Little Illini Top Player Performances of the Week
Congratulations to this week's top players! We're covering the best performances across Friday and Saturday's football action (using all statistics entered as of the time of writing). Enjoy!
A Season-Best Performance from Gavyn Cothern Leads Richland County over Paris
Richland County was led to victory by Gavyn Cothern, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Cothern rushed for 254 yards and five touchdowns while picking up 10.6 yards per carry, and also threw for 79 yards and a touchdown on only six passes.
The win for Richland County keeps them at an undefeated 7-0. Cothern and Richland County will be playing in front of their home fans against Casey-Westfield at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Gamescore: 83.12
Lucca Giannavola Has Career Rushing Day
Marshall was led to victory by Lucca Giannavola, who turned in his biggest game of the season on Friday. Giannavola rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns while picking up 8.7 yards per carry, good enough to set a new career-high in rushing yards in the process. He also put in work on the defensive side of the ball, picking up a sack and making ten total tackles.
Lawrenceville had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Giannavola it was a similar story. Back in October of 2023 (the last time Giannavola saw the Indians), he rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown while picking up 7.1 yards per carry.
Gamescore: 56.10
Big Game from Knoblett As Robinson Won 35-28
Robinson picked up their third consecutive win on Friday thanks in part to Aj Knoblett. Newton had no answer to Knoblett as he picked up 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Knoblett is trending in the right direction considering he's improved his point production for four straight games.
Knoblett and Robinson will head out to challenge Paris at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The last time Knoblett took on the Tigers, he picked up 61 receiving yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 62 yards. Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 46.55
Ryan Richards Turns in Season-Best Performance
Ryan Richards produced his most outstanding game to date while leading Casey-Westfield to the win on Saturday. Richards picked up 211 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He torched the secondary when he pulled down a catch that went for 84 yards.
Richards and Casey-Westfield will take on Richland County at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The match will pit Richards up against the Tigers' star WR Dirks Weiler. The only thing left to do is find out who's the greater deep ball threat. You'll have to watch the game to know for sure.
Gamescore: 38.68
Other Notable Players
- Nolan Clement: 286 yards passing; 34 yards rushing (Gamescore: 38.27)
- Luke Karras: 77 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 37.25)
- Ian Pianfetti: 70 yards receiving, 1 TD ; 43 yards rushing (Gamescore: 30.05)
- Reese Johnson: 280 yards passing; 40 yards rushing (Gamescore: 29.37)
- Dom Huisinga: 38 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 17.55)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
