Carroll's Kenny Hill has entered the Player of the Year Watch by putting up big numbers while leading his team deep into the Texas playoffs.
Photo by Dan Wozniak
Derrick Henry and Max Browne have both finished their careers with multiple state and some national records and head the MaxPreps Player of the Year Watch. Next up is Jake Browning of Folsom, who is on the verge of setting several state passing records in California.
Folsom meets De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in the first Open Division North Regional playoff game in state history. Browning, only a sophomore, can set state record for passing yardage and touchdowns in a single season.
Two players moving into the Player of the Year Watch are Mark Dodson of Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.) and Kenny Hill of Carroll (Southlake, Texas). Dodson led his team to a Class 6A state championship in Tennessee while Hill has Carroll in the Class 5A semifinals in Texas.
MaxPreps National Player of the Year Watch
FavoriteDerrick Henry, Yulee (Fla.)
Henry's career came to an end with 317 yards on 43 carries and four touchdowns in a
45-35 loss to Bolles in the Florida 4A playoffs. He ends his career with 12,122 yards on 1,387 carries, both national and Florida state records. His 4,261 yards for the season is also a new Florida state record and ranks third all-time. Henry completed his career with 47 straight 100-yard games as well and was recently named Gatorade Florida Football Player of the Year.
Top Contenders
Max Browne, Skyline (Sammamish, Wash.)
Browne helped Skyline complete a 14-0 season with a 49-24 win over Bellarmine Prep in the Washington Class 4A championship game. He completed 21 of 28 passes for 384 yards and four touchdowns. He finishes the year with 277 completions in 377 attempts for 4,526 yards and 49 touchdowns. Browne, who was named the Gatorade Washington Football Player of the Year, ends his career with a state record 12,953 yards. He also holds the career record for completions, with 882, and is third in career touchdowns with 146. His season yardage total ranks second all-time.
Thomas Tyner, Aloha (Beaverton, Ore.)Tyner finished his senior season with 3,415 yards rushing on 299 carries with 42 touchdowns.
Kelvin Taylor, Glades Day (Belle Glade, Fla.)Taylor ends the season with 2,380 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns. He finishes his career with a Florida career rushing record of 12,033 yards. On the official National Federation of High Schools Record Book career rushing list, Taylor has 10,475 yards.
Keep an Eye OnConnor Mitch, Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.)
Mitch completed the season with 306 completions in 497 attempts for 4,701 yards and 63 touchdowns. He had a single-game high of 667 yards and nine touchdowns this year.
Austin Kafentzis, Jordan (Sandy, Utah)
For the season, Kafentzis completed 200 of 313 passes for 3,018 yards and 32 touchdowns. He also rushed for 1,884 yards on 237 carries with 26 touchdowns. In his first two varsity seasons, Kafentzis has thrown for 6,206 yards and he has run for 3,261 yards. Kafentzis was chosen as the Gatorade Utah Football Player of the Year.
Shuler Bentley, Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.)
Bentley finished the season with 299 completions in 462 attempts for 4,718 yards and 59 touchdowns. He was named the Gatorade South Carolina Football Player of the Year.
Cord Sandberg, Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.)
Sandberg completed only 63 percent of his passes (17 of 27), which is one of his lower totals of the season, but he threw for a season-high five touchdowns and gained 257 yards in an impressive 51-0 win over Central (Fort Pierce, Fla.). Sandberg has completed 166 of 230 passes for 2,462 yards and 34 touchdowns with just one interception.
Jake Browning, Folsom (Calif.)
Browning completed 16 of 31 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns in Folsom's 44-18 win over Elk Grove in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game. With 4,964 yards on the season, Browning is just 221 yards away from the state record of 5,185, set last year by Folsom's Tanner Trosin. He also needs four touchdown passes to tie the state record of 65, set in 1999 by Robert De La Cruz of Cathedral. Folsom takes on De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in the Open Division North Regional playoff game on Saturday.
Cody Thomas, Heritage (Colleyville, Texas)
Thomas completes his senior year with 267 completions in 421 attempts for 4,203 yards and 46 touchdowns.
Will Grier, Davidson Day (Davidson, N.C.)
Grier completed his junior year with 324 completions in 414 attempts for 5,785 yards and 69 touchdowns. Grier was also named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year in North Carolina.
Drake Harris, Christian (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
For the season Harris, a junior, had 91 catches for 2,016 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Mark Dodson Jr., Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.)
In leading Whitehaven to a 15-0 record and a 36-35 overtime win against Maryville in the Tennessee 6A playoffs, Dodson rushed for 318 yards and finished the season with 3,295 yards rushing and 37 touchdowns. Dodson was named the Gatorade Football Player of the Year for Tennessee.
Kenny Hill, Carroll (Southlake, Texas)
In leading Carroll to a 12-1 record, Hill has thrown for 3,032 yards (188 of 273) with 26 touchdowns. He has also rushed 151 times for 1,327 yards and 28 touchdowns. Hill also earned the Gatorade Texas Football Player of the Year honor.
