Cleveland, Ohio The following players receive game balls in recognition of their efforts during Week 1 of the high school football season.
By Sunday night, coaches are urged to submit suggestions and data to Matt Goul ([email protected]). Make sure to return and cast your vote in the poll below for the player of the week, as this site will be updated with new information until Monday morning:
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Shahn Alston, Harvey: In a 57-41 victory over Berkshire, the USC pledge amassed 290 all-purpose yards and scored an unprecedented eight touchdowns for Harvey. Alston also rose to the top of Harvey’s all-time TD total.
Amherst’s offensive line: In a 48–6 victory over Sandusky, the Comets ran for 405 yards. With 111 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Cy Christensen was one of ten players who carried the football. Behind them were Christian Wolf, Hunter Thornsberry, Jordan Hatfield, Javiaun Bush, and Hunter Farlow.
River Blomquist, Medina: The junior quarterback completed 21 of 39 passes for 237 yards and three touchdowns as the Bees defeated Stow-Munroe Falls 21–13 in their opening game.
Kendrick Boddie, Strongsville: In a 43-42 victory against Avon Lake, the junior Mustang ran for 222 yards and four touchdowns on 29 carries.
Ace Brown, Archbishop Hoban: In their 31–12 victory over Canal Winchester Harvest Prep, the Knights’ senior defensive end performed admirably, recording three sacks and three quarterback pressures. A tackle for loss was added by the Colorado State commit.
Sean Budziak, Perry: A 320-pound nose tackle, Budziak helped Perry defeat Madison 38–14 in the second quarter by intercepting a screen pass.
Walsh Jesuit, Caden Carter: The Bowling Green pledge at linebacker recorded two interceptions and a sack as Walsh Jesuit held on for a 17–14 victory, ending Toledo Central Catholic’s 26-game home winning run.
Akron Garfield and Sheldon Corley:Corley, a sophomore, ran for two touchdowns and 153 yards in the Rams’ 21-19 victory over Ravenna Southeast.
Marcus Council, Streetsboro: In Streetsboro’s 34–20 victory over Copley, Council, a junior, ran for 159 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.
Crocker Collin, St. Edward:In the Eagles’ 24-0 whitewash over Pickerington North, Crocker, a senior edge rusher, led the defensive line with a team-high four solo tackles, one tackle for loss, and 1.5 sacks. He aided on ten additional tackles and added three quarterback hurries.
Andrew Cummings-Byrd, Maple Heights: With 124 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, Cummings-Byrd led the Mustangs to victory 42-16 at Lorain.
Mayfield, Dario D. Agostino: In his debut, the rookie quarterback threw for 214 yards and two touchdowns in a 20-3 victory over Elyria.
Cason Diiulio, Lutheran East: In his Falcons debut, the Youngstown State commit tossed for 300 yards and three touchdowns as the team defeated John Hay 34-0.
Revere Harrison Drvenkar:In a 35–20 victory over Woodridge, Drvenkar, a senior defensive back and receiver, excelled on both ends of the field. In addition to a 73-yard jet sweep pass to Uriah Pulliam, he hauled in six catches from Chase Clifford for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Drvenkar recorded one pass breakup and four solo tackles on defense.
Blake Elder, Avon: In Thursday’s 40–14 victory over St. Ignatius, Elder threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns on 12-of-23 passing. After filling in for a few postseason games as a sophomore, the senior made his first start. He is the son of Mike Elder, the coach of Avon.
Mentor Jackson Farley: In Friday’s 35-28 victory over Olmsted Falls, the senior rushed for all five of the Cardinals’ touchdowns and a school-record 364 yards. Alex Mathews’ 2015 record of 252 yards rushing was surpassed by Farley. Before the third quarter ended, Farley broke Mathews’ mark by rushing the football thirty-five times.
Dylan Fantone, Twinsburg: He led the Tigers to a 29-28 comeback victory on the road with a 44-yard touchdown pass to Rob Herndon with 18 seconds remaining. At one time, they were behind 28-9.
Brayton Feister, Hoban, Archbishop:Feister, who is now mostly used as a linebacker, helped Hoban defeat Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 31–12 in the second quarter with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown. Jance Henry led them with an early score on a 52-yard run, while Feister added a touchdown on the ground in the fourth quarter. He ran for 121 yards in the end.
Hudson and Reno Ferri: Ferri, a junior, led Hudson in a 28–14 victory over Austintown Fitch with 133 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
Karsen Fisher, Nordonia: In their 42-0 shutout against St. Vincent-St. Mary, the Knights junior linebacker led his team in tackles with five, including four single hits. Fisher picked up a fumble as well.
Kayden Forte, Benedictine: The Bengals defeated Gilmour Academy 21-19 on Saturday thanks to his team-high 107 yards rushing on 18 carries, including a score in the second quarter. With Gilmour missing two conversions, senior Nate Majors’ three extra points made the difference, while Corde Blair added 64 yards rushing.
Wadsworth, Brysen Hall: In a 44-7 thumping of Barberton, the Grizzlies’ sophomore quarterback completed 12 of 18 throws for 240 yards and four touchdowns.
Jayden Hardy, Willoughby South: He helped South defeat Cuyahoga Falls 34-0 with 120 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.
Tristin Hughes, Rocky River: In a 52-7 thumping of Firestone, the junior gained 137 yards from scrimmage, including 96 yards and two touchdowns on three receptions, marking his Pirates debut.
Dominick Jackson, Nordonia: He added an interception on defense and began the scoring against STVM with an 18-yard touchdown reception from first-year starting quarterback Steven Fakult. Jackson had four takeaways, including a fumble recovery.
University School’s Aaron Kim:He led the Preppers in their 42-0 victory over Brookside on Thursday with 182 yards and three touchdowns.
Streetsboro’s Ayden Knuebel led the Rockets defense against Copley with two TFL, ten assists, and eight solo tackles. Arthur Scott III, a teammate from Wisconsin, contributed 1.5 sacks and three TFL.
Robert King, Garfield Heights: King rushed the football 12 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns in one half of work during Friday’s 55-8 thumping of Lutheran West. For 62 yards, the quarterback also completed 5 of 7 throws.
Brody Larkins, Brecksville-Broadview Heights: With 147 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, Larkins led the Bees to a 21-17 victory over Aurora.
Kirtland, Jake LaVerde: The senior quarterback for the Hornets only completed one pass, but he didn’t have to throw it. During Kirtland’s 30-7 victory over Central Clarion in Pennsylvania, LaVerde ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns.
Conner Lehner, Mogadore: With both touchdowns in the second half, Lehner ignited the Wildcats’ comeback in a 13–6 victory over Crestwood. He ran for 166 yards in the end.
Dylan Maddox, Berea-Midpark: The Titans defeated Brunswick 28–7 thanks to his 50-yard interception return.
Aurora and Luke McGovern:McGovern, a junior cornerback and receiver, contributed three interceptions and five defensive tackles to the Greenmen’s narrow defeat at Brecksville-Broadview Heights. In addition, he returned a punt 84 yards to score and added five receptions for 54 yards.
Marcus McMahon, Midview: In their 48-14 victory over Westlake, McMahon led the Middies with 247 yards and four touchdowns on 24 attempts.
Devontae Miller, Lutheran East: With 136 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, Miller was Cason Diiulio’s best target in a victory over John Hay.
Donovan Moorhead, Hawken: Moorhead threw three touchdown passes and 191 yards as the Hawks defeated Cleveland Central Catholic 33-6 in their opening game. Five of his throws were caught by Charlie Mallett, who gained 95 yards and a touchdown. Moorhead’s passes also resulted in goals for Hawken from Tommy Wright and Mitch Greenberg.
Maeson Morales, Amherst: With ten tackles, three TFL, and a sack, the Comets outside linebacker led Amherst. He stopped an extra point as well.
Casey Myser, Highland: In their 49-10 victory over Erie McDowell in Pennsylvania, the Hornets’ scoring machine rushed for 153 yards on just 11 carries after opening with three touchdowns.
Holy Name: Nick NemethIn a 55-12 rout of Normandy at Byers Field, Nemeth compiled 232 all-purpose yards and did plenty besides that. He scored three TDs, including two on offense with 83 yards on six carries. Nemeth added 63 yards on five receptions as an H-back. Defensively, he ran back one of his two interceptions for a 60-yard score and had three solo tackles with three assists and three TFL. Nemeth added a fumble recovery for good measure.
C.J. Newell, Glenville:Newell led Glenville s defense in a 33-27 overtime win at Massillon with nine tackles. Five of his hits were unassisted against the Tigers, who had a chance to win it with a 27-yard field goal that was blocked at the end of regulation. Newell also scored the opening touchdown on offense, where Glenville gained 365 yards as a team.
Tyler Pappas, Manchester:All Pappas did in his debut as Manchester s quarterback was set a school record with seven TD passes. He also threw for 318 yards on 16-of-24 passing to lead the Panthers 62-0 win vs. Coventry.
Kemarion Simpson, Trinity:A sophomore, Simpson rushed for 148 yards and two TDs on just five carries in a 40-14 win Saturday at Ashtabula St. John.
Ryan Taylor, Rocky River:The senior quarterback completed 9 of 12 passes for 184 yards and two TDs in the Pirates blowout Friday of Firestone. Taylor also rushed for 55 yards and a score on six attempts, as the starters played only the first half.
Daymon Watts, Valley Forge:Watts, a senior running back, scored four times in the Patriots 33-29 win against North Royalton. He rushed for two TDs and had two as a receiver.
Jakob Weatherspoon, Avon:Weatherspoon, a North Carolina commit, came up with the momentum changing interception in Avon s win against St. Ignatius. The Eagles held a 14-7 lead when he snagged his interception and returned it to the 5-yard line. Avon ran away with the win from there, and Weatherspoon added 53 yards on two receptions.
Brandon White, St. Edward:In his return from an ACL injury, White scored three times in the Eagles shutout of Pickerington North at Baldwin Wallace. He totaled 157 yards, including 119 rushing with two of his scores.
(Editor s note: Cleveland.com polls are intended to be fun. We do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Cleveland.com reserves the right to adjust the voting based on irregularities.)
