Western 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!
Barnett Came Up Big in Dodge City's 40-14 Victory
Starting off the list is Dodge City's Cade Barnett, who we judged to be the best player in the league this week. Barnett rushed for 84 yards and two touchdowns on only seven carries. Dodge City is undefeated when Barnett posts two or more rushing touchdowns, but 1-3 otherwise.
On the year, Barnett has run in 5 touchdowns while averaging 44.1 rushing yards per game. He is looking even better than he did last year: after seven games last season, he was only averaging 10.14 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 60.75
Xavier Tafoya was a major factor in Liberal's win over Ulysses on Friday. Tafoya was unstoppable, making eight total tackles (1.0 for loss).
Tafoya and Liberal will venture away from home to challenge Hays at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. The last time Tafoya took on the Indians, he forced a fumble and made nine total tackles (1.0 for loss). Can he match (or beat) that performance?
Gamescore: 54.20
Ayden Juarez Delivers Best Performance of Season
On Friday, Liberal got the W thanks in part to Ayden Juarez playing the best football he has all season. Juarez rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries.
For the season, Juarez has run in those 1 touchdown while averaging 25.6 rushing yards per game.
Gamescore: 37.80
Daxton Minton Delivers Electric Performance Vs Hays
Daxton Minton was instrumental in extending Great Bend's winning streak to seven on Friday. Minton did his part (and then some), rushing for 125 yards and a touchdown on only 13 carries, while also throwing for 100 yards and a touchdown for the 'W'. That's the most rushing yards he has posted since back in November of 2023.
Hays had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Minton it was a similar story. When Minton last faced the Indians back in September of 2023, he threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns while completing 75.9% of his passes, and also rushed for 89 yards and a touchdown on only ten carries.
Gamescore: 31.77
James Fieser Turns in Season-Best Performance
On Friday, Liberal got the W thanks in part to James Fieser playing the best football he has all season. Fieser picked up 96 receiving yards and three touchdowns. He showed off some serious burst, connecting on a big catch for 67 yards.
Ulysses had to have seen this coming; the last time they saw Fieser it was a similar story. When Fieser last faced the Tigers back in October of 2023, he picked up 90 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Gamescore: 27.93
Other Notable Players
- Ian Premer: 85 yards rushing, 1 TD (Gamescore: 26.27)
- Ryan Gonzalez: 104 yards rushing, 2 TDs (Gamescore: 22.80)
- Giovani Duran: 1 sack and 8 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 20.00)
- Landon Martinez: 8 total tackles (2.0 for loss) (Gamescore: 17.50)
- Tevin Cotter: 119 yards passing (Gamescore: 16.93)
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
