Week 5 Connolly Cup Players of the Week

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 5 Players of the Game selected by the Conolly Cup committee.   QB Nate Arnold (Clarence) - 13/20 for 150 yards and TD while adding 51 yards on the ground and another score. A first year varsity starter, Arnold is having a huge impact on the Red Devils success this season. Arnold has ideal size at 6'5 210 lbs. and should be a highly touted collegiate recruit.   RB [player_tooltip player_id='1595095' first='Danny' last='Ahearn'] (Lancaster) - Ran for over 200 yards and scored 5 TDs on just 10 carries. Last year was Ahearn's coming out party but this was his biggest game of the 2025 season. He had a slow start but he has gotten more involved and improved in the last three weeks. The Legends should be leaning on him more as they make their playoff run.   RB [player_tooltip player_id='1202404' first='Tyrone' last='Clark Jr'] (St. Francis) - 13 carries for 106 yards and 2 TDs. In the previous two seasons, Clark was a regular on the Players of the Week list as he was getting over 150 yards per game in Class B. Now as the competition is tougher, he isn't getting as many yards but is still showing that his unique blend of size, power and speed is translating well in the Monsignor Martin League.   QB Vic Cusatis (Wilson) - 8/9 for 123 yards and 3 TDs. Cusatis is a new name to me but he is having a breakout year as Wilson is currently undefeated and leads the Class D standings.   RB Jayvon Funderburk (Maritime-Tapestry) - 8 carries for 171 yards and 3 TDs. It seems every week, we are highlighting a Maritime player and their explosive running attack. Funderburk and his homerun speed has been the talk of Class C. He is entering Week 6 with 788 yards and 11 TDs which ranks 3rd in all of Section VI.   WR [player_tooltip player_id='1345194' first='Blake' last='Gerstung'] (Akron) - Gerstung became Akron's all time leader in receptions (87) on this day with 8 grabs for 127 yards and a score. One of the top WR prospects in WNY, Blake is having a monster senior campaign and is helping the Tigers stay competitive in a difficult C-North division.   RB/LB [player_tooltip player_id='747252' first='Kevin' last='Guy'] (Health Sciences) - 12 carries for 172 yards and a TD. Also scored a second TD on defense (25 yard fumble recovery). Health's week 5 matchup vs McKinley was pegged as the game to watch between the top two teams in A2. But it was clear early on that the Falcons ground and pound attack was too much for the Macks as Health won 44-20.   DL [player_tooltip player_id='1087115' first='Jason' last='Hargrove Jr'] (Bennett) - 17 tackles from his DL position. Bennett has one dynamic player after another and Hargrove has been a stud in the making since he was in 8th grade. The Tigers are undefeated in Section VI play this season and Jason has been one of the key factors. Only a sophomore, his ceiling is as high as can be.   QB [player_tooltip player_id='473979' first='Justus' last='Kleitz'] (Iroquois) - In Week 3, Kleitz became Western New York's All Time Passing Leader in yards. This week, he set the record for passing TDs in Section VI with 90. These numbers will continue to grow and may seem unbreakable. Justus went 16/21 for 171 yards and 6 TDs in a big class B matchup vs Maryvale. Kleitz was definitely in the preseason conversation as a Connolly Cup finalist but as he is rewriting the record books, it is hard to think he will not come away as the winner.   ATH Trent Lewis (Southwestern-Frewsburg) - A new name to me as Lewis has spent the precious 3 years playing 8 man ball at Frewsburg but he has been a solid breakout player this season in every aspect of the game. At QB, he went 11/12 for 170 yards and a TD then ran for two more scores while rushing for 131 yards. He also returned a punt 66 yards for a 4th TD. Defensively, he racked up 5 tackles and an INT.   WRs Isaiah Nellis & [player_tooltip player_id='1513223' first='Silas' last='Nellis'] (Eden-North Collins) - This is the best WR duo in Section VI. Eden's passing attack has been on fire for the last season and a half. The Silas brothers have been the main benefactors. Together, they combined for 20 catches for 306 yards and 6 TDs in a big C-North battle.   OL/DL Joe Sacco (South Park) - On a very young South Park team, Sacco, a senior, was called upon in every aspect of the game. He registered 10 tackles on defense and 3 sacks in a game that would eventually go into overtime. Joe was also used in trick packages as he threw a 26 yard completion and a two-point conversion. He was also a monster running the ball 4 times for 53 yards and scored the game winning TD, an exceptional feat for a player that stands at 6'2 and over 300 lbs.   QB [player_tooltip player_id='1513363' first='Kole' last='Szratter'] (Depew) - Depew is making a strong case for the B2 title. The Wildcats running game has been the talk of the town but in their big win over Albion, Szratter had an excellent showing completing 8 of 13 pass attempts for 249 yards and 3 TDs. He also successfully kicked 5 extra points.   QB [player_tooltip player_id='806812' first='AJ' last='Weissenburg'] (Williamsville North) - The upset of the week was Williamsville North taking away the top seed from West Seneca West in the A1 division. In that game, Weissenburg led the Spartans in both passing and rushing accounting for 245 yards of offense and 3 scores.

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 5 Players of the Game selected by the Conolly Cup committee.