article BluegrassPreps Mr. Football Watchlist (9/11)

Front Runners

 

Beau Allen (QB, Lexington Catholic)

 

Week 3: In last weekend's most buzzworthy performance, Allen lit up the sky over Park Hills, torching CovCath's defense for a career high 455 yards and 5 touchdowns. This was his eighth career game with at least five touchdown passes. Unfortunately, the Knights were unable to hold on for the win, but they most certainly raised their stock as a contender in 4A. This was a great Mr. Football resume building display from Allen.

 

Season to date: 59/82 for 973 yards and 11 TDs/0 ints.

 

 

 

Michael Mayer (TE/LB, Covington Catholic)

 

Week 3: In a role he's unaccustomed to, Mayer was relegated to being the "other guy" on the field in the CovCath/LexCath tussle. That's not to say that he didn't have a huge impact on the outcome - which, by the way, was a come from behind Colonels victory - but Allen's star power outshined every other individual on the field that night. For his part, Mayer caught six balls for 71 yards, but failed to reach paydirt for the first time this season. Defensively, he registered seven tackles, including a thunderous sack of Allen, and a fumble recovery. But perhaps just as important as the numbers, CovCath won the game.

 

Season to date: 10 catches for 205 yards and 4 TDs - 2 carries for 34 yards and a TD - 16 tackles/1 sack/1 int.

 

 

 

Reese Smith (WR/S, Boyle County)

 

Week 3: Nothing about Smith's night against crosstown rival Danville really jumps out at you - 3 catches for 51 yards and a TD/2 tackles/1 forced fumble - but that's largely due to the wholly one sided whipping that the Rebels laid on the Ads. Boyle led 45-0 at halftime and Chuck Smith has never been a coach known for leaving starters in the game to pad stats. The WVU commit will have his share of opportunities to put up numbers against stiffer opposition with the likes of CAL, Highlands, and Lexington Catholic still to come on the schedule.

 

Season to date: 7 catches for 244 yards and 4 touchdowns

 

 

 

 

Locks

 

Malachi Corley (RB/WR/DB, Campbellsville)

 

Week 3: 3A #9 Taylor County provided Campbellsville and its star with one of the very few statement opportunities on their schedule. And though the Eagles came up short, 20-29, Corley more than did his part. He totalled 179 yards from scrimmage (131 receiving, 46 rushing) and a touchdown, plus 14 tackles. Included among his four receptions are a couple of highlight reel plays.

 

Season to date: 21 rushes for 280 yards and 6 TDs - 11 catches for 239 yards and 3 TDs - 23 tackles/1 fumble recovery

 

Taylor County High School - Coach Corley highlights - Hudl

 

 

 

Jackson Hensley (WR, Pikeville)

 

Week 3: Hensley was held in check in a closer-than-expected 9-8 Pikeville victory over Paintsville. He caught eight balls, but was hemmed in all night and limited to just 49 yards. Next up for the top ranked Panthers is another 1A contender in the east, Raceland. The Rams secondary should present a challenge with one of 1A's best cornerback duos.

 

Season to date: 17 catches for 227 yards and 3 TDs - 20 tackles/1 int.

 

 

 

Jeriah Hightower (RB, Madisonville-North Hopkins)

 

Week 3: Hightower continued his upward trajectory with a second straight monster game. He proved too much for Davies County to handle, carrying the ball 18 times for 284 yards and five touchdowns, bringing his season yardage total to a state best 696. Next up is a Christian County team that made him earn some hard yards last year.

 

Season to date: 63 rushes for 696 yards and 9 TDs

 

Daviess County High School - Jeriah Hightower highlights - Hudl

 

 

 

Reed Lanter (QB, Boyle County)

 

Week 3: Boyle County has rolled through the first three weeks of the season, and Lanter's production has reflected the Rebels' early dominance. He again had a breezy night's work in Week 3 at Danville, where he completed 7 of 10 throws for 134 yards and 2 TDs. To put his relatively restrained start to the season in perspective, Lanter has attempted just 26 passes for 456 yards and 5 TDs so far this year compared to Beau Allen's 33 attempts, 455 yards, and 5 TDs on Friday night alone. But like his teammate above, Lanter's best opportunities to make some noise are still ahead of him.

 

Season to date: 20/26 for 456 yards and 5 TDs/1 int.

 

 

 

Octavious Oxendine (DT, North Hardin)

 

Week 3: Oxendine came up huge in North Hardin's 10-6 victory over Ballard. His five tackles for loss - including three sacks - helped spearhead a defensive performance that has cemented the Trojans' status as a top 5 team in 6A. NH's stout defense has carried them through each of the past two weeks, allowing 19 points combined to two ranked opponents.

 

Season to date: 17 tackles/10 TFL/5 sacks

 

 

 

Walker Parks (OT/DL, Frederick Douglass)

 

Week 3: The Broncos continued to lay waste to their Fayette County neighbors with a 40-0 beatdown of Lafayette. The highlight linked below illustrates Parks' dominance at this level. He casually swats a defensive lineman to the ground before running down a defender in space and serving him up a pancake like he's a server at IHOP.

 

Lafayette High School - Walker Parks highlights - Hudl

 

 

 

Jake Sloan (WR, Pulaski County)

 

Week 3: Sloan hauled in seven passes for 94 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the season versus Corbin. Through three games, Sloan has done what he does best - catch the football. But more importantly, Pulaski reversed their fortunes versus a Corbin team that has handily defeated them the past two years.

 

Season to date: 27 receptions for 342 yards and a TD - 1 kickoff return TD

 

 

 

Jayden Stinson (QB, Mayfield)

 

Week 3: In the latest hyped up encounter between Mayfield and Paducah Tilghman, Stinson's left arm was more than enough to keep the Cardinals out in front of a very solid Blue Tornado squad. The accuracy was there (15/20), as was the production (262 yards/4 TDs). The only real knock on his season so far - He's been picked off in each of his first three games. He has three interceptions among his first 71 pass attempts as opposed to just one through his first 140 attempts last season.

 

Season to date: 45/71 for 805 and 9 TDs/3 ints.

 

Paducah Tilghman High School - Jayden Stinson highlights - Hudl

 

 

 

Vito Tisdale (RB/DB, Bowling Green)

 

Week 3: I called for splash plays last week, and Tisdale delivered against Warren Central. He picked off two passes in BG's 56-0 trouncing of the Dragons.

 

Season to date: 22 tackles/2 ints.

 

 

 

John Young (OT, Christian Academy of Louisville)

 

Week 3: Young, along with the rest of CAL's o-line, paved the way for running back Harrison Zimmerer's 301 yard performance against Eastern. The Centurions averaged 10 ypc on the night.

 

 

 

 

On The Bubble

 

Izayah Cummings (WR, Male)

 

Week 3: Cummings fell well short of his Week 1 output, but he rebounded from Week 2's disappearance to catch a touchdown pass against St. X. The real story here is the stunning 51-14 beating that the Bulldogs handed down to the Tigers. Male and Cummings have a week off before hosting Trinity in possibly the biggest game the state will see during the regular season.

 

Season to date: 14 catches for 231 yards and 5 TDs

 

 

 

Dalton Ponder (QB, Williamsburg)

 

Week 3: Ponder enters the fray on the heels of 392 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in the Yellowjackets' 44-13 rout of Leslie County. Games like that were a frequent occurrence for him last season, as he amassed 4,246 yards of offense and 55 TDs. He might not have the measurables, D1 offers, or championship pedigree that some other quarterbacks on this list have, but this kid might be the best dual threat QB in Kentucky, and certainly the most productive.

 

Season to date: 39/56 for 842 yards and 7 TDs/1 int. - 214 rushing yards and 8 TDs

 

 

 

Brycen Huddleston (LB/KR, Highlands)

 

Week 3: The Birds ran roughshod over the outgunned Camels from Campbell County, 47-0, with Huddleston tallying eleven tackles. One of his best games of 2018 came against Simon Kenton, the opponent he'll see this week.

In 2 games, Meade County's Austin Oppel has rushed for 454 yards (227 ypg) and 8 TD's on 44 carries (10.3 ypc)

 

Oppel also has caught 6 passes for 78 yards.

In 2 games, Meade County's Austin Oppel has rushed for 454 yards (227 ypg) and 8 TD's on 44 carries (10.3 ypc)

 

Oppel also has caught 6 passes for 78 yards.

 

He's a junior. Only seniors are eligible.

Oh, ok. Thanks.

Smith threw a TD pass for Boyle also.

Smith threw a TD pass for Boyle also.

 

Yes he did! Thank you. Not sure how I missed that.

How about Kyle England from Ryle?

383 yards on 60 carries and 7 touchdowns

I was at the Mayfield game, I'm pretty sure the INT was thrown at a WR and he tipped it right to a PT defender. I'm neutral on those teams, but the Mayfield QB has the best arm I've seen and he's by far the best QB I've seen in several years.

I was at the Mayfield game, I'm pretty sure the INT was thrown at a WR and he tipped it right to a PT defender. I'm neutral on those teams, but the Mayfield QB has the best arm I've seen and he's by far the best QB I've seen in several years.

 

How about Kyle England from Ryle?

383 yards on 60 carries and 7 touchdowns

 

Every player listed above has a selling point. Either they're highly recruited, putting up huge numbers, playing for a championship contender, or some combination of the three. In England's case, he doesn't really check off any of those boxes. He's a really good player that I first heard about when he was in middle school, but I can't find a good reason to bump anyone off the list to make room for him. Among running backs, there are probably several others ahead of him aside from Hightower - Nick Mitchell (Glasgow), Landen Bartleson (Boyle County), CA Collins (Breathitt County), and Philip Garner (Scott County), to name a few.

 

If Ryle can pull some upsets in the coming weeks and England is putting up the appropriate numbers, then he could find himself in the mix.

Eli Sammons, QB from Greenup County should definitely be on the list. He is a FBS commit to Marshall University and is ranked the 2nd QB in the state of KY only behind B. Allen of LexCath. Eli is currently ranked the 74th pro style QB in the nation.

 

So far this season he has lead his team to a 2-1 record and has accounted for 900 yards and 11 TDs in just 3 games.

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