Here are this week’s candidates for Prime Time Performer.
You can vote once every 12 hours until the polls close on Friday at 5 p.m.
D’Ante’ Cox (Rochester Wide Receiver/Defensive Back) For a month, D’Ante’ Cox had to stand on the sideline and watch and his brother and his teammates battled against SHG, got a fight out of Springfield High and then started their playoff run. Number #1 finally made his return to the gridiron on Friday night in Round Two and tried his best to make up for what he missed. Cox had seven catches for 134 yards to go with two touchdowns….and he had two interceptions, including a one handed grab that you can find on Plays of the Week. Welcome back D’Ante’!
Justin Wright (Taylorville Wide Receiver) The Tornadoes didn’t make it to the third round of the playoffs this season for the first time in three seasons. But the future is bright for the Purple and Gold and sophomore wide receiver Justin Wright put that on display Saturday night against Althoff. Wright set a new school record for receiving yards with an astounding 250 total and that included two touchdowns against the Crusaders. Watch out for Wright and (Brandon) Odam for the next two years.
Jace Franklin (Williamsville Running Back) Jace Franklin finished his high school career with 3,910 rushing yards as a Bullet. Think about how many times up and down the football field that is. We sure are going to miss watching him run over people, but he went out with a bang, rushing for 187 yards on Saturday to become Williamsville’s all time leading rusher and he added four touchdowns against Carlinville.
Asa Donaldson (North Mac Running Back) Let’s count down all the things that Asa Donaldson did on Saturday. He ran for 148 yards on 25 attempts. He also scored North Mac’s only touchdown of the day. He also had an incredible interception in the second half to stop an Anna-Jonesboro drive. He also made sure his team was playing in the 3A quarterfinals. And finally and maybe the most fun thing Asa did on Saturday was his Big Nasty on a kick return. If you haven’t seen it, go check out Big Nasty this week.
Wyatt McIntyre (Athens Cross Country) Way to go Wyatt, you certainly made Warrior nation proud on a day that there was some heartbreak in Athens territory. McIntyre, the junior runner brought home a second place finish in Class 1A from Peoria at the state cross country meet. McIntyre finished with a time of 14:23, just four seconds behind the winner and the best part is….McIntyre will be back next season.
Brian Adams (SHG Running Back) The Play of the Week from the SHG game on Saturday may have went to Spencer Redd, but the Prime Time Performer is going to Brian Adams. The man they call “BB” was breaking ankles and scoring touchdowns to send the Cyclones to the 6A quarterfinals. Adams scored four touchdowns against Galesburg, two of the receiving and two of the rushing variety. He racked up 178 rushing yards and 118 receiving yards.
Steven Albers (Jacksonville Forward) Last week was one that the Jacksonville soccer program will never forget and the school’s all time leading scorer was a big reason why they made their first ever trip to state. Steven Albers scored the game winning goal in double overtime against Springfield High in the UIS super sectional on Tuesday night and then he scored the only goal for the Crimsons against Mt. Carmel in the semifinals. A fourth place finish in 2A is how Albers and the Crimsons ended the 2016 season.
Seton Tournoux (Lutheran High Libero) The Lutheran High Crusaders were on the verge of their season ending in the Routt 1A sectional championship after Mt. Olive and Jill Neihaus completely dominated them in the first set. Then in the second set, LuHi started to get their block set up and Seton Turnoux started doing what she does best. The Lutheran High libero had 12 digs against Mt. Olive and they needed every single one of them to bring a sectional crown back to West Washington.
