Week 5

Cash Harney (QB, Covington Catholic)
⭐⭐⭐
?️ | Helped turn one of the state's marquee games into a master class on how to run the football. Nothing stretches a defense thin quite like a mobile quarterback, and they don't come any more mobile than Harney, who gashed Beechwood for 164 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, highlighted by this beauty right here ?.

Season so far: 48/69 (69%) for 706 yards and 5 touchdowns with 5 interceptions | 573 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns | 1 touchdown reception 

Jacob Savage (RB/LB, Ryle)
⭐⭐⭐
?️ | The schedule is taking a toll on Ryle's loss column, but Savage soldiers on, running for 101 yards and two scores in defeat to Highlands. He also pitched in a team high seven tackles, including two for a loss, while sifting through the Birds' mammoth offensive line.
Season so far: 77 carries for 439 yards and 9 touchdowns | 2 touchdown receptions | 42 tackles | 7.5 TFL

Landon Yoak (RB/LB, East Carter)
⭐⭐⭐
?️ | Hoisted the Carter County barrel across his broad shoulders to keep it away from West for another year. Yoak ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns, including a 62 yard dash to the endzone to set the tone on the game's second play from scrimmage.
Season so far: 100 carries for 977 yards and 16 touchdowns | 16 tackles | 6 TFL | 1 sack

Luke Ballard (RB, Great Crossing)
⭐⭐⭐
?️ | The schedule gifted him a perfect bounce back opponent after being shut down last week by LexCath. Paul Laurence Dunbar’s porous run defense parted for Ballard's 175 yards and four touchdowns on fourteen touches.
Season so far: 97 carries for 700 yards and 9 touchdowns

Cam O'Hara (QB, Cooper)
⭐⭐⭐ 
?️ | The offense has been downgraded from a sports car to a beater. O'Hara has doubled as a quarterback and a mechanic, just trying to keep it running. Unfortunately, he couldn't fix the defense against Manual, though he posted season highs in yards (269) and touchdown passes (3). Another pick evened up his season td/int. ratio and he's now under 50% completing passes. Thank goodness for Ryker Campbell.
Season so far: 49/102 (48%) for 666 yards and 5 touchdowns with 5 interceptions

Marlon Harbin III (ATH, Saint Xavier)
⭐️⭐️
?️ | He was active on X's opening drive against Elder (OH) and caught a late touchdown pass to pull the Tigers within two, but it was an otherwise quiet night as the Tigers fell to the GCL South power.
Season so far: 31 carries for 239 yards and 6 touchdowns | 16 receptions for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns | 1 kick return touchdown | 1 interception

 

Trending Up ?
Mason Griffin (QB, South Laurel)
?️ | The state's best kept secret at the quarterback position. The conversation around Griffin needs to transition from a whisper to a shout. He can spin it, and has the backing of his head coach to do so. Griffin ranks among the state leaders in completion percentage, yards, and touchdowns.
Season so far: 101/130 (77%) for 1,392 yards and 17 touchdowns with 1 interception

Isaiah Martin (ATH, Murray)
?️ | So much more than just an explosive target for Wyatt Robbins, Martin is a factor in all three phases of the game. He's among the best receivers in the state as well as a lethal return man teams might want to start kicking away from.
Season so far: 22 receptions for 458 yards and 9 touchdowns | 2 kick return touchdowns | 43 tackles

Crystal ball for Week 6 ?
- Murray’s Wyatt Robbins goes off on a McCracken County defense allowing 420 yards per game.
- Evan Hampton gets back on track against Apollo, who's surrendered 223 rushing yards per game so far, including 211 to OCath's Edge.

Watchlist Rewind ?
Marlon Harbin III stunned Trinity on the first snap of last year's game, bolting 80 yards to the endzone to catapult X to victory. He added a second touchdown in the second quarter and finished with 116 yards on the ground.

 

Simon Kenton ATH Grayson Harris 26 Catches 630 yards 5 tds, 49 yards rushing, 2 ints, 9 tackles and team punter.

Yoak is a tough nosed back. East Carter is starting to become a factory for these type of physical backs who run downhill and always fall forward. He should break 4,000 career rushing yards next week and is a strong candidate to reach the exclusive 5,000 yard club.

7 hours ago, ATLCat said:

Yoak is a tough nosed back. East Carter is starting to become a factory for these type of physical backs who run downhill and always fall forward. He should break 4,000 career rushing yards next week and is a strong candidate to reach the exclusive 5,000 yard club.

With the way this season is shaping up, I don't think it's absurd to suggest that Yoak could step out of the shadows and challenge for the award. He needs a Daniel Thomas-esque season, with a monster statistical output coupled with a playoff run to Kroger Field. That's a mouthful for anyone that followed the 2023 season and much easier for me to say than for Yoak to produce.

I'm not bold enough to go out on that limb because I don't think East Carter is a finals caliber team right now, but 3A is that one class every year most likely to have a team get hot and slip through the cracks all the way to Lexington and Champlin will continue to feed his bell-cow.

It's a longshot right now, but there's a reason he's cracking the watchlist, just like Thomas did two years ago.

This was a pretty ho-hum week, all around. A lot of our top contenders have taken more Ls than we're accustomed to seeing and no one has really taken off, statistically.

It's made for a wide open race that looks like it could go to the wire. 

Lloyd QB Kaleb Evans is having a great season and have won every game!

Bump.