Tuesday, September 24, 1996

ARN's high school 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 Reporter-News:

-- Offensive player of the week: Cisco back Chancellor Fletcher. He carried the football six times for 142 yards, scoring on runs of 82 and 46 yards in the 27-6 win over Anson. He also caught four passes for 96 yards, including one for 51 yards and a touchdown. All of his long gainers came after he broke the initial tackle.

-- Honorable mention: De Leon quarterback Luke Mix threw a touchdown pass covering 95 yards, then kicked the winning extra point in the 22-21 win over Comanche. He also had a 24-yard field.
He was pressed into action when the regular quarterback was hurt. Brownwood back Audey Mitchell rushed 19 times for 71 yards, but scored four touchdowns, and he returned a kickoff 99 yards for another score in the 35-34 win over Belton. Stephenville quarterback Kyle Dempsey passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in the 24-12 win over Belton. Bryan Kolb ran 52 and 38 yards for touchdowns and passed for another in Aspermon'ts 29-0 win over Motley County.
Fullback Andy Howard carried 23 times for 201 yards and two touchdowns besides kicking four extra points in the 34-0 win over Albany. He also caught two passes for 21 yards. Juan Pantoja kicked three field goals and three extra points in Ranger's 30-6 win over Gorman. Rising Star back Johnny Salazar rushed 23 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns in the 32-0 win over Throckmorton. Back Travis Kerbow rushed 25 times for 179 yards and scored three touchdowns in Baird's 35-7 win over Hawley. Quarterback-receiver Ahmad Brooks rushed nine times for 69 yards, completed all three passes for 29 yards and caught two passes for 71 yards, one for a touchdown, in Abilene High's 24-14 win over Cleburne.

-- Defensive player of the week: Brownwood cornerback Bryan Clark, playing defense for the first time this year after concentrating on offense, batted down a 2-point conversion pass that preserved a 35-34 lead over Belton, then intercepted a pass to allow the Lions to run out the clock. He also had four tackles, assisted on another and batted down another pass.

-- Honorable mention: Merkel's Kory Doan had six tackles, two for losses, caused a fumble, had two sacks and one quarterback pressure in the 42-7 win over Jim Ned. Rising Star's Salazar also had a 60-yard pass interception return in the win over Throckmorton. Pantoja also blocked a kick for Ranger in the win over Gorman. Linebacker Richy Barr was in on 11 tackles and broke up a pass in Clyde's 21-20 win over Bangs, while back Jerod Yates was in on eight tackles and intercepted two passes.

Six-Man player of the week: Quarterback John Estes passed for 440 yards and six touchdowns in Abilene Christian High School's 41-20 win over Waxahachie Cornerstone, which was ranked No. 1 in private school's polls.

-- Honorable mention: Novice back Nick Rutherford rushed 13 times for 290 yards and five touchdowns, passed for another score and was in on 10 tackles in the 62-12 win over Star. ACHS' Joe Rodriguez caught passes for 240 yards, three for touchdowns against Cornerstone. Westbrook quarterback Justin Hill completed 22 of 40 passes for 318 yards and six touchdowns and ran for another in the 56-28 win over Jayton. Four of the scoring passes went to his brother Casey.

Running back Luis Delgadillo carried 11 times for 252 yards and six touchdowns in Panther Creek's 58-12 win over Mullin. Michael Stewart rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns and passed for 120 yards and two scores in the 52-36 loss to Vernon Northside.