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.
The winner will receive a $20 gift card to Mariah’s Restaurant.
Ajonte Lee (Lanphier Quarterback) Responding well to a Week 1 loss, the Lanphier Lions were able to take down their crosstown rivals on the road thanks to the composure of Ajonte Lee under center on Saturday. The quarterback totaled 69 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns himself, but his major contribution was distributing the ball to the three great running backs they have and showing patience in a big rivalry game.
Amir Brummett (MacArthur Quarterback) There might not be a player in the state of Illinois that had the Friday night Amir Brummett did. The numbers alone speak for themselves but then you throw in the fact that he carried his team to the biggest upset in the CS8 in a decade? Amir had 345 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, while rushing for 217 yards and one rushing touchdown….against SHG. We’re talking about once in a lifetime performances here.
Gage Gibson (North Mac Running Back) The North Mac Panthers continue to show up on Friday nights and return home with victories. It doesn’t matter how they do it and it isn’t always pretty, they just continue to get it down. Last week senior running back and linebacker Gage Gibson was a major reason why. Gibson had 141 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on offense, and he had one interception and one fumble recovery against New Berlin on defense.
Nik Samson (Pleasant Plains Running Back) After two weeks, we know that Pleasant Plains can definitely throw the ball. Ben Reinert is going to be able to sling it this season. The way to get to the playoffs for the Cardinals is the question of whether or not they can balance that by running the ball and keeping defenses guessing. Nik Samson is the answer to that question. He put up 96 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in Week 2 to go along with seven tackles for a loss on defense, proving that Plains is a serious threat week in and week out.
Lucas Rockford (Springfield Quarterback) Our Ten Question Tuesday victim this week is also up for Prime Time Performer thanks to his show on the road last Friday night. It was quality over quantity for the lefty Solon QB against Jacksonville. On just seven completed passes, four of them went for touchdowns to three different wide receivers.
Nic Baker (Rochester Quarterback) We tried to find a good reason to nominate someone else from Rochester for the DRM PTP vote this week, but Shake ’n Bake gave us no choice. The Rockets senior quarterback has started the season on an incredible pace through two weeks, against quality competition. Baker completed 24 of his 32 attempts against Glenwood, that’s 75% for 356 yards through the air and four scores. He also had half the team’s rushing yardage (94) and one score on the ground himself.
Justice Ferrier (Williamsville Quarterback) Another quarterback we tried to keep off the list insisted he stay on based on his big night under the Friday night lights. The Bullets play caller had 218 passing yards and three passing touchdowns to go along with 45 rushing yards and two scores on the ground against Williamsville’s rivals in Auburn.
Mason Reiff (Athens Quarterback) The Athens Warriors are 2-0 for a lot of reasons. We don’t have the space to get into all of them, but one reason is number 8. Mason Reiff is able to run the offense, put up 70 rushing yards in Week 2 along with a rushing touchdown AND he had two interceptions from his safety position on defense.
Justin Wright (Taylorville Wide Receiver) If you want to talk about impressive numbers that belong up their with Amir Brummett and Nic Baker from Week 2, you to include the IHSA record setting performance from Taylorville. Junior wide receiver Justin Wright had 303 receiving yards…in the first quarter alone. Wright would go on to break the IHSA single game receiving record with 390 yards on 12 catches and that included four touchdowns. If Justin wins the PTP vote this week, he better be taking Brandon Odam (his QB) for dinner with the gift certificate!
Rylee Claton (Glenwood Forward) After seeing some incredible CS8 soccer last week, the Glenwood Titans have emerged as one of the favorites to win the conference this season. Forward Rylee Claton showed the ability to find the back of the net, scoring two goals against Collinsville and two more against Rochester, both in Titan victories.
Grace Walker (Rochester volleyball) The CS8 volleyball slate better watch out for Rochester this season. The Rockets have the makings of a team that can cause a stir in the conference normally dominated by SHG and Springfield High. One major contributor is Grace Walker, who had eight kills and two blocks in the Rockets’ two set sweep over Glenwood and then had four blocks and seven kills against Taylorville.
McKenzie Smith (Pleasant Plains volleyball) Pleasant Plains is off to the start we expected in the Sangamo, dominating teams and showing their capable of being the team to beat in conference this season. A win over their rivals from Williamsville in two sets underlined that week thanks in big part to McKenzie Smith’s 15 assists against the Bullets to go with her solid game against Auburn earlier in the week.
