Here are this week's candidates for the Antonio's Pizza Prime Time Performer. You can vote once every 12 hours until the polls close on Friday at 5pm. The winner will receive a $20 gift card to Antonio's Pizza!
Albert Okwuegbunam (Sacred Heart-Griffin WR) – One of many weapons in the Cyclone’s offensive arsenal this year is Okwuegbunam. He made the most of his touches on opening night, taking all three of his catches to the end zone and finishing up with 119 yards about 2/3 of the air attack from Tim Brenneisen.
Dalton Handlin (Rochester Soccer) – The humble Handlin gives all the credit to his team for setting him up, but the Rochester striker is something special. The Rocket goal scorer is worth the price of admission and will certainly be in the running for Central State Eight player of the year. Handlin’s first two games this season saw him net four goals in each, first against Eisenhower and then against Williamsville. Handlin added one more goal in the Rockets’ 3-1 win over Granite City on Saturday.
Henry Rademaker (Glenwood Soccer) – He came off the bench the Titans Central State Eight opener on Tuesday night at MacArthur but that didn’t matter. Rademaker scored a hat trick in ten minutes time in the first half. He followed that up with Glenwood’s first goal against Sikeston (Mo.) at the Carbondale Tournament on Friday night as the Titans won 3-1.
Eddie Gailes (Southeast RB) – We knew Gailes would be one to watch this season and he showed us why on Friday night. Gailes opened up the Spartans’ season with an 84 yard touchdown run just 23 seconds into the contest. He wrapped up the evening with three total rushing TD’s and 168 yards on 15 carries.
James White (Jacksonville WR) – It would appear that White is the top candidate for a favorite target off the arm of the Crimsons’ QB Joe “The Cannon” Brannan. White caught three touchdown passes from Brannan Friday night and hauled in a total of 141 yards on 11 carries as Jacksonville came back to beat Lanphier 46-34 on the road to open up the Central State Eight season strong.
Jacob Cronister (Plains QB) – The Pleasant Plains offense certainly showed off on Friday night and Nik Georges and Cole Greer were worthy candidates of the Prime Time Performer after each of them scored three touchdowns against Riverton, but it was Cronister who took care of controlling the Cardinal arsenal. Cronister threw four touchdowns and 326 yards and ran for another as Plains won their Sangamo opener by putting up 55 points on the Hawks. Cronister went 23-32 setting a new school record for completions in a game.
North Mac's O-Line – The big boys up front took care of business as the Panthers pulled off the Sangamo upset special in week one. The offensive line gave Brennan White plenty of time to control the offense and score twice on the ground to go with two rushing TD’s for Griffin Hatalla. New Berlin jumped out to a 13-0 lead but the North Mac offensive line just continued to grind down the Pretzels and it proved effective as the Panthers got to 1-0 on the year with a total of 266 rushing yards for the offense.
Hunter Maxwell (Athens WR) – The exciting Athens offense got things started in the 2015 season thanks to the tall junior Maxwell. He caught a key pass on their opening drive against Porta and then punched in two rushing touchdowns to put the Warriors up 14-0 early. Maxwell added a receiving touchdown later in the day as the Warriors whipped up on Bluejays for a 42-0 victory.
Nate Bahr (Lutheran High Goalie) – The Lutheran High Crusaders started their season with three wins last week, including two at the Carlinville Tournament. Through three games, the Crusaders have yet to give up a goal and that’s due to a strong defense anchored by Nate Bahr, their keeper, against the likes of Athens, Lincolnwood and Roxana.
Ali Pankey (Plains Volleyball) – A nine kill and three block performance in Pleasant Plains’ Sangamo volleyball opener puts Pankey on the list this week even though she did try to take out someone’s grandma in the stands with a slam against North Mac. She assured us that she would apologize but there will probably be plenty more victims of her hard hitting this season.
MJ Haire (Williamsville WR/DB) – The game of the week featured Williamsville vs. Auburn and while a lot of players put up big numbers offensively, Haire scored what was ultimately the game winning touchdown on a screen pass from Vince Vignali. Haire was a terror on both sides of the ball collecting four solo tackles and assisting on 12 more.
Glenwood Running Backs – When one team puts up numbers like 363 yards on the ground in the Central State Eight…people take notice. The Glenwood Titans “team” of running backs combined for 52 carries for 363 yards against the MacArthur Generals in their opener. Zack Wardlow led the Titans with 97 yards but ten other guys got touches in the backfield so the running backs get the nod this week for PTP.
Avante' Cox (Rochester WR) – There was plenty of scoring in the Rochester-Eisenhower shootout, but it was Avante Cox who notched three touchdowns in his first game as a Rocket. The Williamsville transfer caught six passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, while returning four kick-off’s for a total of 164 yards and a touchdown. The Rockets put up 79 points so big offensive numbers were expected but the transfer showed quickly that he’s going to simply add to Derek Leonard’s toolbox of weapons on their quest for six straight state championships.
