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!
Nik Georges (Pleasant Plains Running Back) The Cardinals started the year with all the highlights in the air. Injuries have forced Plains to adapt throughout the season. On Friday night Walworth’s boys ran for 455 yards against the Saukees and Georges had over half of those. The bruising running back got 20 carries and pounded out 231 yards and scored five times.
Albert Okwuegbunam (SHG Wide Receiver) The Cyclones can score in so many different ways and Mizzou commit Albert Okwuegbunam did just that on Friday night. He caught two touchdown passes from Tim Brenneisen and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown, all in the first quarter. Okwuegbunam is a big reason the Cyclones are 7-0 and are the favorites to win the 6A state title this year.
Nate Cheung (Springfield High Forward) A flair for the dramatic? Nate Cheung stepped up when his team needed him the most in what was their biggest game of the season thus far. Cheung’s goal with 29 seconds left all but clinched the Central State Eight crown for the Senators. Springfield High beat Glenwood 2-1 to remain unbeaten in CS8 play.
D’Ante Cox (Rochester Wide Receiver) Think of a way to score in a football game and the Rocket wide receiver probably did it on Friday night. The junior rushed for a 51 yard touchdown, caught a 41 yard touchdown pass, scored a 63 yard punt return and had a 30 yard pick six in Rochester’s big win over Jacksonville. Scary part is, he is still learning Derek Leonard’s offense and with seven games under his belt, he will likely only improve.
Jace Franklin (Williamsville Running Back) The Bullets are poised for a late push to get into the playoffs and they could be real dangerous considering their running back is only a junior. The younger half of Speed Inc., Franklin, racked up 130 yards, averaging 13 per carry and scored two touchdowns for the Williamsville in their fourth win of the season.
Connor Burger (New Berlin Wide Receiver) The Pretzels survived a tough game against a desperate Athens team thanks to four touchdowns from Connor Burger. The wide out had six catches for 124 receiving yards, including the game winning touchdown on a 48 yard run. New Berlin is 6-1 on the season and the combo of Cam Cummings and Burger have the Pretzels ready for a deep postseason run.
Austin Galloway (Pawnee Running Back) The Indians are a power run team and opponents have to game plan for Galloway every week this year and next. The junior powered his way to three touchdowns in Pawnee’s 42-0 win over East Alton-Wood River to get the Indians to six wins.
Brandon Hay (Glenwood Running Back) Coach Dan Rourke has a stable of running backs and this week it was the junior Brandon Hay who came through with three touchdowns. He had a receiving touchdown and two rushing, averaging over 11 yards per rush. Hay helped Glenwood scored 37 unanswered against the Senators and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Dalton Handlin (Rochester forward) Both Rocket goals were off the foot of Handlin on Tuesday evening when Rochester clipped Jacksonville in overtime to stay in the hunt for the Central State Eight title. Handlin has been Coach Kutscher’s go-to guy up top all year as they try to stay at the top of the Central State Eight race behind Springfield and Glenwood.
