PRZTN Top Performers: Week Three POTW

<!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Weather might have played a big role last week but we still received some top level performances that earned consideration for our players of the week. Who took home top honors for "Week Three?" Find out below! </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PRZTN Player of the Week</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["540015"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68c1ee109160a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>Stats: </strong>25-34 passing for 504 yds &amp; 5 TD's</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stephens has been on one so far this season, playing his best football of his high school career with possibly his best performance yet coming last week in the Mustangs big win over McMinn County. It was a back and forth affair with the Cherokees that saw Stephens continue to make big throw after big throw, consistently keeping his team in the game. His work eventually led to victory where Stephens threw for over 500 yards and five touchdowns in the win. Stephens is definitely helping himself with a strong senior year thus far that might put him in Mr. Football consideration with continued strong performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Offensive Player of the Week</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1600242"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68c1ee10916c1"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>Stats: </strong>21 carr. for 319 yds &amp; 3 TD's (7 tcks on Def.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sentinels picked up their first victory of the 2025 season last week with Gardner leading the way. This senior running back ran all over Hixson towards 300 plus yards rushing and three scores in the team's 33-26 win over the Wildcats. His athleticism and speed proved to become a problem for Hixson as they could not get a handle on Gardner nor find a way to slow him down. This is the best performance yet this season from Gardner and I don't expect it to be his last.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Defensive Player of the Week</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1154536"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68c1ee1091756"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700"><strong>Stats: </strong>15 tcks, 3 TFL, 6 QBH, 2 sacks &amp; 1 defensive TD</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Panthers had a strong defensive performance in last week's 32-13 win over Knox. Halls with Garcia being a major factor in those efforts. The future South Florida Bull was nearly unblockable as Garcia consistently played in the Red Devils backfield harassing the quarterback or making plays versus the run. The Panthers senior big man is one of the top interior D-line prospects from our #TN2026 class that has greatly improved his athleticism and overall skill set, where Garcia might see a spike in his prospect ranking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>O-line Unit of the Week&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jackson Christian Eagles&nbsp; (Notable Players: [player_tooltip player_id='1649882' first='Tristan' last='Nash']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='932937' first='Neyland' last='Roe'])</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- The Eagles moved to 3-0 on the season after last week's 34-6 win over ECS with their offense leading the way but more importantly, their offensive line setting the tone. Not only did the Eagles O-line keep quarterback <strong>Eli Smith </strong>clean and allow him to throw for over 230 yards and three touchdowns, they also paved the road for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1474355' first='Maurice' last='Lawrence'] </strong>to put forth a big game, running for 167 yards and two scores. The offensive line played a huge role in the victory and showed potential for the rest of the year to become one of the better front five units coming out of the D2-Class A ranks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1681249,"width":"240px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/05/tnash.jpg?w=400" alt="" class="wp-image-1681249" style="width:240px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - - - - - - - - - </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Positional Players of the Week&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>QB: [player_tooltip player_id='205650' first='Blaine' last='Stansberry'] </strong>- Oak Ridge&nbsp; (<strong>Stats: </strong>8-8 passing for 292 yds &amp; 5 TD's)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- Stansberry was flawless in last week's commanding victory over Lenoir City where he did not throw an incompletion and nearly tossed the ball for 300 yards while producing five touchdowns. The Wildcats senior quarterback has been steady so far this season, putting up good numbers while leading his team a current 3-0 record.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB: [player_tooltip player_id='1116799' first='Chaz' last='Martin'] </strong>- Wilson Central&nbsp; (<strong>Stats: </strong>22 carr. for 261 yds &amp; 4 TD's)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- The Wildcats are 3-0 to start their 2025 season with Martin being a major reason why. His play this year has been stellar, especially last week in the team's win over Coffee Co. where Martin ran for over 260 yards and produced four touchdowns. His running proved to be very important as Martin supplied all the touchdowns on the night in the Wildcats road victory.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WR: [player_tooltip player_id='903798' first='Slim' last='Leavell'] </strong>- Goodpasture ‘27&nbsp; (<strong>Stats: </strong>7 rec. for 201 yds &amp; 3 TD's)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- We had several good options for this honor but I thought Leavell earned it after being a game changer in the Cougars 60-7 victory over Moore Co. last week. This junior wideout is starting to grow into the kind of prospect that D1 schools will pay attention to as Leavell has gotten faster while filling out his body further. You can see the off-season improvement by the way he is playing right now.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1881944,"width":"284px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/bleavell-crop-595x391-1757540236.jpg?w=594" alt="" class="wp-image-1881944" style="width:284px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ath: [player_tooltip player_id='1103458' first='Tavarco' last='Jackson'] </strong>- Melrose ‘27&nbsp; (<strong>Stats: </strong>3 rec. for 69 yds &amp; 2 TD's (5 tcks, 1 PD &amp; 1 Int on Def.)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- Jackson is starting to come on and show why he is a valued recruit coming out of the TN2027 recruiting class. Last week was his best performance this season where he produced two touchdowns on offense while being a nuisance in the defensive backfield. Jackson is a talented young man with great size and ball skills that translate to either side of the ball.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DL/Edge: [player_tooltip player_id='1134345' first='Blaine' last='Yother'] </strong>- Soddy Daisy&nbsp; (12 tcks, 3.5 TFL &amp; 2 sacks)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- The Trojans defense was stellar in last week's shutout win over Signal Mountain, where Yother led the way with his constant disruption into the Hawks backfield. This senior defensive end was a problem for the Signal Mountain O-line as Yother produced 5.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including two sacks on the night.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB: [player_tooltip player_id='932843' first='Eli' last='Overton'] </strong>- Dickson Co. ‘27 (<strong>Stats: </strong>18 tcks, 3 TFL, 2 FF &amp; 3 sacks)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- This is easily the best performance of Overton's high school career as he played like a man on fire last week that the opposition could not find an answer for. The Cougars junior linebacker made plays all over the field against Creek Wood. Overton produced 18 total tackles with three of them coming in sacks while also being a force against the run with two forced fumbles.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- - -&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB: [player_tooltip player_id='1103034' first='Andrew' last='Smith'] </strong>- Maryville&nbsp; (<strong>Stats: </strong>3 tcks, 1 TFL, 1 PD, 3 Int's &amp; 1 pick six)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>- Smith brought out his inner-ball hawk in last week's dominating victory over Bearden where he picked off the Bulldogs quarterback three times. The Rebels safety was all over the secondary last Friday making plays in pass coverage while also doing some solid work versus the run. His size and length proved to be a problem for Bearden. It was a performance for Smith that certainly helped boost his recruiting stock.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":1881949,"width":"340px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/09/byother-crop-1059x695-1757540498.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-1881949" style="width:340px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->