Top 3A Performances of Week Seven

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jesse Bauldree - Sr, WR - Salem Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>151 yards receiving and two touchdowns for Bauldree against Jefferson. Not a lot of players in 3A can turn a seam route, thrown early, into a touchdown by breaking multiple tackles in a crowd and turning on the jets. Bauldree might have legitimate all-state level talent but is likely to be left off due to the Crusaders record.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='343494' first='Dawson' last='Rios'] - Sr, QB - Salem Academy</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four Passing touchdowns for Rios against Jefferson. Not the strongest arm in the world, but at the end of the day simply being able to set your feet and throw accurately is all you really need when you have athletes like Bauldree to catch your passes, and Rios can certainly do that. Rios distributing the football efficiently in the final two weeks should be enough for SA to win out and end up at 5-4, and be right on the bubble of potentially making the playoffs. Based on the last couple weeks, Rios is likely to do just that.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Armando Fajardo - Sr, QB - Taft</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four Touchdown passes against Amity. Kid can sling it and it can be hard to bring him down. There is a lot to like with the Tigers' pass game with receivers like sophomore Zack Hankins–who is going to be a player to keep an eye on the next two seasons–and with Fajardo dealing the cards. Without their week one loss to Creswell, Taft might be in competition for the at-large playoff spot later this month.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Quinton Buckalnd - Sr, QB/DB - Elmira</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>237 yards passing and four touchdowns against La Pine. The kid can make some circus throws, no doubt about it. Coming out in an empty set and just letting him play backyard football seems like a pretty good strategy considering the returns it is yielding. The velocity on the football isn't special, but since he is able to keep plays alive with his legs it really doesn't matter. Eventually, someone has to come open. Buckland is quietly turning into one of 3A's most complete weapons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->