Just past the midpoint of the season, the race for Mr. Football is still wide open although some candidates have begun to separate themselves from the field.

 

One common misconception is that players headed to the University of Kentucky have an inside track to the award. However, just one of the last seven winners has gone on to play for the Wildcats (Patrick Towles, 2011).

 

Conner quarterback Drew Barker has committed to play at UK and appears to be the early favorite, but there is still a long way to go before they hand out the award.

 

Here is a look at the top 10 candidates for Mr. Football –

 

10. Dylan Byrd (DeSales) – Byrd became the school’s all-time leading rusher earlier this year against Shawnee when he topped the 3,000-yard mark.

 

Through six games, Byrd has rushed for 878 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also leads the Colts in catches and has returned a punt for a touchdown. Byrd averages 17 points a game, which is more than some teams. Byrd doesn’t get the publicity the other Louisville players may get, but he is easily one of Class 2A’s top players.

 

9. Jake Guhy (Mayfield) – Another player overshadowed by other players is Mayfield’s Jake Guhy. Many consider Caldwell County junior quarterback Elijah Sindelar to be the best quarterback in western Kentucky, but it’s Guhy who owns the hardware. In leading the Cardinals to the Class 1A state title last year, he threw for 2,852 yards and 34 touchdowns while throwing just one interception in 259 attempts.

 

“He is truly a leader on and off the field,” said Mayfield head coach Joe Morris. “He knows our offense as well as anyone I’ve ever coached. He is like having an offensive coordinator on the field.”

 

Guhy is having another stellar season, throwing for 1,388 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 69-percent of his passes.

 

Off the field, Guhy is a 4.0 student.

 

8. Devin Taylor (West Jessamine) – Perhaps the most prolific rushers in the state is West Jessamine’s Devin Taylor. He led the state in rushing during the 2012 regular season and again tops the heap on 2013.

 

Through six games, Taylor has rushed for 1,581 yards (264 per game) and 19 touchdowns. In a win over rival East Jessamine, Taylor rushed for 341 yards and three scores. He followed that up with 326 yards and three scores against Franklin County Sept. 27. With an absence of a leading Mr. Football contender in central Kentucky, Taylor should get enough votes to finish in the top five.

 

7. Charles Walker (St. Xavier) – Walker and West Jessamine’s Taylor are considered the state’s top rushers. While Walker hasn’t put up the monster numbers Taylor has, he has been a consistent cog in the Tiger offense, rushing for nearly 800 yards and 10 touchdowns.

 

Walker rushed for 250 yards in a loss to Moeller, OH earlier this year and had 145 yards and two touchdowns in their season-opening win over Ballard.

 

One thing hurting Walker’s chances to win Mr. Football is that he gets less than 20 touches a game on offense.

 

6. Tyler Guffey (Wayne County) – The dark horse of the bunch is Wayne County’s Tyler Guffey, who has the Cardinals off to one of their best starts in school history.

 

“Tyler is a great kid with an amazing work ethic,” said head coach Shawn Thompson. “He will be the record holder in several different categories when his playing days are done.”

 

Guffey is a dual-threat quarterback who has thrown for 1,514 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 61-percent of his passes. Guffey is also the team’s leading rusher with 374 yards and 11 touchdowns.

 

He displayed uncanny accuracy in Wayne County’s 41-6 district win over Bell County, completing 9-of-12 passes for 274 yards and two scores while adding two more scores on the ground.

 

In his career, Guffey has thrown for 5,273 yards and 52 touchdowns, while adding 1,600 rushing yards and 30 more TDs.

 

“He is a great leader for our program, school, and community, and really gets involved with our youth here in Wayne County,” Thompson said.

Guffey is also a top-10 performer at the state track meet in the shot put and discus throw.

 

5. Reggie Bonnafon (Trinity) – Bonnafon is a long shot to give Trinity their second straight Mr. Football winner, but has put together solid numbers against some of the top talent in the central U.S. The Louisville commit has completed 70-percent of his passes for 1,050 yards and has accounted for eight total touchdowns. Despite a hand injury, he should see his numbers improve once district play rolls around.

 

4. Matt Elam (John Hardin) – Elam would become the first lineman to win the Mr. Football award, and there are some that say he has a legitimate chance.

 

Elam is among the team’s leading tacklers with 36 in five games, with six tackles for loss and a forced fumble.

 

Elam is a 6-6, 355-pound defensive tackle who will announce his college decision on national television at the U.S. Army American Bowl on Jan. 4. His top six choices are Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Tennessee.

 

“Matt has spent several hours focusing on his ACT and improving his score,” said first-year John Hardin head coach Chad Lewis. “He has shown huge gains and scored well above the state benchmarks,” he said about Elam’s work in the classroom.

 

3. Drew Houliston (Highlands) – If Highlands head coach Dale Mueller had a vote for Mr. Football, he would write down the name of his quarterback.

 

“Drew is having the best year of any high school football player in the state and should be the leading candidate for Mr. Football,” he said.

Mueller points to Houliston’s stat sheet against six high quality opponents – completing 71-percent of his passes for 1,854 yards, 24 touchdowns and just one interception.

 

“He averages 17.2 yards per completion and has thrown touchdowns to 11 different receivers,” Mueller said. “He makes reads and works the game like an NFL quarterback.”

 

2. Nacarius Fant (Bowling Green) – The top receiver in the state is looking to be a three-time first-team All-State selection.

 

Nacarius Fant is already in the top 10 in state history with nearly 3,500 yards and 39 touchdowns.

 

Like Houliston, Fant’s numbers are mostly compiled in just the first half of games due to Bowling Green’s dominance on the field that has seen them win 35 straight games.

 

In 2013, Fant, who has committed to Western Kentucky, has 35 catches for 720 yards and 11 touchdowns.

 

Fant put on a show in Bowling Green’s win over Class 6A St. Xavier earlier this year, hauling in five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

In the Purples’ season-opener, Fant only caught four passes, but they all went for touchdowns along with 149 yards.

 

Perhaps his best game of the year was Sept. 21 against McCallie, TN. Fant caught 12 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff for a score, totaling 26 points in the game.

 

“Nacarius has a great competitive nature that drives him to be at his best on every snap. He is a young man that has been receptive to coaching and is very attentive to detail,” said Bowling Green head coach Kevin Wallace. “Nacarius has great ball skills, an elusive ability that allows him to be dangerous in the open field, and rises to his best against the top teams on our schedule.”

 

1. Drew Barker (Conner) – Barker has been the favorite to win the award since the summer. Some say he became the favorite to win once he committed to Kentucky, but recent winners have proved that theory to be false.

 

Barker is the favorite because of his numbers – 1,234 passing yards in five games (247 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. Although not overly elusive, he has added 415 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

 

Barker opened the season with 235 passing yards and four scores against Boone County, adding 162 rushing yards and two more touchdowns on the ground.

 

His high mark in 2013 was a 344-yard performance in a loss to Simon Kenton.

 

If there is one disadvantage Barker could face, it would be an early round playoff loss which would keep him from putting up big numbers before a statewide audience.

 

 

Mr. Football by the Numbers

 

Geographical Breakdown of the Winners

 

9 – Western Kentucky

8 – Louisville

4 - Northern Kentucky

4 – Central Kentucky/Lexington

2 – Eastern Kentucky

 

Breakdown by Position

 

QB – 13

RB – 7

LB – 3

WR – 2

TE – 1

DE – 1

Breakdown by College Attended

 

9 – Kentucky

5 – Louisville

2 – USC

1 – Notre Dame

1 – Lees-McRae

1 – Cumberland

1 – Alabama

1 – Toledo

1 – Tennessee

1 – Alfred State

1 – Troy

1 – Boston College

1 – Western Kentucky

Awesome breakdown Scribe!

Awesome breakdown Scribe!

 

Great breakdown, but it's painful to see walker so low. :speechless::no:

If Highlands head coach Dale Mueller had a vote for Mr. Football, he would write down the name of his quarterback.

 

“Drew is having the best year of any high school football player in the state and should be the leading candidate for Mr. Football,” he said.

 

Doesn't Dale say the same thing about all of his QB's?

If Highlands head coach Dale Mueller had a vote for Mr. Football, he would write down the name of his quarterback.

 

“Drew is having the best year of any high school football player in the state and should be the leading candidate for Mr. Football,” he said.

 

Doesn't Dale say the same thing about all of his QB's?

 

Look at the numbers they don't lie.....

If Highlands head coach Dale Mueller had a vote for Mr. Football, he would write down the name of his quarterback.

 

“Drew is having the best year of any high school football player in the state and should be the leading candidate for Mr. Football,” he said.

 

Doesn't Dale say the same thing about all of his QB's?

 

But it's true

If Highlands head coach Dale Mueller had a vote for Mr. Football, he would write down the name of his quarterback.

 

“Drew is having the best year of any high school football player in the state and should be the leading candidate for Mr. Football,” he said.

 

Doesn't Dale say the same thing about all of his QB's?

 

Boy, he certainly should, at least for the past 3 years.

Devin Taylor's numbers are sick!

Fant.

Don't really want to de-rail this topic with ANOTHER discussion about HHS but.....are the QB's that talented or just a product of the system? Could you plug Houliston in at QB for a a struggling Ryle or Boone Co. team and immediately improve the record? Would HHS drop off dramatically?

Devin Taylor's numbers are sick!

 

His team's lack of success will hurt him but his numbers are sick. His numbers are also a product of his team not blowing anyone out and him playing all 4 quarters.

Don't really want to de-rail this topic with ANOTHER discussion about HHS but.....are the QB's that talented or just a product of the system? Could you plug Houliston in at QB for a a struggling Ryle or Boone Co. team and immediately improve the record? Would HHS drop off dramatically?

 

HHS is bigger than Houliston. They are a machine with new shiny parts every year. He is having a great year but I feel safe in saying that we should expect this kind of play from every Bluebird signal caller.

 

HHS is bigger than Houliston. They are a machine with new shiny parts every year. He is having a great year but I feel safe in saying that we should expect this kind of play from every Bluebird signal caller.

 

The 'Birds have certainly been blessed with some talented QB's over the last 10-15 years

The 'Birds have certainly been blessed with some talented QB's over the last 10-15 years

 

Agreed.

Must have forgot a QB in NKY?

 

 

Drew Barker Conner 99/154 64% 1234 yards 12 tds 4 int 152.1 rating

Brenan Kuntz Simon Kenton 85/118 72% 1172 12 tds 1 int 187.3 rating