Week 3 Game Balls: 6A

There were several players who played great in week 3 in class 6A.  Here are this week’s game balls. <ol> <li>[player_tooltip player_id="35344" first="Devin" last="Neal"] RB Lawrence</li> </ol> Lawrence High School is off to an excellent start and [player_tooltip player_id="35344" first="Devin" last="Neal"] is a big reason why.  For the 3rd week in a row, the soon to be Kansas Jayhawk [player_tooltip player_id="35344" first="Devin" last="Neal"] showed why he is the top ranked RB in the state and one of the best in the country.  [player_tooltip player_id="35344" first="Devin" last="Neal"] had an incredible game against Olathe West in a 42-14 Lawrence victory.  Neal finished the game on Friday night with 208 yards on the ground on 20 carries and 3 TD while also contributing in the passing game with 4 receptions for 31 yards.  A smart player who makes the right decision with the ball in his hands and is difficult to stop once he gets into the open field due to his very good athletic ability and play speed.  In addition to possessing the speed to outrun defenders, he also displays the power to run over LB as well. 2.   [player_tooltip player_id="35381" first="Marrell" last="Fountain"] RB Olathe East The 5’8 165 lb Senior RB is the 9th ranked RB and the 58th ranked player overall for the class of 2021.  He was a major contributor on offense on Friday night in Olathe East’s 26-21 victory against Olathe Northwest.  During the game, he rushed for 169 yards and 2 TD.  When looking at film,  he shows good patience as he waits for his hole to open up, uses his athletic ability to outrun defenders after showing good burst through the hole and displays good playmaking ability running for long gains.  He is also a significant contributor in the passing game as he runs wheel and swing routes out of the backfield, uses his good play speed to get behind LB and DB and shows excellent manual dexterity as he makes the catch with his arms extended. 3. [player_tooltip player_id="35544" first="Anthony" last="Favrow"] RB Olathe West The 5’9 193 lb Junior RB is the #1 ranked RB and the 5th ranked player overall in the class of 2022 and showed why on Friday night.  He had a great game while playing with tremendous heart and was a very bright spot in Olathe West’s 42-14 defeat from Lawrence.  He rushed for 165 yards and a TD on 30 carries and also had 2 receptions for 4 yards.  He shows very good vision on zone runs while displaying good burst through the hole accelerating to top speed quickly.  He runs behind his pads with a low center of gravity and possesses the power and play strength to run over multiple defenders such as LB and DB as he falls forward for extra yardage. 4. Zach Hirschey DB Manhattan The 5’10 150 lb Junior DB played well in Manhattan’s 42-28 loss to Hayden.  He had 8 tackles in addition to a nice interception.  When looking at the film, it is easy to see that he is a tough player who does not shy away from contact going after larger ball carriers while displaying good form tackling ability as he plays with good leverage and uses his play strength to bring down ball carriers with ease.  When defending the pass, he reads the QB, tracks the ball in the air and displays good hands as he comes down with the interception. 5.   Ryan Schier LB Olathe East Ryan Schier showed on Friday night that he is a leader on defense in Olathe East’s 26-21 victory against Olathe Northwest.  In the game he made 11 tackles from the ILB spot.  Against the run, he uses his good football intelligence to quickly read the play as it unfolds, his great instincts to take the correct angle in pursuit, his good closing speed to gain ground and his very good play strength to bring down RB and QB with force.  against the pass, he reads the QB, patrols his zone with quickness and agility and times his hands well to come up with a pass deflection. &nbsp;