Week 2 Connolly Cup Players of the Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Connolly Cup is one of the most prestigious awards among Western New York High School Football, given to the area's best skill player annually at the end of the season. Each week the Connolly Cup committee presents a list of players that showcased excellent athletic ability over the previous weekend. Here are the Week 2 Players of the Game selected by the Conolly Cup committee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1514651' first='Mason' last='Anderson'] (West Seneca West) | vs Kenmore West | 17/24 for 185 yards and a TD. Added 3 more scores on the ground. The freshman phenom is getting his high school career off to a hot start by throwing for 4 TDs and running for 5 more in his first two varsity starts. He has also led the Warhawks to a 2-0 start and are currently on top of the A1 division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='814985' first='Jherek' last='Breske'] (Orchard Park) | vs Lancaster | 22 carries for 201 yards and 2 TDs. Orchard Park has gotten off to a slow start but Breske has been the lone bright spot, scoring 4 of their 7 TDs to date. Jherek took the 2024 season off to focus on Lacrosse but is having a fantastic senior season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RB Jayvon Funderburk (Maritime-Tapestry) | vs Eden-North Collins | 19 carries for 276 yards and 4 TDs. Maritime has seen an offensive emergence this season and Funderburk has led the way with a huge breakout senior year. In this game, the Seahawks scored 62 points and still lost. A lot needs to be said of Jayvon's efforts in this contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1344653' first='Brayden' last='Gibbs'] (Chautauqua Lake-Westfield-Brocton) | vs Portville | 16/23 for 263 yards and 4 TDs while rushing for another score. Gibbs is currently the 20th ranked QB in the state and after a run dominated victory week one, Brayden let loose this week to a 42-0 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR Noah Kaiser (Williamsville East) | vs Hamburg | 5 receptions for 83 yards and 3 TDs. Kaiser is a new name to me and after not recording a catch in week 1, Noah was the Flames leading receiver against Hamburg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1257837' first='Owen' last='Kicinski'] (St. Joe's) | vs Jamestown | 200 yards and 2 TDs on the ground. Also made some key plays on defense at CB. Kicinski is one of the fastest players in Western New York and he proved to be a force that needs to be reckoned with against a good Jamestown defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1719800' first='Matthew' last='King'] (Lancaster) | vs Orchard Park | 16/20 for 150 yards and 3 TDs while running for another 73 yards. King has some big shoes to fill after Alex Krupa (who led the Legends to a Section VI title last season) graduated. So far this season, Matt has not disappointed as he has recorded 7 TDs in his first two starts and has also led the team in rushing each of those games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH Trent Lewis (Southwestern-Frewsburg) | vs Fredonia | 16 carries for 179 yards rushing and 4 scores. Also recorded an INT on defense. Southwestern is off to a surprising 2-0 start and Lewis is leading the charge as the team's starting QB. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB Chase Richards (Niagara Wheatfield) | vs Frontier | 207 yards passing and 145 yards on the ground for a combined 4 TDs. A three year starter for the Falcons, Richards has been the cornerstone of their entire offense as their leading passer and rusher.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR [player_tooltip player_id='735840' first='Nick' last='Skutnik'] (Iroquois) | vs Depew | 10 receptions for 169 yards and 3 TDs, kicked two extra points and caught an INT in the final moments of the game. Week in/Week out, Skutnik proves why he is ranked #23 WR in NYS and arguable the best in Section VI.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>ATH [player_tooltip player_id='1238563' first='Cardel' last='Staples'] (McKinley) | vs Amherst | 5 receptions for 102 yards and 3 TDs. 5 tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on defense. A highly touted athlete, Staples is one of the best in the area. After the Macks run dominance in 2024, they opened up the passing game in week 2 this year and Cardel was the main benefactor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='747255' first='Brady' last='Waring'] (Eden-North Collins) | vs Maritime-Tapestry | For the second consecutive week, Waring makes the Connolly Cup Players of the Week list by setting the NYS record of passing TDs in one game (9). His offense had an offensive explosion as they scored 63 points and Brady completed 23 of 35 pass attempts for 435 yards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB [player_tooltip player_id='1903300' first='Carson' last='White'] (CSP) | vs Falconer-CV-MG | 17/25 for 225 yards and 5 TDs. CSP captured the CLASS D state title last season with several seniors that are now gone. Enter [player_tooltip player_id='1903300' first='Carson' last='White'] who has picked up right where the Wolfpack left off beginning this season at 2-0 in a well balanced offense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB Preston Woodworth (Medina) | vs Alden | 10/18 for 213 yards and 2 TDs. The Mustangs are averaging 44.5 points per game so far with Woodworth at the helm. Preston has eclipsed at least 200 yards and 2 TDs in each contest this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR [player_tooltip player_id='1344697' first='Evan' last='Zankl'] (Williamsville South) | vs Pioneer | 11 receptions for 205 yards and a TD. 6 tackles on defense. Zankl is a top WR prospect in WNY with his prototypical slot WR stature and fantastic run after catch ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->