211 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 84 yards.
The victory for Casey-Westfield keeps them at an undefeated 7-0. Richards' next matchup is against Richland County on Friday, where he'll look to repeat that solid effort.
Gamescore: 38.68
Other Notable Players
- Nolan Clement: 286 yards passing; 34 yards rushing (Gamescore: 38.27)
- Luke Karras: 77 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 37.25)
- Ian Pianfetti: 70 yards receiving, 1 TD ; 43 yards rushing (Gamescore: 30.05)
- Reese Johnson: 280 yards passing; 40 yards rushing (Gamescore: 29.37)
- Dom Huisinga: 38 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 17.55)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
