We are officially one-third of the way through high school football’s regular season.
As always, we kick off our Friday mornings with five players to watch this week. Who is important in Week 4? Who’s a matchup problem? Did they shine in Week 3?
Here are the five guys you should keep an extra eye on tonight.
Maddox Weil, Northrop (at Homestead)
The pass and catch game at Northrop has been electric, helping lead the Bruins to a big 3-0 start. Through that, Weil has been one of the top targetsx for Bruins quarterback David Callison. In three games, Weil has hauled in 12 catches for 225 yards and a pair of scores. The sophomore had a season-best six catches last week in a win over North Side as the defense keyed on Jerquaden Guilford. With another big challenge looming tonight, expect Weil to be leaned on again as the Bruins keep their passing game diverse.
Trey Slusher, Southern Wells (vs. Wes-Del)
The time to celebrate Southern Wells’ win last week over Jay County isn’t quite over yet and Slusher deserves continued praise going into tonight’s home game against a solid Wes-Del squad. Slusher led the Raiders in Week 3 and leads them overall as their quarterback and top rusher; he averages 113 yards rushing per game and has gone for over 100 yards two of the first three weeks. Slusher also has 13 tackles on the young season.
Oliver Werling, Bellmont (at Norwell)
Werling has been a tough defender for the Braves through the first three weeks. He has a team-high 36 tackles on the season, with half of those coming unassisted. He had 13 tackles last Friday in the loss to Columbia City. On the other side of the ball, Werling leads Bellmont in rushing, is averaging 30.7 rushing yards per contest and has also been used as a receiver, hauling in a pair of passes for 45 yards in Week 2 against South Adams.
Bellmont is going to need some serious spark to have a shot at Norwell. Werling could deliver.
Connor Sizemore, Prairie Heights (at Central Noble)
A heavy target in the Panthers offense, Sizemore has 11 catches on the season for 204 yards. He is averaging 68 yards per game receiving and most of that success came in Week 1, which makes you wonder how long it is until the Panthers lean on him heavily again. To open the season, he caught six passes for 112 yards and even last week averaged 20 yards per catch.
Wade Raines Jr., Snider (vs. Wayne)
The senior made a big impression last week in Snider’s first win of the season with an interception in the second quarter. With Bishop Luers threatening to score, something it didn’t end up doing at all in the game, Raines swooped in for the pick at the 10-yard line to finish a defensive stand. It was just the second Snider INT of the year, but Raines is also third on the Panthers in tackles with 19, including a program-high 14 solo tackles. Last week, he led the Panthers in the win with six tackles.
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