Gridiron Football Player of the Week (Week 5 Edition): Benton High School Senior QB Gray Walters

Gridiron Football Louisiana Player of the Week Previous Winners:

Week 1: St. Edmund High School Freshman Running Back Kevon Johnson

Week 2: Ouachita High School Junior Running Back Carldell Sirmons

Week 3: Oak Grove High School Sophomore Quarterback Jackson Bradley

Week 4: North Caddo High School Senior Wide Receiver Omarion Miller

1.Benton High School senior QB Gray Walters:

With all of the conversations about all of the great quarterbacks in the state of Louisiana, everybody seems to overlook Benton High School senior quarterback Gray Walters, but time in and time out, he shows that he has the numbers to be mentioned as one of the top quarterbacks in the state. Performances like this past Friday certainly help his case. In fact, his performance this past Friday night was so good that it earned our top vote as Gray Walters is our Week 5 Gridiron Football Player of the Week. In the 63-28 win over C.E. Byrd, Walters threw an eye opening 515 yards and eight touchdowns on 22 completions. The Yellow Jackets secondary could not stop this high powered Benton Tigers offense, which is one of the top offensive scoring attacks in the entire state, and a lot of it has to do with the Tigers’ veteran triggerman.

Once again, we appreciate every coach for sending in your player nomination. All of the players that were sent by coaches were talked about in the article or on the show. To check out this week’s Gridiron Football Player of the Week show, click below as Jace and intern Tyler Barros break the standout performances in Louisiana from this week down.

2. Benton High School senior WR Pearce Russell:

In order for Benton High School quarterback Gray Walters to throw for that many yards and touchdowns, he needed a go to guy to throw to, and for him, it was Pearce Russell. Russell is the all-time leading receiver in program history and continues to separate himself away from the rest of the pack with one of Russell’s best performances of his prep career with 12 catches for 273 yards and four touchdowns in a 63-28 victory over C.E. Byrd High School. Not too many quarterbacks and wide receivers have the chemistry as these two guys have and it was evident this past week.

Benton High School senior WR Pearce Russell

3. Bogalusa High School junior QB Ashton Levi:

Bogalusa High School junior quarterback Ashton Levi is one of the most underrated players in the entire state. After accounting for nearly 50 touchdowns and 4,000 yards of offense for the Lumberjacks in 2021, he continues to pad on the stats his junior season in 2022. Right now, he is leading his team to a 4-1 record and is coming off a dynamic performance in a 52-36 win over Chalmette where he completed 11 of 19 passes for 245 yards and three touchdowns while also showing his dual threat ability with 16 carries for 159 yards and two more touchdowns. Overall, the Lumberjacks signal caller accounted for 404 total yards and five total touchdowns.

Bogalusa High School junior QB Ashton Levi

4. Opelousas High School sophomore QB Zack Malveaux:

It was a good day if you are an Opelousas Tiger as this is one of two players from the same team that made this week’s list. Sophomore quarterback Zack Malveaux represents the Tigers’ offense and was a touchdown machine scoring six touchdowns with four coming on the ground and two coming through the air plus 248 yards of offense in their 56-20 win over Leesville.

Opelousas High School sophomore QB Zack Malveaux

5. Rosepine High School senior RB Grant Ducote:

Rosepine High School senior running back Grant Ducote has been a staple in the Eagles backfield as long as anybody can remember and now, Ducote looks to end his incredibly productive high school career just like he started and that is posting video game numbers just like he did this past Friday in a 54-10 win against DeQuincy. The LSU Eunice baseball commit may have not gotten the workload he usually gets, but he didn’t need to when he had 224 yards rushing and two touchdowns on only 12 carries. Not to mention, he also had a kickoff return for a touchdown in the win too.

Rosepine High School senior RB Grant Ducote

6. Kaplan High School senior FB Caden Campisi:

Kaplan High School senior fullback Caden Campisi makes another appearance on this list and continues his standout season as the Pirates’ leading ballcarrier with 24 carries for 234 yards and six touchdowns. Campisi was a touchdown machine for the Pirates in the team’s 50-19 victory over Beau Chene.

Kaplan High School senior fullback Caden Campisi

7. East Jefferson High School senior QB/FS Jalen Guillard:

East Jefferson High School senior two-way performer Jalen Guillard certainly made an impact on both sides of the football throwing two touchdown passes on offense as a quarterback, but also intercepting Higgins’ quarterback three times on defense including an interception for a touchdown ending Higgins’ undefeated season with a 35-16 victory. Guillard’s experience at quarterback certainly helped him in baiting opposing quarterbacks on defense in this incredible performance.

East Jefferson High School senior QB/FS Jalen Guillard

8. Ouachita Parish High School junior RB Carldell Sirmons:

Ouachita Parish High School junior running back Carldell Sirmons was our top player of the week in Week 2 earlier this season so by rule, he cannot win the player of the week again this year, but we will certainly mention him as much as we want as long as he continues having dynamic performances like the one that he showed against Ouachita Christian having 22 carries for 311 yards and four touchdowns in the 48-28 victory.

Ouachita Parish High School junior RB Carldell Sirmons

9. Delcambre High School senior RB Jaxon Wiggins:

Delcambre High School senior running back Jaxon Wiggins is back on the top ten list after having another big time performance this time in a 48-14 win against Westminster Christian Academy when he had 26 carries for 246 yards and five touchdowns leading the Panthers to a 4-1 overall record in the first five games of the season.

10. Teurlings Catholic High School junior QB Preston Welch:

Teurlings Catholic High School junior quarterback Preston Welch continues to emerge as one of the best junior quarterbacks in the state as he leads an undefeated Rebels football team to another victory shutting out Beaux Bridge 38-0. In the win, Welch threw five touchdown passes all within the game’s first 18 minutes of play. Welch had a short, but very efficient night completing ten of 11 passes for 179 yards and he hit four different wide receivers for touchdowns to boot.

Teurlings Catholic High School junior QB Preston Welch

11. Archbishop Hannan High School senior offensive lineman Beau Armstrong:

Yes. You read that right. Number eleven on our top players of the week list is an offensive lineman in Archbishop Hannan’s Beau Armstrong. Why, you may ask? Well, anytime, the head coach Corey Bordelon tells you that Beau has been the key to the offense’s success after rushing for nearly 300 yards on offense, that is why. Beau also has played all of the different positions on the offensive line and was graded a 95 for his performance in a 35-6 win against St. Thomas Aquinas. Just like the skill players, the big guys up front deserve some love for their hard work as well.

Archbishop Hannan High School senior offensive lineman Beau Armstrong

12. Opelousas High School senior safety Collin Fontenot:

Opelousas High School senior safety Collin Fontenot was a tackling machine in the Tigers’ 56-20 win over Leesville with 15 tackles and three pass breakups as he was a football magnet all night long on the defensive side of the football.

13. Pope John Paul II High School sophomore RB Blaze Rodriguez:

Pope John Paul II High School sophomore running back Blaze Rodriguez left defenders up in smoke after rushing for 173 yards and four touchdowns averaging 34 yards per carry on only five carries in a 51-0 victory over Crescent City Christian.

Pope John Paul II High School sophomore RB Blaze Rodriguez

14. De La Salle High School senior RB PJ Martin:

De La Salle High School senior running back PJ Martin had another workmanlike performance in a 28-13 win over East Ascension with 29 carries for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Overall, he accounted for 240 total yards of offense.

De La Salle High School senior RB PJ Martin

15. Episcopal High School junior RB Braeden George:

Episcopal High School junior running back Braeden George helped the Knights come from behind and defeat the Ascension Catholic Bulldogs in order to continue the team’s undefeated season. In the win, George had three touchdowns including two touchdowns on offense and an interception returned for a touchdown on defense. He also had a two point conversion accounting for 20 of the team’s 33 points.

Episcopal High School junior RB Braeden George

Honorable Mentions:

  • Northlake Christian High School freshman RB Kam Casnave: 25 carries for 190 yards and four touchdowns in 42-21 win over Grace King
  • Dutchtown High School junior RB Gary Dukes: 19 carries for 160 yards and two touchdowns averaging 8.4 yards per carry in 37-15 win over Carver
  • Eunice High School senior WR Tylon Cooper: 10 catches for 155 yards and a touchdown in 44-18 loss to Catholic High School (New Iberia)
  • Southside High School senior RB Aaron Ford: 16 carries for 161 yards and two touchdowns along with one catch for 20 yards and another receiving touchdown in 30-7 win over Barbe.
  • Archbishop Shaw High School senior RB David Kency: 10 carries for 112 yards and two touchdowns plus a 92 yard kickoff return for a touchdown in 51-13 win over West Jefferson
  • Cecilia High School senior QB Germonie Davis: 297 total yards of offense (196 yards passing, 101 yards rushing) and a touchdown in 25-24 win over Notre Dame
  • D’Arbonne Woods Charter High School senior RB Carlos Alejo: 19 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns in 42-25 win over River Oaks
  • Amite High School sophomore LB Earl Tillman: 6 tackles, 2 sacks, and a strip fumble in 14-6 win over Kentwood