Vote for the southwestern Illinois high school Player of the Week from Sept. 5-10
Week 3 of the prep football season in the metro-east is in the books while other fall sports remain in high gear.
Now’s your chance to vote for the Belleville News-Democrat’s High School Player of the Week. The poll closes at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 16.
To vote again, hit refresh.
Want to nominate an athlete? The BND Athlete of the Week highlights high school varsity players who put in outstanding performances from the week prior to the opening of the poll. If you want to suggest someone to be included, send an email to Garen Vartanian at gvartanian@bnd.com.
Please include the athlete’s name, school, class, position, and applicable game performance statistics. Coaches must be willing to verify information.
To be clear, this poll is not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers. People also may submit the same athlete from week to week.
We are planning to post the results later this week after the poll closes.
Thanks for your responses! If you’re having any trouble viewing the poll, try turning off your ad blocker.
Here are this week’s candidates:
Jahkori Adams, Belleville West High School, junior, running back/defensive back. Adams carried the ball 17 times for 122 yards in a 48-0 loss to DeKalb.
Exavier Zeilman, Belleville West High School, junior, wide receiver/linebacker. Zeilman grabbed 7 passes for 105 yards in the loss to DeKalb.
Darron Millender Jr., Belleville East High School, junior, quarterback/linebacker. Millender competed 14-of-21 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown without an interception in a 52-19 win at Metea Valley.
Evan Davis, Waterloo High School, senior, running back. Davis rushed for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns on 30 carries in a 35-14 victory against Carbondale.
Luke Gundlach, Althoff Catholic High School, senior, middle linebacker. Gundlach notched 8 solo tackles, 2 assists and 2 sacks in a 13-7 win against Mater Dei.
Brent Wuebbels, Highland High School, senior, quarterback/free safety. Wuebbels completed 16-of-21 passes for 228 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 55-14 victory against Marion. He also rushed for 54 yards on 8 carries.
Travis Porter, Highland High School, senior, running back/linebacker. Porter carried the ball 19 times for 126 yards and 4 touchdowns against Marion.
Brendon Gelly, Highland High School, senior, tight end/linebacker. Gelly had 3 receptions, 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion catch against the Wildcats. He also posted 10 tackles.
Colt Michael, O’Fallon High School, senior, quarterback. Michael completed 14-of-20 passes for 244 yards and 6 touchdowns in a 40-0 win against Waubonsie Valley.
Jalen Smith, O’Fallon High School, senior, wide receiver. Smith caught 6 passes for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns against Waubonsie Valley.
Ethan Bagwell, Collinsville High School, junior, quarterback/linebacker. Bagwell completed 15-of-22 passes for 299 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 47-0 win against Alton. Bagwell also carried the ball 8 times for 40 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Darren Pennell, Collinsville High School, junior, wide receiver/cornerback. Pennell caught 4 passes for 84 yards, returned a kickoff 61 yards and recorded 2 tackles and 1 interception against the Redbirds.
Rollin Armes, Collinsville High School, junior, linebacker/running back. Armes had 7 total tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack and 1 interception against Alton. He also rushed for a touchdown.
- The entire Collinsville defense. The Kahoks only surrendered 92 yards to Alton, while grabbing 2 interceptions and recording 2 sacks.
Carmello Taylor, Alton High School, senior, linebacker/safety. Taylor had 10 solo tackles, assisted on 5 tackles and posted 1 sack against the Kahoks.
- Avery Hesseldenz, Freeburg High School, junior, outside hitter. Hesseldenz compiled 57 kills and 41 digs in helping the Midgets post 6 victories and capture the Mascoutah Tournament championship. Hesseldenz leads the metro-east in kills-per-game at nearly 5 per set.