Mid-State 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!
A Season-Best Performance from Alex Leugers Leads Franklin Community over Greenwood
On Friday, Franklin Community got the W thanks in part to Alex Leugers playing the best football he has all season. Leugers rushed for 338 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 12.5 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He showed off some serious burst, cutting through the defense on one rush that went for 64 yards.
Greenwood had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Leugers it was a similar story. Back in October of 2023 (the last time Leugers saw the Woodmen), he rushed for 221 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 11.1 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 82.30
Kasmir Hicks Has Career Rushing Day
Kasmir Hicks posted a new career-high in rushing yards on Friday. He made two total tackles. He also made an appearance on special teams (luckily for Decatur Central): his a 46-yard strike wound up winning them the game.
The victory (which was Decatur Central's fourth in a row) raised their record to 5-2-1. Hicks and Decatur Central will face off against Franklin Community at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 39.53
On Friday, Perry Meridian had to settle for second even though Allen Zupan put up the best numbers he has all season. Zupan threw for 164 yards and three touchdowns, and also rushed for 139 yards, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process.
For the season, Zupan has thrown 11 touchdowns while averaging 167.4 passing yards per game. That doesn't tell the whole story though: at this point last year, he was only averaging 0.13 rushing yards per game. This year he is averaging 50.75 rushing yards.
Gamescore: 36.93
Another Game with at Least Seven Total Tackles from Grady Gardner
Grady Gardner produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Martinsville to the win on Friday. Gardner wasn't messing around, making seven total tackles (1.0 for loss) and defending three passes in addition to snagging three interceptions which he returned for a touchdown. The contest was his third straight with seven or more total tackles dating back to last season.
The win for Martinsville keeps them at an undefeated 8-0. Gardner and Martinsville will square off against Plainfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 34.50
Byron Hon Delivers Best Effort of Season
Perry Meridian came up short on Friday despite Byron Hon delivering his best game to date. Hon picked up 115 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He is becoming a predictor of Perry Meridian's success: when he posts at least two receiving touchdowns the team is 2-1 (and 1-4 when he doesn't).
This season, Hon has caught 8 touchdowns while averaging 77.8 receiving yards per game. He's made a big improvement compared to last season: at this point last year, he had five receiving touchdowns.
Gamescore: 33.83
Other Notable Players
- Gunner Ruppert: 120 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 33.50)
- Clayton Ratliff: 19 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 24.50)
- Andre Watson: 2 sacks and 9 total tackles (3.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 23.00)
- Luke Starnes: 111 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 21.00)
- Jordan Palmer: 1 sack and 12 total tackles (1.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 21.00)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
