D2 District 7 (8 Man) 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!
Morgan Kinney Delivers Best Performance of Season
On Friday, Ainsworth got the W thanks in part to Morgan Kinney playing the best football he has all season. Kinney wasn't messing around, rushing for 151 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 8.4 yards per carry, and also throwing for 132 yards and three touchdowns on only ten passes. The match was his third straight with three or more rushing touchdowns dating back to last season.
Kinney's next game is against Elgin/Pope John on Thursday, where he'll look to repeat that solid effort. The last time Kinney took on the Wolfpack, he picked up 100 receiving yards and a touchdown. Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 87.65
Cooper Arehart Crosses Big Stat Threshold
Sadly, Cooper Arehart posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Neligh-Oakdale over Elgin/Pope John on Friday. Arehart rushed for 161 yards and four touchdowns, and also threw for 264 yards and a touchdown. Thanks to that strong showing, he's now averaging 2.1 rushing touchdowns per game. His longest rush was for an incredible 75 yards.
Arehart and Neligh-Oakdale will square off against St. Mary's at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Arehart will face off against Gage Hedstrom, the Cardinals' star quarterback. With so much talent on the field, fans are surely in for an exciting game. The only thing left to see is who brings home the W.
Gamescore: 84.65
Grady Drueke Sets Career High in Rushing Yards
Elgin/Pope John was led to victory by Grady Drueke, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Drueke rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He didn't just play on offense: he also made 11 total tackles and defended a pass in addition to snagging an interception.
For the season, Drueke has run in 13 touchdowns while averaging 126 rushing yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had four rushing touchdowns.
Gamescore: 55.85
Hedstrom Came Up Big in St. Mary's 66-20 Win
Gage Hedstrom continued his hot streak on Friday by dropping his fourth-straight game (dating back to last season) with at least two rushing touchdowns. He rushed for 73 yards and two touchdowns on only five carries, and also threw for 80 yards and two touchdowns. The bulk of those rushing yards came from one huge play: a run that gained an incredible 71 yards.
This year, Hedstrom has thrown 19 touchdowns while averaging 176.7 passing yards per game. It gets even more impressive: after seven games last season, he was only averaging 72.33 passer rating per game. This year he is averaging 113.77 passer rating.
Gamescore: 54.48
Jacob Held Makes It Two for Ainsworth
Another Ainsworth player making an appearance on this list is Jacob Held. He picked up 61 receiving yards and a touchdown.
For the season, Held has caught 3 touchdowns while averaging 24.1 receiving yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he was only averaging ten receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 54.18
Other Notable Players
- Logan Schroedl: 71 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 34.93)
- Jace Rosenkrans: 68 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 33.45)
- Chris Fernandez: 115 yards passing; 85 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 29.17)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
