Rising the Ranks; 8 Breakout Stars from Week 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With all the offseason hype, there are always players that emerge whom are not expected. Here are several new names to the Western New York area to keep an eye on as the season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1514651' first='Mason' last='Anderson'] | Class of 2029 | West Seneca West | I had Anderson pegged as the best QB prospect for the Class of '29 so he wouldn't be considered a sleeper but a 5 TD performance in his varsity debut exceeded everybody's expectations, including mine.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR [player_tooltip player_id='1901212' first='Aiden' last='Banks'] | Class of 2027 | Lancaster | Three of the Legends' top receiving targets graduated last year leaving the door wide open for the #1 spot. Banks came in big with a 9 reception performance for 130 yards and 3 TDs in a 29-28 overtime win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1513348' first='Zach' last='Bridenbaker'] | Class of 2027 | Depew | Bridenbaker has been a name to watch for some time now but his impact continues to keep improving. Zach accumulated 170 yards from scrimmage with a rushing TD and a receiving TD to boot. He also added 5 tackles on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH Ayden Wronski | Class of 2027 | Fredonia | Wronski had a relatively modest sophomore season but he came in big in Week 1 of his Junior year. Ayden ran for 155 yards and 2 TDs. He also added 7 tackles on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='814985' first='Jherek' last='Breske'] | Class of 2026 | Orchard Park | Breske did not have earth shattering stats in Week 1 (5 receptions for 94 yards) but he did make a huge comeback. After making the All-State team as a sophomore, Jherek took his junior year off to focus on Lacrosse and came up big in the Quakers opening game of 2025. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RB [player_tooltip player_id='1367174' first='Sawyer' last='Whitney'] | Class of 2028 | CSP | The Wolfpack are coming off back to back sectional championships but they have lost most of their key pieces, including a Head Coaching change. But Whitney proved he can carry a heavy workload as he ran the ball 38 times for 208 yards and 3 TDs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR Kyan Austin | Class of 2027 | Gowanda/Pine Valley | An unheralded junior in Class C but he is playing with one of the top QB prospects so a continuation of these targets should lead to a huge season. Austin brought in 11 receptions for 133 yards and 2 TDs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1811617' first='Victor' last='Collins'] | Class of 2027 | Starpoint | The Spartans had major holes to fill at RB &amp; LB and it looks they will be turning to Collins this season. Starpoint fell behind fast so he only carried the ball 9 times this week for 38 yards but he was all over the field on defense racking up 15 tackles. I expect his numbers to increase throughout the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->