BluegrassPreps.com Mr. Football Watchlist (11/28)

[DevilMayCare]

Another Mess Of Milestones

The most accomplished season we've ever seen from a running back is official. A week after breaking the single season rushing yardage and scoring records, Daniel Thomas needed two touchdowns to leapfrog Shaun Alexander for #1 all-time in rushing scores. He crossed the goal line four times against undefeated Hart County to stamp his name atop yet another category. 

He tied his career high with 41 carries that produced 236 yards, his eighth straight game of 200+.

He wasn't done yet. 

Despite all he's accomplished this year, he was still chasing Bobcat legend Shawn Robbins for the title of Bell County's all-time leading rusher. 

His final few carries of the night yielded enough yardage to ease Thomas past 7,000 career yards (10th all-time) and Robbins (6,994 career yards) to check that off the to-do list.

There's not much left on the list from an individual standpoint, but a state championship would be the exclamation point for a season of this magnitude. He'll need to top even himself to pull it off against heavily favored CAL.

 

Hodge May Be A Starter, But He's Proving To Be A Closer

A contest that many thought would serve as a premature 3A championship game turned into another demonstrative display of superiority over a top contender for CAL. The Centurions rolled over Lexington Catholic behind Cole Hodge's 410 yards (328 passing/82 rushing) of offense and five touchdowns. He completed 26 of 31 (84%) throws, the highest percentage allowed this year by the Knights, who've seen Cutter Boley, Brody Benke, Sage Dawson, and Kade Elam. 

He's 37 of 45 with 710 yards of offense and 11 touchdowns with zero turnovers against the #2 and #3 teams in 3A the last two weeks. 

Hodge currently has 131 career touchdown passes, good for fifth in KHSAA history. He's just three touchdown tosses behind Tim Couch and Ricky Bowling for sole possession of second place. Finishing at #2 all-time is well within reach with the state finals still to come, but Elijah Sindelar's career record (144) is safe for another year.

Photo by Timothy D. Easley for the USA Today Network.

 

House Starks: "Mayfield Is Coming"

As they approach yet another championship game, the legs of ’Juju’ Starks have come to the forefront of Mayfield's offense. He averaged around eleven carries for 92 yards per game from Week 1 through the first round of the playoffs. As the stakes have risen, those numbers have jumped to 20 carries and 200 yards a night against Murray, LCA, and Beechwood. He logged a season high 27 rushes against the Tigers for a career best 220 yards and three touchdowns to break Beechwood's three year stranglehold on the 2A championship. 

The Tigers got a taste of his acceleration on the first touchdown of the night, and his power on the third and final score.

Starks will be an invaluable piece of Mayfield's offense this week as they try to slow the breakneck pace of Owensboro Catholic.

Photo by Edward Alan Marlowe


 

Noteworthy Performances From The Semifinals

- Boyle County's train is still barreling down the track toward a fourth consecutive state championship thanks, in large part, to a potent running game against Franklin County. Avery Bodner's 151 yards and three touchdowns paced the Rebels. He announced his presence to the state four years ago when, as a freshman defensive back, he was responsible for Nick Broyles’ only interception of the season in the state finals.

- The white light around Brady Atwell's junior season has kept 'Tutt' Carrico in the passenger seat, but Carrico is putting together one of the great two-way seasons in Owensboro Catholic history. He leads the state in receiving yards and touchdowns, needing two more to break the single season state record for the latter. He added ten catches for 177 yards and four first half touchdowns against Somerset. He's approaching a hundred tackles for the year, and picked off his sixth pass of the season against the Jumpers. 

- With the CovCath passing game on the backburner, Evan Pitzer kept things grounded against Paducah Tilghman. A contender for 'play of the week' saw Pitzer lower his shoulder to bulldoze Martels Carter - a likely future P5 safety - on his way to the endzone. He ran for a career high 123 yards to push the Colonels past Tilghman and into the 4A finals.

 

Players Featured This Week

Daniel Thomas (RB/LB, Bell County)

Season to date: 361 carries for 3,682 yards and 53 touchdowns | 89 tackles | 1 sack | 1 scoop and score

 

Cole Hodge (QB, Christian Academy of Louisville)

Season to date: 265/360 for 3,870 yards and 55 touchdowns with 7 interceptions | 587 rushing yards and 7 touchdown

Highlights: Season so far

 

Jutarious "Juju" Starks (RB/DE, Mayfield)

Season to date: 174 carries for 1,533 yards and 29 touchdowns 

Highlights: vs. Beechwood

 

Avery Bodner (RB/LB, Boyle County)

Season to date: 135 carries for 1,195 yards and 20 touchdowns | 334 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns | 80 tackles | 12.5 TFL | 5 sacks | 1 interception | 2 fumbles forced and 2 recovered, including a scoop and score 

 

William 'Tutt' Carrico (WR/DB, Owensboro Catholic)

Season to date: 84 receptions for 1,587 yards and 27 touchdowns | 2 rushing touchdowns | 98 tackles with 12 TFL | 12 turnovers created, including 6 interceptions 

Highlights: Season so far

 

Evan Pitzer (QB, Covington Catholic)

Season to date: 163/226 for 2,556 yards and 32 touchdowns with 4 interceptions | 636 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns 

Highlights: vs. Paducah Tilghman

[TheDeuce]

41 carries in a high school game is wild to me.

[DevilMayCare]

3 hours ago, TheDeuce said:

41 carries in a high school game is wild to me.

He ran the ball on 41 of Bell County's 49 snaps. That's been par for the course most weeks.

[TheDeuce]

10 minutes ago, DevilMayCare said:

He ran the ball on 41 of Bell County's 49 snaps. That's been par for the course most weeks.

Maybe an interesting discussion topic for another thread. 

[DevilMayCare]

Last chance to leave an impression and no bigger stage than Kroger Field. 

Thomas and Hodge face off for the 3A title. I think Hodge comes out of that one with a ring and a better individual performance, but would it be enough to sway voters over Thomas' historic year?

The Boyle tandom of Dawson and Bodner share the field with CovCath's Evan Pitzer in 4A, but junior Quisenberry is the ultimate scene stealer. Willie Rodriguez could also have a say before it's all over.

Starks is coming on strong after falling off the pace earlier this season. His Cards will try to corral the high flying Aces and "Tutt" Carrico, who's putting together an award caliber season on both sides of the ball.