Sunbelt 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!
Emiliano Villarreal Crosses Big Stat Threshold
Starting off the list is Rancho Christian's Emiliano Villarreal, who we judged to be the best player in the league this week. Villarreal threw for 435 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 12.8 yards per attempt, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. He's now once again averaging 300+ passing yards (339) per game.
Rancho Christian is on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 5-1-1 record this season. Villarreal will try to repeat (or improve) on that dominant effort when he faces off against Arlington on Thursday.
Gamescore: 57.60
Arlington was sadly handed a loss on Friday, but Daniel Gonzalez did his best to prevent it. Gonzalez was unstoppable, throwing for 250 yards and a touchdown.
Arlington is on a three-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 3-4. Gonzalez and Arlington will welcome Rancho Christian at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Gamescore: 34.12
Hemet Wins Seventh-Straight Thanks to Draven Lopez
Draven Lopez's big game helped extend Hemet's winning streak to seven on Friday. Lopez was dynamite, throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes. He didn't just play on offense: he also picked up a sack and made three total tackles.
Hemet pushed their record up to 7-0 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Lopez and Hemet will square off against Valley View at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Gamescore: 29.15
Robert Bustamante Delivers Best Effort of Season
Sadly, Robert Bustamante posting his best game of the season wasn't enough to lead Hillcrest over Hemet on Friday. Bustamante rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown on only five carries. The performance marked the most rushing yards he has had since back in October of 2023.
With the defeat, Hillcrest broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-2. Bustamante and Hillcrest will take on Poly at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 28.68
Will Ford Goes Supernova in Rancho Christian Victory
Another Rancho Christian player making an appearance on this list is Will Ford. He picked up 118 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 80 yards. The bulk of those receiving yards came from one huge play: a catch that gained an incredible 62 yards.
For the year, Ford has caught 2 touchdowns while averaging 31 receiving yards per game.
Gamescore: 28.67
Other Notable Players
- Everett Glover: 117 yards receiving, 1 TD (Gamescore: 27.03)
- Louie Fajardo: 165 yards rushing (Gamescore: 27.00)
- Josiah Richards: 55 yards receiving, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 24.75)
- Ryley Lander: 139 yards receiving, 1 TD (Gamescore: 21.98)
- Andrew Nassar: 17 total tackles (Gamescore: 20.88)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
