Game Balls: Week 8 – Central Texas

Week eight of Central Texas high school football has concluded and while there are some returning names to this list of best performances, there are also some new names to the list of players deserving of a game ball this week. 1. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60485" first="Ryder" last="Hernandez"] (SR-QB) - Cedar Park High School (Cedar Park, TX)</strong> Hernandez had an oscar-level showing against Hendrickson last Thursday. He threw for 352 yards and five touchdowns with zero interceptions while also scoring two rushing touchdowns, bringing his total touchdown number to seven. To top it off, he had a 62-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Josh Cameron. Hernandez may have had a great showing last week, but this performance tops the last. 2. <strong>Cade Haught (SR-RB) - Cedar Park High School (Cedar Park, TX)</strong> Alongside Hernandez was his running back, Haught. He rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns, adding to the 66-point total against the Hawks. Haught also averaged 11 yards per carry with his longest run being for 34 yards. 3. <strong>Treylin Payne (JR-LB) - Judson High School (Converse, TX)</strong> Payne had himself a game against Samuel Clemens. While racking up a total of 14 tackles, Payne also hurried the quarterback three times and had an interception which he returned for 55 yards. Payne was all over the ball in this game and helped out the Rockets get a 34-28 win over the Buffaloes. 4. <strong>Bo Edmundson (SO-QB) - Lake Travis High School (Austin, TX)</strong> Much like Hernandez, Edmundson had an outstanding performance of his own against Hays last Friday. The Cavaliers won 70-35 and Edmundson had a lot to do with that. He threw for 448 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions and a completion rating of 85.2%. He threw 23/27. Nothing seemed to be able to stop the Lake Travis offense on Friday night, especially through the air. 5. <strong>Aden Nava (SR-WR) - Lake Travis High School (Austin, TX)</strong> Much of the stats from Edmundson’s night were thanks to Nava, who had seven receptions for 212 yards and three touchdowns, including catching a 59-yard bomb from Edmundson. Nava had a good game against San Marcos the previous week, but this performance blows it out of the water. After a poor performance against Westwood to start out the season, Nava has done a complete 180 in week three of Lake Travis’ season. 6. <strong>Jake Iloka (SO-RB) - Pflugerville High School (Pflugerville, TX)</strong> Despite a close loss to Leander, 48-47, the sophomore running back had Derrick Henry-level numbers, rushing for 256 yards and five touchdowns. In a lot of ways, Iloka helped keep Pflugerville in the game alongside junior running back Elijah Oakmon. Although the Panthers struggled with the passing game, the rushing game for Pflugerville was thrusted into the spotlight. For Iloka, this game was not like the rest as he has not broken 100 yards in the three games before and scored one touchdown in each. Thanks to this game, he now has eight rushing touchdowns total this season. 7. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="60381" first="Joseph" last="Manjack"] (SR-WR) - Tomball Memorial High School (Tomball, TX)</strong> Much like Iloka, Manjack also put up huge rushing numbers, racking up 235 yards and five touchdowns for the Wildcats. His numbers helped his team defeat Tomball 60-32 last Friday. In the past, Manjack has done most of his work on the receiving end, but something made him light up on the ground against the Cougars. Manjack is a threat both on the ground and through the air. 8. <strong>Mason Shorb (SO-QB) - Rouse High School (Leander, TX)</strong> Shorb had an average game yards-wise, but he made some noise by throwing six touchdowns with zero interceptions against Connally on Friday. The sophomore has been a rising star for Rouse this season, currently throwing for 1,020 yards and 15 touchdowns. 11 of those touchdowns have come in the past two games as he also through five against Bastrop. Shorb is a name to watch out for especially if he continues his hot streak. 9. <strong>Daniel Alejo (SO-RB) - McDade High School (McDade, TX)</strong> Alejo had a nice outing against Prairie Lea, rushing for 153 yards and three touchdowns. This has not been the first solid outing for the sophomore, as he also rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns against Atonement Academy to start the season back in September. Whenever the McDade offense can get going, Alejo seems to shine his brightest consistently. Whenever there is a high score coming out of McDade, TX, Alejo’s name will be the first to search for.