Week 1: Vote for the Southwestern Illinois Football Player of the Week

Week 1 of the prep football season in the metro-east is in the books.

Now’s your chance to vote for the Belleville News-Democrat’s High School Football Player of the Week. The poll closes at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1.

To vote again, hit refresh.

Want to nominate an athlete? The BND Athlete of the Week highlights high school varsity football 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 Ahmad Lathan at alathan@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 nominees:

• Robert Battle, East St. Louis High School, Senior, QB.

Battled completed 12-21 passes for 232 yards and 2 touchdowns and 6 carries on 29 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground in the Flyers’ 36-33 loss against Chicago Mount Carmel.

• Peter Baxtron Jr. Cahokia High School, Senior, WR.

Baxtron hauled 5 catches for 81 yards and one touchdown in Cahokia’s 22-12 victory against Alton. Baxtron also scored a touchdown on a 65 yard punt return.

• Renaldo Fisher Jr., Cahokia High School, Junior, DT.

Fisher had 6 tackles — including 4 tackles for loss — and 2 sacks in the Comanches’ victory.

• Braylon Grayson, O’Fallon High School, Senior, QB.

Grayson completed 10-14 passes (71%) for 283 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 54-9 Panthers’ win over Granite City.

• Dierre Hill Jr., Althoff Catholic High School, Junior, RB.

Hill rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries in Althoff’s 49-13 win against John Burroughs. Hill also ran in a 77 yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

• Keithen Jones, Belleville East High School, Junior, WR.

Jones hauled in 6 receptions for 171 yards and a touchdown in the Lancers’ 24-21 win over Collinsville.

• Issac Phipps, Cahokia High School, Junior, OLB.

Phipps collected 4 sacks, 7 tackles — including 5 tackles for loss — and one safety in Cahokia’s 22-12 victory over Alton.

• Collin Quails, Triad High School, Senior, RB.

Quails tied the single-game Triad school record with 5 touchdowns on the ground in 56-20 win over Mattoon. He accounted for 142 total yards, 108 yards on 10 carries and 34 yards on a pass reception.

• A.J. Strong, Althoff Catholic High School, Senior, RB/DB.

Strong rushed for 94 yards and 3 touchdowns on 5 carries in a 49-13 victory over John Burroughs. Strong also hauled in 2 receptions on 7 total yards and snagged 2 interceptions on defense.

• Armon Vinson, Belleville East High School, Senior, QB.

Vinson completed 20-36 passes for 413 yards and threw 2 touchdowns in a 24-21 win over Collinsville.

• Ollie Williams, Cahokia High School, Junior, DB.

Williams recorded 7 total tackles, interceptions a pass and recovered a fumble in a 22-12 win over Alton.

This story was originally published August 30, 2023 at 5:30 AM.