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 games, which provided a nice bump to their 5-1-1 record this season. Villarreal and Rancho Christian will head out to challenge Arlington at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Gamescore: 57.60
Arlington had to settle for second on Friday, but Daniel Gonzalez sure wasn't going down easily. 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 look to defend their home field on Thursday against Rancho Christian at 7:30 p.m.
Gamescore: 34.12
Hemet Wins Seventh-Straight Thanks to Draven Lopez
Draven Lopez was instrumental in extending Hemet's winning streak to seven on Friday. Lopez did his part (and then some), throwing for 234 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.7% of his passes for the 'W'. He also deserves a shoutout for his performance on D, picking up a sack and making three total tackles.
Hemet pushed their record up to 7-0 with the victory, which was their fourth straight on the road. Lopez and Hemet will take on Valley View at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.
Gamescore: 29.15
Robert Bustamante Turns in Season-Best Performance
On Friday, Hillcrest had to settle for second even though Robert Bustamante put up the best numbers he has all season. 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 loss, Hillcrest broke their three-game winning streak and moved their record to 5-2. Bustamante and Hillcrest will challenge Poly at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 28.68
Will Ford's Big Game Leads Rancho Christian over Poly
The second Rancho Christian player making an appearance here is Will Ford, and for good reason. He picked up 118 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 80 yards. He was no stranger to the big play, connecting on a big catch that went for 62 yards.
On 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
