Tuesday, September 22, 1998

Players of the Week

By BILL HART

Senior Staff Writer

Here are the area high school football players of the week as selected by the Abilene Reporter-News:

-- Offensive player of the week: Albany quarterback Tony Wheeler passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns in a 29-7 victory over Gorman. He was to be the holder on a field goal try, but after a bad snap, he passed to Adam Viertel for the final touchdown.

-- Honorable mention: Stephenville quarterback Kelan Luker completed 15 of 25 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns in a 49-21 win over Weatherford. Wylie running back Dustin Williams threw a touchdown pass, caught a 77-yard touchdown pass and ran 84 yards for another score in a 26-13 win over Snyder. Rotan quarterback Bradey Murphree rushed 15 times for 100 yards and one touchdown, completed 3 of 5 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown, and returned an intercepted pass 85 yards for a TD in a 32-27 win over Hamlin. Goldthwaite quarterback Steven Miles rushed 18 times for 166 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for two scores in a 39-7 win over Hico. Dublin had two 100-yard rushers (Junior Mata 19 carries for 161 yards and Jeremy Jennings 17 for 109) in a 19-14 win over Hamilton. Ranger back Travis Clifton gained 200 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 41-14 win over Cross Plains. De Leon quarterback Luke Mix completed 17 of 34 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for a score in a 34-21 loss to Comanche. Hamlin end Colt Carmichael caught nine passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. He also scored on a pass interception in the loss to Rotan.

-- Defensive player of the week: Comanche defensive back Justin Glatter had 13 assisted tackles, had three unassisted tackles and took the football away from a De Leon receiver for a 60-yard touchdown in the win over the Bearcats.

-- Honorable mention: Cooper safety Nivek Hatcher made several key tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone to help preserve a 28-3 upset of No. 8 North Mesquite. Dublin received stellar performances from linebacker Alonzo Briseno (12 tackles and two interceptions), cornerback Derek Keylers (eight tackles, two interceptions) and end Brad Keith (eight tackles, one quarterback pressure) in a win over Hamilton. Comanche defensive back Francisco Sanchez had eight tackles and intercepted a pass for a 70-yard touchdown in the win over De Leon. In addition to his offensive performance, Rotan's Murphree had two unassisted tackles, was in on eight others and returned a pass interception 85 yards in the win over Hamlin. Breckenridge's Cory Wimberly returned a kickoff 85 yards and Skipper Robertson returned a fumble 61 yards for another score in a 28-23 win over Graham.

-- Six-Man player of the week: Gordon quarterback Kyle Campbell completed 14 of 21 passes for 276 yards and seven touchdowns in a 78-36 win over Abbott. He also rushed eight times for 41 yards, was in on nine tackles and recovered a fumble.

-- Honorable mention: Trent's Rusty Brown rushed for five touchdowns totaling 200 yards and returned a fumble for another in a 53-8 win over Benjamin. Brookesmith back Terrence Till rushed 17 times for 232 yards and three touchdowns and returned two kickoffs for scores in a 69-40 win over Star. Strawn's Alan Lynn scored three touchdowns and Shane Mallory ran for one and passed for two others in the 58-8 win over Newcastle. Rochester back Julian Sanchez rushed 11 times for 187 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-8 win over Woodson. Danny York passed for four touchdowns and returned a kickoff for the other score in Mullin's 34-30 win over Panther Creek. Jay Louder scored four touchdowns in Rule's 76-30 victory over Chillicothe. Moran's Daniel Newcomb rushed for 182 yards on 15 carries and scored four touchdowns in a 79-32 loss to Abilene Christian High. Teammate Derek Schoen was in on 15 tackles and kicked three extra points.

Bill Hart can be reached at 676-6733 or at sports@abinews.com