Poll results: Amid the football standouts, a spiker wins vote for player of the week
Avery Hesseldenz of Freeburg High School, is the winner of the latest Belleville News-Democrat Player of the Week high school poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.
Hesseldenz, a junior outside hitter, recently compiled 57 kills and 41 digs in helping the Midgets post 6 victories and capture the Mascoutah Tournament championship.
Hesseldenz — who secured 43% of the votes — leads the metro-east in kills-per-game at nearly 5 per set.
Here were the other Week 3 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.
The poll ended at 10 a.m. Friday.
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.
The next player of the week poll will appear on the BND’s website — www.bnd.com — at 5 a.m. Tuesday. Please email nominations to gvartanian@bnd.com.
Previous poll winners: Travis Porter of Highland High School and Cole Stuart of Freeburg High School.
This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 7:00 AM.