2021 BluegrassPreps Mr. Football Watchlist (10/20)

[DevilMayCare]

LCA's talented tandem form a thorn in Briar Jumpers' side; McKee runs with the Devils, Northington punishes PRP, Dixon rights the Pirate ship, and Hergott continues to pile on in district play
 

In alphabetical order:

Xavier Brown (ATH, Lexington Christian Academy)

Season to date: 71 carries for 699 yards and 8 touchdowns ; 161 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns

Highlights: vs. Somerset

Week 9: Hearing the names LCA and Somerset coupled together conjures up visuals of 2A's elite, engaging in a series of battles for the ages in 2019 and last year. The Eagles and Jumpers gave us a total of four firecrackers over those two seasons, but with Somerset struggling at the moment, this year was destined to tell a different tale. Brown found acres of running room against a porous Somerset defense, enabling him to pick up 154 yards and a pair of touchdowns on a mere three carries, including a long touchdown on the game's first snap. The only thing flying higher than the Eagles during the 63-13 win was Brown's per carry average. 

 

Brady Clark (QB, Bardstown)

Season to date: 95/138 for 1,726 yards and 26 touchdowns with 3 interceptions ; 341 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns ; 2 sacks and 1 interception

Highlights: vs. Thomas Nelson

Week 9: Proving that he's a well rounded football player rather than "just" a quarterback, Clark continues to find ways to supplement his Mr. Football resumé. Forced into action on defense in recent weeks, he's recorded a couple of sacks and, last week against Thomas Nelson, picked off his first pass since he was a freshman. And his quarterbacking duties? He still knows how to sling it, completing 13 of 15 passes versus the Generals for 264 yards and four touchdowns.

 

Isaac Dixon (ATH, Belfry)

Season to date: 77 carries for 710 yards and 11 touchdowns ; 3/7 for 53 yards and a touchdown with one interception ; one pick-six 

Week 9: If this was supposed to be the year that Lawrence County snatched the crown from Belfry's head, someone forgot to tell Isaac Dixon. With his watchlist status and Belfry's season both seemingly dead in the water, the 'Ghost of Pond Creek' has risen from the dead to get the Pirates and his Mr. Football campaign back on track. He's rushed for a total of 413 yards on nearly 15 yards a pop over Belfry's last three games, the most recent of which saw him churn out 171 yards and two scores to help bury the Bulldogs, 42-13.

 

Cam Hergott (QB, Beechwood)

Season to date: 80/110 for 1,580 yards and 20 touchdowns with 1 interception ; 869 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns

Highlights: vs. Lloyd Memorial

Week 9: Another week, another clinic on how to make football look easy, this time against Lloyd Memorial. Not much to report other than another 300+ yards of offense and six more touchdowns, five of them passing. His five touchdown tosses combined with a clean sheet puts his touchdown to interception ratio this year at 20/1, best in the state by a wide margin. 

 

Joe Humphreys (QB, Daviess County)

Season to date: 176/263 for 2,473 yards and 30 touchdowns with 7 interceptions ; 349 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns

Highlights: vs. Hendo

Week 9: Humphreys was off target more than usual, but he accumulated four more touchdown passes against Henderson County to raise his state leading total to 30. His legs, however, are what did the Colonels in. With the Panthers clinging to a one score lead in the fourth quarter, Humphreys evaded Hendo's rush and bolted for a 73 yard touchdown to give his team a more comfortable two score cushion. He surpassed a hundred yards on the ground as part of 352 yards of total offense. 

 

Cole Lanter (WR/ATH, Boyle County)

Season to date: 43 catches for 719 yards and 10 touchdowns ; 21 carries for 166 yards and 3 touchdowns ; 2 interceptions 

Highlights: vs. Anderson County

Week 9: Lanter was not the state's most ballyhooed receiver at the onset of the season. That distinction went to wideouts bound for Power 5 schools at the next level. He might be a longshot to play in front of 70,000 on Saturdays, but in terms of numbers and weekly impact, Lanter is having the best season of any receiver that's appeared on the watchlist this year. His output against Anderson County last week - 5 catches for 123 yards and 3 touchdowns - puts him in the statewide top 10 for receptions (8th), yards per game (2nd), and touchdowns (tied for 3rd).

 

Clint McKee (RB, Graves County)

Season to date: 154 carries for 1,182 yards and 25 touchdowns ; 10 catches for 165 yards and a touchdown

Highlights: vs. Owensboro

Week 9: Week after week, McKee piled up numbers against the role players of Graves County's district, but validation as a bona fide Mr. Football candidate would require showing out against the face of 5A District 1, Owensboro. Consider it mission accomplished on that front, though there is still unfinished business from the team perspective after the Eagles fell short against the Red Devils. McKee fought valiantly in defeat, piling up 208 hard earned yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, which is a lot of carries in today's game, but still falls short of the 46 he had against Owensboro last year in the playoffs. It may take another heavy workload to get the job done in November. 

 

Mason Moore (ATH, Lexington Christian Academy)

Season to date: 21 catches for 548 yards and 6 touchdowns ; 289 yards rushing and 5 touchdowns ; 6/8 passing for 73 yards and a touchdown ; a blocked punt return touchdown ; 22 interceptionss

Week 9: Xavier Brown wasn't the only Eagle running wild and free against Somerset. Moore watched as his teammate torched the Jumpers for long touchdowns on LCA's first two possessions and decided it looked like fun, so he joined in on the onslaught with a 59 yard touchdown reception on the third possession. Moments earlier, from his safety position, he read the Somerset quarterback's eyes and jumped a route for a 57 yard pick-six that was called back for a hold on the return. It was merely a temporary reprieve, however, as Moore legally found paydirt a few plays later.

 

JaWaun Northington (RB, Manual)

Season to date: 97 carries for 800 yards and 11 touchdowns ; 2 passing touchdowns

Highlights: vs. PRP

Week 9: After being bottled up and failing to find daylight against St. X a week earlier, Northington took out any frustrations on Pleasure Ridge Park. He ran through and away from would-be tacklers for a career high 233 yards and four touchdowns. Among his scores, was a 91 yarder that has to be in contention for the longest run of his career and a 47 yarder where he lowered his shoulder to power through a pair of defenders in the hole before turning on the jets. There's something about PRP that really gets Northington amped up. Since his sophomore year, he's averaged nearly 200 yards on 17 per carry in three games against the Panthers.

 

Jack Sivori (QB, St. Xavier)

Season to date: 87/134 for 950 yards and 13 touchdowns with 4 interceptions ; 745 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns

Week 9: Almost everything went right for St. X in a 43-0 rout of Butler. Everything did go right for Sivori on a perfect 9/9 throwing the ball. He passed for a couple of scores and ran for another. Next up is a Pleasure Ridge Park defense that just witnessed a career night running the ball from the player directly above. Sivori, who's also no slouch at moving the ball with his feet, could be looking at a prime opportunity to put up substantial numbers, himself.

Noteworthy performances from Week 9:

Vinny Anthony (WR, Male) - 5 catches for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns against Fern Creek 

Jagger Gillis (QB/LB, Boyle County) - 244 yards passing and 5 touchdowns against Anderson County

Dane Key (WR, Frederick Douglass) - 6 catches for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns against Great Crossing

Treyveon Longmire (ATH, Corbin) - 4 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns against Lincoln County

[Zeleke3]

Brady Clark of Bardstown is steadily improving his numbers and climbing to the top of the stat leaderboard.  Also, he has helped out on defense which definitely helps on that side of the ball.  With Bardstown staying undefeated and 2 games left against 5A schools, they will need two quality wins to move up in the RPI ranking to 1 or 2.  There is no doubt that with Brady's experience, he can lead his team to high levels of play.  

[Kanaka Kahakai]

Joe Humphreys numbers are just eye popping.

[nikeman49]

Hergott is in total control at this point in the season.

[theguru]

5 minutes ago, nikeman49 said:

Hergott is in total control at this point in the season.

I have to agree.  If Beechwood wins out and he plays anywhere near the level he has been playing it would be tough to go with any other player.

[Brown]

I would go 1 and a tie at 2nd  - not sure how the press will treat Key or Longmire (if I'm voting on best college player it's Key):

 

1) Humphreys

2) Hergott

2) Sivori

[gbballfan21]

Quarterback Ratings for some of the QBs on this list and other top tier QBs in the state when using the NCAA formula.

1. Cam Hergott 251.56

2. Brady Clark 231.73

3. Jagger Gillis 184.37

4. Samuel Cornett 184.33

5. Caden Veltkamp 182.42

6. Joe Humphreys 178.23

7. Isaac McNamee 173.79

8. Jake Sivori 150.52

9. Cole Pennington 136.61

[theguru]

3 minutes ago, gbballfan21 said:

Quarterback Ratings for some of the QBs on this list and other top tier QBs in the state when using the NCAA formula.

1. Cam Hergott 251.56

2. Brady Clark 231.73

3. Jagger Gillis 184.37

4. Samuel Cornett 184.33

5. Caden Veltkamp 182.42

6. Joe Humphreys 178.23

7. Isaac McNamee 173.79

8. Jake Sivori 150.52

9. Cole Pennington 136.61

Great stuff @gbballfan21!