MaxPreps will hand out postseason football honors during the first week of January, including its annual list of Medium and Small Schools All-Americans.
This week, the National Player of the Year Watch takes a look at the top candidates for Medium and Small Schools Player of the Year.
See high school football playoff brackets and champions from each stateNational Football Player of the Year Watch
Medium Schools
Markell Jones, Columbus East (Ind.)
Jones set the single season rushing yardage record in Indiana with 3,536 yards on the season. He currently ranks third in the nation in rushing yards. He also scored 60 touchdowns, the fourth highest single season total in state history.
Brett Brumbaugh, South Fayette (McDonald, Pa.)
Brumbaugh is 43-2 as South Fayette's starting quarterback and he leads the team (14-0) into the Class 2A semifinals against Hickory (Hermitage, Pa.) this week. Brumbaugh is also just 105 yards away from breaking the state's all-time career yardage mark of 10,948 yards.
Tren'Davian Dickson, Navasota (Texas)
Just a junior, Dickson has tied the national record for touchdown receptions in a season with 34. He tied the record, held by Kirby Moore of Prosser (Wash.), with seven catches for 204 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-36 win over El Campo. He will attempt to break the record Saturday when Navasota plays Henderson. For the season, Dickson has 70 catches for 1,838 yards.
Maurice Alexander, Washington (Miami)
Washington has a 39-game win streak and Alexander has been quarterback for 13 of those wins. He has the Tornadoes in the Class 4A state championship game for the third straight season and they will face Bolles (Jacksonville), the team Washington defeated for the state title in 2012. Alexander has thrown for 2,513 yards and 24 touchdowns while completing 145 of 206 passes. He has also rushed for 365 yards on 80 carries with five scores.
Myles Brennan, St. Stanislaus (Bay St. Louis, Miss.)
With just 10 yards passing in the state finals against Noxubee County, Brennan can set the single-season passing yardage record for Mississippi. The record is held by former St. Stanilaus standout Dylan Favre, who threw for 5,511 yards in 2009. Brennan also needs three touchdown passes to break Favre's single season mark of 63 touchdown passes in a season. Brennan has 5,502 yards passing and 61 touchdowns. His yardage total is the most ever thrown by a high school sophomore in national history.
Small Schools
Kellen Overstreet, Penney (Hamilton, Mo.)
Overstreet set numerous state records in Missouri and ranks as one of the nation's all-time leading rushers with 9,475 career yards. His 168 career touchdowns rank sixth all-time and his 70 touchdowns this year fell one short of tying the national record. He is second in the nation in rushing with 4,259 yards and he is first in the nation in touchdowns (70) and scoring with 426 points.
Dominick Bragalone, South Williamsport (Pa.)
Bragalone ran for 443 yards and six touchdowns in a 69-41 quarterfinal win over Pius X in the Class A state playoffs last week. The total gave Bragalone the state single-season rushing record, breaking the mark of Zach Barket of Schuylkill Haven, who had 4,187 yards in 2008. Bragalone, the 2013 Class A state co-player of the year, reportedly has 4,363 yards rushing on the season. That would put him within striking distance of the national record of 4,756 yards set by John Giannantonio of Netcong (N.J.) in 1950. Bragalone's current total ranks third all-time nationally. South Williamsport could potentially play two more games, but it will have to defeat Bishop Guilfoyle (Altoona, Pa.) in the semifinals.
Kiante Enis, Winchester (Ind.)
The junior finished his season as one of the leading rushers in the nation with 3,189 yards and 52 touchdowns in just 12 games. His 265 yards per game average is one of the best in the nation.
Jamarius Henderson, Dale County (Midland City, Ala.)
The Class 3A Back of the Year in Alabama as a junior, Henderson has done even better as a senior. He broke the state single season rushing record with 3,279 yards on the season. His Dale County team has one more game to play against Madison Academy in the Class 3A state finals this weekend. He also has 43 rushing touchdowns, which would tie the state record; however, Austin Stiefel of Fyffe broke the record this year and has 45.
Mason Fine, Locust Grove (Okla.)
Besides becoming the first Oklahoma quarterback to ever throw for over 4,000 yards in a season, Fine is also the first to throw for over 60 touchdowns. For the season, Fine has 4,469 yards passing with 65 touchdowns. Locust Grove plays Heritage Hall in the Class 3A state semifinals on Friday.
