WEEK 5: Five players to watch on Friday night

LEIGHTON BROWN, JAY COUNTY (at Bluffton)

After not putting up any points on the road last week against Adams Central, the Patriots remain the visiting team this week. Brown has to be point of attack No. 1 as he is has accounted for just over 52 percent of the Jay County offense per game. The senior has carried the ball 73 times for 663 yards and 10 of the Patriots’ 19 offensive touchdowns. And he hasn’t missed yet this year, going for over 100 yards all four weeks, including a season second-best 134 yards last week against AC, despite not finding the end zone.

ISAIAH DETMERS, LEO (vs. East Noble)

In what is always one of the most anticipated games of the NE8 season, Leo will host one of the teams it currently shares the top of the conference with. Detmers has been a workhorse offensively for the Lions, with seven total touchdowns, including five on the ground, with 214 total yards. He also has four receptions, with two of those going for scores. He had 89 rushing yards – a season best – against New Haven last week while scoring four total touchdowns. Detmers has also helped lift up Leo defensively, with an interception, a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

MIGUEL GUTIERREZ, FAIRFIELD (vs. Eastside)

The Falcons’ success has been somewhat overlooked so far this season, but as they enter the night 3-1 they try to become the team that slows Eastside. But Eastside’s defense is going to have to work to slow Fairfield too, with a heavy run game that has given almost everybody fits. Gutierrez has been a monster on the ground, averaging over 32 carries per game with 716 yards, good enough for 6th in the state as of press time. His season low is 133 yards in a 7-6 week 3 loss to Angola.

BRYANT MORRIS, SOUTH SIDE (vs. Wayne)

A win this week would have South Side at three wins at the midway point of the season for the first time since 2009. Morris has been stout for the Archer defense and has been good for two sacks in three of their four games, leading the SAC with seven total sacks through four weeks. Even bigger, his seven sacks lead the state right now off the defensive line, where he has shown a strong prowess for getting off the blocker and chasing down good quarterbacks like Homestead’s Logan Frieden and South Bend St. Joe’s Sam Scicchitano.

JOHN BAIR, HOMESTEAD (vs. Bishop Dwenger)

The Spartans are looking to bounce back from their second loss with a murders’ row of SAC opponents ahead. That said, Bair has been a beast defensively as the junior linebacker has the ninth-most tackles in Class 6A. Bair’s 40 tackles have been well spread out with weeks of eight, 10, 12 and 10. Last week, Bair recorded nine solo tackles, a category that has also been sensational as 29 of his total tackles have come all by himself. Against Westfield, Bair recorded an interception, showing that he is not just a hard hitter. He will need to step up again tonight against the run-heavy attack of the Saints.