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.
Cardell McGee (Lanphier Guard) In the past few years, we’ve seen something really special at Lanphier High School. Larry Austin Jr. to Xavier Bishop to Yaakema Rose and now it’s Cardell McGee’s turn to be the go-to guy that carries B.O.N. McGee did not disappoint in the Adam Lopez Country Financial Tournament with 16 points in the championship game; 32 points, 7 boards, 5 assists and 3 steals in the semifinal and 20 points, 7 boards and 7 assists in the season opener.
Hunter Stockton (New Berlin Guard) The Pretzel Dome was popping last week for the Gene Bergschneider Turkey Tournament and one of the guys that has New Berlin excited about this season is senior guard Hunter Stockton. The sharpshooter made the all tournament team and had 19 points against Lutheran, 18 against Lincolnwood and 10 against Meridian.
Isaiah Bowers (Lincoln Forward) We were able to slip over the Lincoln a couple times last week to see what the Railsplitters are taking into the Apollo conference this season. As expected, senior Isaiah Bowers is going to be an absolute nightmare for their opponents. The all tournament team selection had 14 against Danville, 12 against Mahomet-Seymour, 14 against Centennial and 22 against Cahokia.
Yansyn Taylor (Eisenhower Guard) If there’s one thing we learned from the Decatur Turkey Tournament, it’s that we have to keep a close eye on Eisenhower this season. The Panthers are deep and talented and are led by guys like Yansyn Taylor, who had 13 points against Champaign Central as Rodney Walker’s team earned a spot in the championship game.
Clay Alewelt (Rochester Kicker) Rochester’s sophomore kicker made 74 PAT’s this season and two field goals. One of those two made it 7 of 8. Clay Alewelt drilled the game winning field goal as time expired to give Rochester a 24-21 win in the 4A state championship game on Saturday. If that it’s a Prime Time Performer…what is?
Bradyn Kilby (Glenwood Forward) Heading into the CS8 Showcase on Saturday where we get our first good look at all ten CS8 basketball teams….we’re going to have to keep an eye out for Bradyn Kilby. The junior forward for the Titans was named to the Crimson Classic all tournament team, leading Glenwood in scoring to a 5-0 record to open the season.
Nic Laird (Athens Guard) We watched him run over dudes in the fall and we’ll see him tear it up on the court this winter. Athens has a sophomore, multiple sport standout in Nic Laird and he started the hoop season strong at the Beardstown Tournament. The all tournament team selection had 26 points against the host Tigers on his way to 73 in the whole tournament.
Charlie Hamilton (SHG Guard) The SHG Cyclones started their season over in Galesburg so we weren’t able to see them play, but from the box scores…we certainly are excited to see what Kyle Krager will come up with this year. A junior wide receiver led the way on the hardwood in the tournament, watch out for Charlie Hamilton getting buckets, especially with Jaden Snodgrass sidelined with an ankle injury for awhile.
Lucas Western (Pleasant Plains Linebacker) The future is as bright as ever for the Plains football program. They made a historic run that put everyone on notice…the Cardinals aren’t just a really good baseball or basketball school. Brody Walworth will return a lot of talent from this year’s team, including Lucas Western who was all over the place on defense in the state championship game. Western had at least three sacks and was doing all he could to slow down the Knights’ high powered offense.
Nic Baker (Rochester Quarterback) This is going to be more of an overall season achievement nomination….not that he didn’t led the game winning drive in the 4A state championship, but the overall numbers for Baker this season are monumentaily historic. The Rochester quarterback threw for 3900 yards and completed 73 percent of his passes, he threw 54 touchdowns to just 2 interceptions. He also rushed for 524 yards and 12 touchdowns. If you haven’t seen the state championship highlights, you also realize that Nic Baker deserves to win one of these before the season is over.
Makenzie Bray (Glenwood Forward) Yeah, she may be the only girl to make the list this week, but she scored the most points. Glenwood’s senior standout on the basketball court put up 48 points…in a single game at the O’Fallon Tournament last week and went on to score 103 in the tourney. If you haven’t seen Makenzie Bray play, do yourself a favor and look up the Titans schedule this season and get to a game. She’s a special talent.
