The Arizona Republic's Top 10 high school football players of Week 8; vote in our poll
There were incredible performances spread across the Arizona high school football landscape that included a couple of state records. Here are The Arizona Republic's picks for the top 10 players of Week 8 with honorable mentions. Coaches nominated the players. You can vote for top overall player of the week in our poll below.
Top 10 Players of the Week
1. Brandon Phelps, American Leadership Gilbert North, WR, Sr.
It's extremely rare that someone on the losing team is ranked as the top player of the week. But Phelps had a special night in a 49-29 loss to Gilbert Higley, setting two all-time state receiving records, while grabbing nine passes for 168 yards and two TDs. He surpassed Christian Kirk's state records for receiving TDs and receiving yards. Phelps now has 53 TD catches and 4,027 yards receiving in 40 career varsity football games, both state records. He is five catches away from the all-time state receptions record.
2. Charlie LeVinus, Paradise Valley, QB, Jr.
In a 49-34 win over Westview, he completed 27 of 42 passes for 417 yards and four TDs and no interceptions, and ran for 90 yards and a TD on 12 carries.
3. Adam Mohammed, Glendale Apollo, RB'DB, Sr.
The Arizona-bound running back carried the ball 18 times for 248 yards and three TDs, including a 93-yarder, in a 48-14 win over Shadow Ridge. On defense, he had five solo tackles, three assisted, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt.
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4. Demond Williams Jr., Chandler Basha, QB, Sr.
In a 45-44 double-overtime win over Hamilton, he accounted for five TDs, including three TD passes to Gio Richardson. His 46-yard completion to Mason Arhin led to Timothy Tynan's 21-yard field goal with 12 seconds left in regulation that tied the score at 31.
5. Nikko Boncore, Glendale Cactus, WR, Jr.
In a 27-17 win over Buckeye Verrado, he caught 10 passes for 150 yards and three TDs.
6. Brady Forst, Phoenix Arcadia, RB, Sr.
He returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and ended up with three TDs and more than 200 all-purpose yards in a 30-17 comeback win over Gilbert Mesquite to keep the Titans unbeaten at 7-0.
7. Braylon Gardner, Peoria Liberty, WR, Sr.
In a 57-19 rout of Pinnacle, he had seven catches for 216 yards and three TDs.
8. Legend Bernard, Chandler Hamilton, WR, Sr.
Against Basha, he set a single-game school record with four TD catches.
9. Deshawn Warner, Goodyear Desert Edge, DE, Sr.
He had nine tackles, two sacks and an interception return for a touchdown in a 23-0 5A shutout of Sunrise Mountain.
10. Andrew Zubey, Higley, DB, Sr.
He had three interceptions in Higley's 5A win over American Leadership Gilbert North.
Honorable mention
Bryceton Meyer, Bisbee, RB, Jr.
In a 74-26 rout of Palo Verde, he ran 16 times for 341 yards and three TDs.
Sebastian Lopez, Bisbee, QB, Jr.
He passed for 276 yards and two TDs and ran for 153 yards and six TDs against Palo Verde.
Elantae Fleming, Paradise Valley, WR, Jr.
In the win over Westview, he caught 13 passes for 231 yards and four TDs.
Jordan Blake, Mesa Skyline, RB, Sr.
In a 35-22 win over Mesa Dobson, he ran 25 times for 259 yards and four TDs.
Jack Atkinson, Scottsdale Christian, QB, Sr.
He was named Homecoming King and completed 19 of 19 for 274 yards and five TDs in a 2A win over rival Scottsdale Prep.
Jack Germaine, Mesa Mountain View, QB, Sr.
In a 35-15 win over Mesa, he was 25 of 32 for 296 yards and four TDs and no interceptions.
Brody Michael, American Leadership Queen Creek, DE, Jr.
He had 11 tackles, two for losses, a sack and a forced fumble in a 17-14 win over Mesa Red Mountain.
Keleb Gibson, Mesa Mountain View, DL, Jr.
He recovered a fumble and returned it 79 yards for a score.
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Carter Lavrusky, Horizon, OL, Sr.
He led a dominating line in a win over Notre Dame Prep, helping the Huskies gain more than 300 yards on the ground.
Dominic Norris, Oro Valley Ironwood Ridge, QB, Sr.
In a 37-22 win over Tucson, Norris, playing despite a high ankle sprain, completed 23 of 41 passes for 502 yards and four TDs.
Navi Bruzon, Liberty, QB, Sr.
He completed 15 of 18 passes for 384 yards and four TDs with no interceptions and ran seven times for 31 yards and a score.
Mack Kump, Phoenix Sunnyslope, WR/S, Jr.
He had three touchdown catches, including the game winner, to go with clutch interception in a 31-21 win over Gilbert Campo Verde.
Isaiah Thomas, Surprise Paradise Honors, WR/RB, Sr.
In a 57-23 win over Odyssey Institute, he caught nine passes for 132 yards and two TDs, had a 19-yard run and returned two punts for 66 yards. He has amassed more than 1,000 yards receiving in eight games.
Jayden Thoreson, Tucson Mica Mountain, QB, Jr.
In a 57-0 rout of Tucson Pueblo, he completed 19 of 24 for 284 yards and five TDs to improve his team to 6-0.
Khameron Athy, Phoenix Central, RB, Sr.
In a rout of Trevor Browne, he had five rushing TDs in the first half, giving him 23 TDs on the season, four away from the single-season school record set by Trung Canidate.
Nate Escandon, Chandler, LB, Sr.
In the 29-28 loss to Centennial, he recovered a fumble and ran 62 yards for a score with 55 seconds left in the first half to give the Wolves their first TD after getting down 26-0. He also had 12 tackles.
Noah Carter, Centennial, DE/WR, Sr.
He caught a 23-yard TD pass and was in on several tackles behind the line of scrimmage in the Coyotes' 29-28 win over Chandler.
Ricky Munoz, Centennial, WR, Sr.
He caught a 14-yard TD pass and ran for a 14-yard score in Centennial's 26-6 first half.
Damien Khaivilay, Apollo, DE, Sr.
He had five solo tackles, two assists, two tackles for losses, two sacks and two forced fumbles.
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Gage Baker, Paradise Honors, QB, Sr.
He was 26 of 34 for 430 yards and seven TDs with one interception.
Josh Morales, Paradise Honors, WR, Sr.
He had a 40-yard kickoff return and caught three TD passes covering a total of 79 yards.
Matthias Montijo, Holbrook, RB, So.
He ran for 191 yards and three TDs on 16 carries in a 54-0 win over Hopi.
Antonio Casias, Cactus, QB, So.
He was 18 of 24 for 250 yards and four TDs.
Tristan Bacon, Glendale Raymond S Kellis, RB, Jr.
He ran 11 times for 144 yards and two TDs in a rout of North Canyon.
Bryce Bacon, Raymond S Kellis, LB, Sr.
He had 11 tackles, 2.5 for losses, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a TD.
Ben Lueders, Northwest Christian, RB, Sr.
In a 49-7 win over Lake Havasu, he ran nine times for 158 yards and two TDs.
Jon Wilson, Liberty, RB, Sr.
He ran for more than 200 yards and three scores in the win over Pinnacle.
To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert atrichard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: The Arizona Republic's Top 10 high school football players of Week 8 vote in poll
