NOTE: Each week, the sports editors of swews4u.com; A.J. Gates (Grant County Herald Independent), Jason Nihles (Platteville Journal), Tom "Gunner" Gunnell (Republican Journal) and Erik Olson (The Richland Observer) will vote on the top prep gridiron performers of the week. Our combined vote will produce a weekly list of five "Friday Night Heroes." If you don't agree with our rankings or you feel we missed a standout performance, feel free to post a comment and plead your case.
LEVEL I PLAYOFFS HERO OF THE WEEK -
Justin Hore, QB (Lancsater, sr.) – has developed into perhaps Lancaster's No. 1 offensive threat in the second half of the season, where he has been carving up defenses with his legs. In a 45-42 Level 1 playoff win over Arcadia last Friday night, Hore ran for a game-high 214 yards and two TDs on 28 attempts. He also completed 3-of-4 passing attempts for 73 yards and one TD.
LEVEL I’s OTHER FRIDAY NIGHT HEROES
2.Blake Bodenstein, QB (Highland, jr.) – led his Cardinals to a 34-6 first round victory over Ithaca with both is arm and his legs. On the ground he rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 12 carriers. Through the air he complete 7-of-10 passes for 92 yards and two more touchdowns without an interception.
3.Spencer Treu, QB (Hillsboro, sr.) – completed 6-of-11 passes for 144 yards and two TDs and ran for another TD to help the unseeded Tigers rally from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to upset #2-seeded Potosi, 34-32, in a Division 7 Level 1 affair last Saturday afternoon.
4.Michael Walker, RB/LB/K (Black Hawk, sr.) – ran 22 times for 114 yards and three touchdowns in the Warriors' 35-7 Division 7 Level 1 victory over Rio on Saturday. He also went 5-for-5 on PATs and had a strong day at linebacker in helping to shut down the Vikings' double-wing rushing attack.
5.Keaton Kephart, QB (Southwestern, sr.) – completed 25-of-50 passes for 383 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for two more but his Wildcats fell to Bangor, 38-30, in a first-round game Saturday afternoon.
HONONABLE MENTION
Jeremy Richardson, RB/LB (Belmont, sr.) – ran 21 times for 97 yards and two TDs while adding three key two-point conversion runs to rally Belmont from an early 14-0 deficit to defeat Weston, 24-14, in a Division 7 Level 1 game Saturday night. He also had a key interception in the fourth quarter on defense.
Brady Wilkerson, WR (Southwestern, sr.) – caught eight passes for 182 yards and two scores in Southwestern’s 38-30 loss to Bangor.
Alex Murphy, FB (Cuba City, sr.) - ran for 108 yards and three TDs in the Cubans' 38-13 Division 5 Level 1 playoff victory over Mondovi last Friday night. His first quarter 35-yard TD run got the Cubans rolling, and his two third-quarter scores helped CC put the game away.
