Who will be the Storm Works Roofing High School Football Player of the Week? Cast your vote now
Last weekend was one of the most exciting semifinal rounds the state’s had in quite some time. That made for some great football, but picking just five players for this week’s Storm Works Roofing & Restoration High School Football Athlete of the Week wasn’t an easy task.
While there were plenty of big-time performances in all eight games this weekend, these five stood out. Some of the nominees had crazy stats, some had game-winning plays, but they all had one thing in common – they helped their team reach the Super Bowl.
Who will be the Player of the Week? We’ll leave that up to our readers, who have done a terrific job of voting all season long. We believed this award would bring football communities together and it’s gone above and beyond what we could have expected.
Nothing should change this week. Whoever wins will receive the same prize – clout. Voting will be open until Thursday night and, thanks to the fine folks at Storm Works Roofing & Restoration, voting is open to anyone and you can vote as many times as you’d like.
Here are this week’s Player of the Week nominees.
James Branch, West Warwick
It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see the Wizards give the ball to their best player on the two plays that got them to the Super Bowl. Down seven against Lincoln with under two minutes left, Branch scored on a 9-yard touchdown run, then plowed home on the conversion run to send the Wizards to the Super Bowl. Branch finished his night with 29 carries for 185 yards while scoring all three of West Warwick’s touchdowns in the 21-20 win.
A.J. DiOrio, Barrington
Up against a St. Raphael defense that had stopped some of Division II’s best ballcarriers, DiOrio tore it apart for four quarters in the Eagles’ 29-8 win. DiOrio had all four Barrington’s touchdowns, highlighted by an 85-yard kickoff return to start the second half. He added two more after that and finished the game with 22 carries for 156 yards and three rushing touchdowns to go with the return TD while catching two passes for 48 yards.
Andrew Ray, Cumberland
Burrillville knew what was coming on Friday night and still couldn’t stop Ray and the powerful Clippers’ offense. Helped by a terrific performance from his line, Ray ran through the Broncos’ defense all night long. In the first half alone, Ray had 16 carries for 143 and two touchdowns and didn’t let up in the second. Ray ended his night with 31 carries for 243 yards and three touchdowns, helping Cumberland earn a D-II Super Bowl bid with a 41-19 win.
Daniel Rose, Davies
It didn’t take long for Rose to establish what kind of night it was going to be in Thursday’s D-IV semifinal against Smithfield. The senior ran the ball four times for 60 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown that set the tone for the night. Rose ended his night with an absurd 276yards on 23 carries, scoring four touchdowns in the 34-7 win that sent Davies to the program’s first Super Bowl in only its fifth season.
R.J. Wiggins, Middletown
In Friday’s D-III semifinal against Johnston, Wiggins helped the Islanders start off with a bang – and then finished the game with a play that sent them to the Super Bowl. Wiggins had a 23-yard touchdown catch that helped Middletown go up 13-0 early before Johnston came back to take the lead. Driving for the win, Wiggins came up with a first-down catch, then put a move on the defender before making his way to the end zone. Wiggins finished his night with 10 catches for 159 yards and two touchdowns, as well as the Super Bowl berth.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal Football Player of the Week for the semifinals
