2020 Mr. Football Watchlist (10/27)

[DevilMayCare]

A Flyer gets his wings clipped in a clash of top five teams. Inclement weather can't deter a streaking Comet in Florence. A Rock rolls his way back onto the watchlist. And a pair of eastern Kentucky standouts make the most of their opportunities in blowouts to set the stage for a Mr. Football showcase game in Paintsville.  

 

(Alphabetically)

Jaylin Bross (RB) Male

Season to date: 76 carries for 747 yards and 14 touchdowns

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2EUrvb

Week 7: Male pounded Bullitt East 49-0, with Bross collecting 137 yards and a pair of scores in limited action. He's averaged 149 yards rushing per game and scored all fifteen of his touchdowns over Male's last five games. Big games against opponents like Manual are exactly what he needs to build a legit Mr. Football resume, but unfortunately, Covid has claimed "The Old Rivalry" this year. 

 

Nick Broyles (QB), Franklin County

Season to date: 72/98 for 1,220 yards and 14 TDs/0 ints.

Week 7: Franklin County's irresistible force encountered Central's immovable object, with the latter getting the better of the collision. The Yellowjackets defensive prowess grounded the Flyers, with Broyles unable to find the open passing lanes that were available in abundance in Franklin's first three games. He threw for just 151 yards, and failed to throw a touchdown pass for the third time in his career as a starter, spanning 28 games. An immediate bounce back opportunity lies straight ahead against a North Oldham team that surrendered five touchdown strikes to Broyles last year on just six completions.

 

Leetavious Cline (RB/DB), West Carter

Season to date: 132 carries for 1,296 yards and 21 touchdowns

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2EUPX7

Week 7: Great players respond when their team needs a spark. West Carter was in need of something, anything, to light their fuse on a rainy night in NKY, trailing Boone County 13-0 in the second quarter. Cline answered the call with 202 yards rushing and four touchdowns, including a scoop and score from midfield. He accounted for all four West Carter touchdowns and over 80% of their offensive output. The defensive score highlighted an active night on that side of the ball, which also included 8 tackles/2 TFL. No one has scored more touchdowns so far this year than Cline, and his 1,296 rushing yards are the third most in the state. 

 

Tristan Cox (LB/RB), Pulaski County

Season to date: 96 tackles/59 solo/1 interception - 6 rushing touchdowns

Week 7: Pulaski County was already down one quarterback to begin the night, and the back-up got laid out on a botched halfback pass with three minutes remaining and the Maroons down by five. Enter Tristan Cox, who took the reins of the offense and chipped away at Southwestern's defense 4-6 yards at a time from the wildcat. After nearly eating up the remainder of the clock, he barreled into the endzone with :06 left to deliver the Maroons a win over their archrival at the "Reservation". Cox also shined on defense with thirteen tackles and an interception. On the game winning drive, Southwestern knew what was coming, but was powerless to stop the 6'3", 235 pounder from progressing the ball down the field. 

 

Isaac Dixon (RB/DB), Belfry

Season to date: 81 carries for 1,169 yards and 17 touchdowns/114 receiving yards and two touchdowns 

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2EUHSy

Week 7: Belfry overwhelmed Pike Central from the word go, with Dixon only needing three touches to inflict maximum damage. He accumulated 112 rushing yards on those three carries and reached the end zone each time. Belfry's (and Dixon's) biggest regular season hurdle is rapidly approaching, as Dylan Preston and top ranked Johnson Central welcome the Pirates to Paintsville.

 

Cam Hergott (QB), Beechwood

Season to date: 100/138 for 1,487 yards and 13 TDs/3 ints. - 444 rushing yards and six touchdowns 

Highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2EUW4j

Week 7:  Beechwood routed Newport 56-7 in a stat padding game for Hergott. He was a tidy 9/13 for 151 yards and three touchdowns through the air. He threw darts from the pocket and on the run, and got plenty of leg work, running for a hundred yards and a score. 

 

Caleb Jacob (QB), Covington Catholic

Season to date: 69/117 for 980 yards and 8 TDs/6 ints. - 269 rushing yards and seven touchdowns 

Week 7: CovCath continued its winning ways against Conner, but Jacob's Mr. Football campaign has stalled for the time being. The Colonels' offense in general, has been hit and miss this year. And even when they hit, it's been spurred by the running game lately, which, in fairness, Jacob has contributed heavily to. He has one 200 yard passing game this year after reaching that mark seven times last season and his completion percentage (59%) is down several percentage points from his sophomore and junior years. This is not necessarily an indication that he's regressed, but rather a reflection of the make-up of CovCath's personnel this year. This is a very different looking team than the previous two. You can't count out the possibility that Jacob will get it in gear and put together an incredible postseason run, but at this time, he's fallen well off the pace in the race for this award. 

 

Nathan McElroy (QB), Trinity

Season to date: 47/73 for 587 yards and 6 TDs/1 int.

Week 7: After a few weeks away from the field for one reason or another, McElroy returned to action to lead the Rocks past Eastern with a breezy workload, completing 10 of 12 throws for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Being the quarterback of the overwhelming favorite to win the big school state championship should keep McElroy in the periphery of the Mr. Football conversation, but he's fallen well behind other candidates statistically. A great individual playoff run is probably essential for him to have any real shot at this point.

 

Dylan Preston (RB/LB), Johnson Central

Season to date: 55 carries for 927 yards and 18 touchdowns/3 receiving touchdowns/6.5 sacks

Week 7: The ridiculous scoring efficiency of the last few weeks cooled off some against Letcher Central, but Preston still turned in yet another tremendous all-around performance against the Cougars. He rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 25 yard touchdown pass, returned an interception for a score, forced a fumble, and recorded 1.5 sacks. Preston has been the most versatile player to appear on the watchlist this season. This week brings a head to head encounter with another watchlist standout, Belfry's Isaac Dixon.

 

Noteworthy performances from Week 7:

Reese Jesse (WR), Hopkinsville: 5 catches for 154 and a touchdown against Madisonville-North Hopkins 

JT Garrett (ATH), Ashland: 258 yards of total offense and three touchdowns against Bell County 

Azariah Israel (RB), George Rogers Clark: 318 yards rushing and four touchdowns against Oldham County