Vote: Who is the Connecticut Football Player of the Week? (11/24/2023)

We give you 13 candidates to choose from

The Connecticut High School Football Playoffs begin next week and we have our Player of the Week polls for the state heading into the postseason. Teams ended the regular season with some great individual performances in Week 12.

As such, we have 13 athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Connecticut high school football player of the week award from November 21-23, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected. Voting will conclude on Monday, November 27th at 11:59 p.m. The winner will be announced in next week's poll.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll.

Here are the nominations: 

Caleb Smith, QB, Staples: Smith was masterful in Staples' 24-13 victory over Greenwich for the McDougall Trophy. The Wreckers' signal caller completed 13-of-20 passes for 209 yards, touchdown and rushed for 95 and scored twice. 

Steven Mendoza, QB, Bunnell: The quarterback went 11-for-11 for 170 yards and two touchdowns in Bunnell's 49-0 defeat of Stratford. 

Jaylen Titus, WR, Derby: Titus had a big day through the air in a 33-24 loss to Oxford, as the junior wide receiver hauled in seven passes for 159 yards and scored two touchdowns. 

Camron Jean Pierre, RB, Stamford: The Black Knight running back had himself a day running the rock as Jean Pierre had 17 attempts for 205 yards in a 35-6 win over Westhill. 

Alex Russey, WR, New Canaan: Russey had an impact in New Canaan's 31-17 win over Darien, totaling 128 all-purpose yards on six touches. 

Dos Trysten, RB, North Haven: In North Haven's 41-6 win over Amity Regional, Trysten carried the ball 13 times for a team-high 87 yards and scored three touchdowns. 

Gianni Drab, DL, Fitch: The two-way lineman helped lead the way in Fitch's 33-0 victory over Ledyard, tallying a team-high 10 tackles. 

Cole Peterson, RB, Joel Barlow: Peterson was the bell cow for Joel Barlow in a 30-6 win over Weston as the running back rushed for 98 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown. 

Soren Rief, RB, Killingly: Want to talk about possible performance of the day on Thanksgiving, might not have to look too much further than Rief. The running back rushed for 269 yards on 45 carries and scored five touchdowns in a 42-15 win over Woodstock Academy. 

Jermaine Sheppherd, RB, Platt RVT: The running back carried the ball 16 times for 215 yards and scored four times in the Panthers' 48-0 win over O'Brien RVT. 

Enzo Corvino, QB, Newington: Corvino was efficient in Newington's 39-13 victory over Wethersfield on Wednesday night. The quarterback completed 9-of-16 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns. 

Tyler Smith, QB, Fairfield Prep: The senior signal caller led Fairfield Prep to a 21-14 upset victory over West Haven, completing 12-of-29 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. 

Nikolai Meltser, RB, Avon: Meltser led the way via the ground game in Avon's 48-13 victory over Lewis Mills and rushed for 287 yards on 13 carries and scored two touchdowns. 

-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl