Week 7 In Review: Top Running Back Performances

<span style="font-weight: 400;">With Week 7 in the books, here is a look at the top running back performances from across the state last weekend. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Nasir McGlone | North Plainfield </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">McGlone averaged 21.5 yards per carry as he rushed 18 times for 387 yards and five touchdowns. It was his biggest performance to date as he scored on runs of 10, 44, 48, 61 and 70 yards in a 42-26 victory over Governor Livingston. The 6-foot, 200-pound junior has good vision as he likes to bounce his runs outside. If he’s able to get the edge he’s got the speed to get past the defenders for large chunk plays. He’s also not afraid to run between the tackles and is often falling forward after for extra yardage. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Zach Palmer-Smith | Delran </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Palmer-Smith was relied on to be the bell cow for the Delran offense this past weekend as he rushed the ball 31 times for 385 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-6 victory over Collingswood. He scored on rushes of 10, 25 and 28 yards. The 6-foot, 205-pound back has good start-stop acceleration. He puts his foot into the ground and makes a cut and runs hard through the whole. He’s got good vision and the ability to jumpcut and change direction quickly. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="196703" first="Steve" last="Burkhardt"] | Gloucester </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The senior eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark this past weekend as he rushed 18 times for 294 yards and four touchdowns in Gloucester’s 42-6 victory over Pitman. He’s not got 19 touchdowns in five games as he scored on runs of 10, 13, 49, and 79 yards. He also returned a kickoff in the 4th quarter 65-yards for a touchdown. Burkhardt runs with authority and likes to get north and south in a hurry. He’s not overly fast but he has the quickness to get to the edge and get past defenders who take bad angles. </span> &nbsp; <strong>Ethan MacNair | Somerville </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">MacNair is a patient runner who does a good job following his blocks. He’s not afraid to put his foot in the ground and change directions. He runs hard and never shys away from contact. He helped Somerville to a 47-26 victory over St. Joseph (Met.) this past weekend by rushing 29 times for 291 yards and three touchdowns. </span> &nbsp; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="181958" first="Brandon" last="Boria"] | Cherokee </strong> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Boria followed up his 345 yard and five touchdown performance two weeks ago with a 266 yard and three-touchdown performance this past weekend in a 38-7 victory over Rancocas Valley. He scored on runs of 5, 7 and 75 yards and now has 1,141 yards on the season. He once again did a nice job of getting north and south and following his lead blockers. He had much success running right into the heart of the Rancocas Valley defense as he had a number of long runs right up the middle. </span>