PREP FOOTBALL: Five Guys to Watch, Week 6

As always, we kick off our Friday mornings with five players to watch. Who is important in Week 6? Who’s a matchup problem? Did they shine in Week 5?

Here are the five guys you should keep an extra eye on tonight.

Treyton Bustos, Bluffton (vs. Southern Wells)

Could the ACAC race be open after years of Adams Central dominance? Bluffton is technically in the lead at 3-0 in the conference, but Southern Wells is 2-0 in conference play after a really fun start. This county rivalry may be lopsided still in the W/L columns, but Bluffton has a bigger picture in mind when trying to top the Raiders tonight. Bluffton’s 126 points scored in league games this season leads all area teams in the four main conferences and Bustos has been a big part of that as one of the Tigers’ biggest pass targets. He has scored on 30 percent of his catches and has gone for 131 yards on the season.

James Linker, Huntington North (vs. DeKalb)

This could be a game for second in the NE8 unless something surprising happens to East Noble along the way, but these two teams would be thrilled with a second-place finish anyway. Linker leads the way for a heady Viking pass offense. He has hauled in 30 of Huntington North’s 49 pass completions this season, leading to 467 yards receiving and four touchdowns. His hands are just as adept defensively, as Linker has a team-best two interceptions to go with three pass deflections and a pair of blocked field goal attempts.

Eli Trent, Concordia (vs. Bishop Luers)

Sitting winless on the season, Concordia will look to turn things around tonight and the versatile Trent could be a key if he can get going against a Luers defense that gave up a season-worst 28 points last week, even in victory. Trent leads the Cadets with 355 rushing yards and an average of 71 yards a game; he also has scored four rushing touchdowns with Concordia’s offense sitting at 10 total touchdowns this season. He also ranks fourth on the Cadets with 15 total tackles.

Carmyne Moreno, Fremont (at Churubusco)

First place in the NECC Small Division is on the line as Fremont sits at 4-1 overall, tied for the best overall record in the entire conference. Fremont has struggled throwing the ball some, so it is a good thing that Moreno remains one of the best backs in northeast Indiana. If Fremont hopes to make a stout and physical Churubusco team work for it tonight, Moreno will need to churn out one of his better games this season and some serious yardage…and he is more than capable of both.

KC Pieper, Bishop Dwenger (at Northrop)

Bishop Dwenger’s defense has been more than stout to start this season, which makes the Week 6 showdown with Northrop’s high-firing offense very interesting. Pieper has been a big hitter for this Dwenger defensive push, leading the team in both tackles and sacks so far. The 6-foot, 205 pounder has been a rock at the second level of a defense that has allowed just two touchdowns all season. Pieper had 12 tackles in three of the first four weeks of the season and also has recovered three fumbles already.