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1. Connor Perkins (Dietrich)
In a win over Camas County, the senior had a hand in ten - TEN - touchdowns. He threw for four, ran for four, returned a punt for one, and returned an interception for one. Between throwing and running, he had 367 total yards from scrimmage and also had nine tackles on defense for the Blue Devils (3-0 overall, 1-0 Sawtooth Conference).
2. Tyson Charley (Lakeside)
The junior had an off day compared to Perkins as he only contributed nine touchdowns in the Knights' win over Wallace. He threw for 339 yards and five scores and also ran for 204 yards and four scores - 543 total yards from scrimmage and nine scores to help Lakeside improve to 3-0 overall and 3-0 in the North Star League.
3. Devin Scott (Richfield)
The Tiger sophomore stuffed the stat sheet in Richfield's win over Hansen. He threw for 113 yards and three scores, ran for 141 yards and three more scores, and added seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble on defense. Richfield is 1-1 overall, 1-0 in Sawtooth Conference play, with perennial power Carey coming to town this week.
Honorable Mention
Razor Duke (Butte County)
Stuart Derrick (Cascade)
Tiago Pickering (Clearwater Valley)
Remington Crowell (Council)
Martin Gonzalez (Hagerman)
Trey Bauer (Horseshoe Bend)
David Kludt (Kamiah)
Jereese McCormack (Lapwai)
Trevor Knowlton (Lewis County)
Seamus Wilson (Logos)
Dax Teichert (Mackay)
Noah Cummins (Murtaugh)
Haydn Frandsen (North Gem)
Dehaven Wilson (Notus)
Tim Short (Oakley)
Hunter Redmon (Potlatch)
Levi Gehring (Prairie)
Blake Tracy (Raft River)
Riley Gonzalez (Rimrock)
Zachary Permann (Rockland)
Devon Herzig (Salmon River)
Moyne Ingram (Tri-Valley)
Thomas Vargas (Valley)
Julian Davis (Wallace)
Playmaker
Rockland head coach Gerry Hunter joked that Aidan Radford's jersey looked like a dress when he was a freshman. Even as a senior, Radford doesn't exactly intimidate anyone with his size - he stands 5-foot-5 and weighs about 115 pounds. However, he has established himself as one of the top pass-catchers in the entire 1A classification. He's averaging about nine grabs and over 100 yards per game despite the fact the Bulldogs have started a different quarterback each week due to injury. He was second-team All-State following his junior season, so opposing coaches know who he is, they just haven't figured out a way to stop him. Hunter lauds Radford's football IQ (he's a strong student in the classroom, too) and toughness - Radford is a four-sport standout in a high school with barely 60 total students: football, basketball, track and cross country.
Signs of Life
If you ask around, you'll likely hear there are no moral victories in Oakley. Not for a program that has reached at least the classification semifinals in each of the past eight seasons, including three consecutive championship wins (2020, 2021, 2022). Yes, the 2A Hornets are now 0-3 this season following Friday's 44-32 loss to rival Raft River. But after losing its first two games by a combined score of 124-16, Friday's entertaining, down-to-the-wire affair was a dramatic step forward for the Hornets, who had over 400 yards of total offense, forced a pair of turnovers on defense, and led the unbeaten Trojans inside the final four minutes of play. The schedule does them no favors - up next, Valley - but coaches and players now have a strong performance to build from.
Who's the Best?
There are arguments to be made for the best/strongest/deepest (pick your adjective) conference in 8-man football. Here's a sleeper - the 1A Long Pin. The conference, as a whole, is 11-3, none of its teams are under .500, and its three losses are to Kamiah, Genesee and Rimrock, whose combined record is 6-2. Tri-Valley leads the way at 3-0 overall after topping Mackay this weekend, and Salmon River, who had lost ten straight games, has won its last two, including Friday's win over Lewis County. The 1A classification looks to be wide open statewide this year and the Long Pin has multiple teams with a chance to make a move come November.
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