Vote: Who should be High School on SI's Connecticut Football Player of the Week? (9/18/2024)

We’ve selected eight candidates to choose from this past week’s games

Hayden Allard looks for some running room against New Canaan during the Class L quarterfinals Tuesday at Dunning Field. / Jimmy Zanor/NorwichBulletin / USA TODAY NETWORK

Connecticut high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for the state. Teams showcased more of what they’ve got heading into Week 2 of the regular season.

As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Connecticut Football Player of the Week award from September 12-14, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected.

SBLive voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You can vote as often as you wish and are encouraged to share our polls with others. The use of voting bots and other forms of automated voting are not allowed. Individuals will be removed from the poll if any form of automated voting can be verified. - SBLive Sports

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Sep. 22nd. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Caden Hillier, Guilford

One of the top rushing performances of Week 1 in the Constitution State, with Hillier rushing for 325 yards on 25 carries and scoring five touchdowns.

Hayden Allard, Killingly

The senior running back had a huge night in Killingly’s 68-16 win over Stonington, rushing for 307 yards and scoring seven touchdowns.

Christian Morales, East Catholic

Morales went off in a 55-20 victory over Bacon Academy/Lyman Memorial, completing 14-of-18 passes for 337 yards and five touchdowns.

John Manning, Windsor

Manning totaled 369 all-purpose yards and scored six touchdowns in Windsor’s 53-26 victory over East Hartford last week.

Andrew Esposito, New Canaan

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver was unstoppable in New Canaan’s 42-13 win over Maloney, catching nine passes for 271 yards and five touchdowns.

Ryan Kinik, Shelton

The 5-foot-8, 170-pound athlete was a tackling machine in the team’s 14-7 loss to Amity Regional, notching 22 tackles and forced a fumble.

Jayzair Barbera, Derby

The senior quarterback had himself a strong outing in a 41-0 win over St. Paul’s Catholic. Barbera completed 9-of-13 passes for 309 yards and five touchdowns.

Bear Schoenberg, Danbury

The edge rusher was superb despite his effort coming in a 28-22 loss to Manchester, notching 13 tackles, six for a loss and 3.5 sacks.

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Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

SBLIVE SPORTS LAUNCHES HIGH SCHOOL ON SI

High School On SI will serve as the premier destination for high school sports fans, delivering unparalleled coverage of high school athletics nationwide through in-depth stories, recruiting coverage, rankings, highlights and much more. The launch of a dedicated high school experience expands Sports Illustrated’s reach to even more local communities as fans can now truly follow athletes from “preps to the pros” on a single platform, bringing them closer to the action than ever before. For more information, visit si.com/high-school.

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