For coverage of all, and only, high school sports around the Rockford area, go straight to our high school sports page at rrstar.com/sports/high-school/.
The fall sports season is headed down the backstretch, and the winter seasons are just kicking in, and we have an impressive batch of stars for you to vote on for the Rockford Register Star high school Athlete of the Week poll, sponsored by Gustafson’s Furniture & Mattress, for the week of Nov. 17-22.
Go to our poll and vote now. We ask that you vote only once per day, to keep the polls fair.
To nominate an athlete for our AOTW poll, send an email to jtaft@rrstar.com by 10 a.m. Monday mornings, with information and stats on why you think they deserve to be nominated.
Almost every week for the rest of the school year, we will compile a list of athletes from the Rockford area who had standout weeks and let you, the reader, vote on who you think deserves the AOTW award. Every week you will be able to find the nominees as well as the poll at rrstar.com.
The AOTW poll will stay open until noon on Friday.
This week’s nominees are:
Jaydan Bartlett, Durand basketball
This junior post player hauled in 15 rebounds in Durand’s second game of the season last week, and she has come out of the gates hot this year. She’s scored 23 points and hauled in 26 rebounds in the first two contests.
Andrew Bucci, Belvidere North football
Bucci was North’s leading rusher wtih 73 yards on 13 carries, and he completed 3 of his 4 passes for 40 yards during the Blue Thunder’s 35-13 loss to Wheaton St. Francis in the Class 5A state semifinals on Saturday. Bucci’s lone incompletion was an interception, however.
Caden Considine, Byron football
Considine was the star for Byron last week, rushing for 274 yards and five touchdowns to spark the Tigers past Richmond-Burton and into the Class 3A state championship game on the football field. Considine also had six tackles, two for loss, and two in crushing fashion.
Soraya Parker, Lutheran basketball
Parker scored 27 points during Lutheran’s 67-33 win over Woodstock last week, and during the night she soared past Stephanie Raymond and into first place on the Lutheran girls basketball all-time scoring list. Raymond’s record was 2,056. Parker was hot all week, and she was just 23 points away from the school’s all-time scoring record of 2,154 headed into Monday’s home game against Auburn.
Gannon Dunker, Lena-Winslow football
Dunker is just a junior, but he is a third-year starter for Le-Win, and has been a leader on both the offensive and defensive lines this year as the Panthers have charged back to the state-title game with a win over Stockton in Saturday’s semifinal. Le-Win ran heavy right over Dunker in the 30-16 win over Stockton.
JJ Edmonson, Byron football
The junior defensive back punched the football out of the hands of a Richmond-Burton ballcarrier to force a fumble early in last Saturday’s Class 3A state semifinal football game. The Rockets led at that point, but shortly after Considine started reaching the end zone, and the Tigers took off.
Lillian Green, Stillman Valley basketball
Green scored 16 points in Stillman Valley’s first game of the season last week; a week in which the Cardinals went 3-0 and outscored their opponents 170-76.
Siiarra Jackson, South Beloit basketball
This sophomore scored 15 points in South Beloit’s season opener last Monday as she got things off to a good start.
Noah Larson, Stockton football
The Blackhawks quarterback was busy during Saturday’s semifinal loss to Le-Win, completing 10 of his 19 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns, trying to keep Stockton in it.
Aiden Wild, Lena-Winslow football
Wild has been running wild all season long, and he surpassed 2,000 yards rushing during Saturday’s state-semifinal victory over Stockton, gaining 246 yards on 33 carries on the day. He also scored twice, raising that mark to 32 TDs on the year.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Time to vote — Who deserves the Rockford-area Athlete of the Week honor for Nov. 17-22?
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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