Vote: Who should be High School on SI's Connecticut Football Player of the Week? (9/23/2024)

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

Killingly senior Terrence Allen makes the tackle against Masuk's Gavin Walker during the CIAC Class MM semifinal Sunday at Morgan Field. Allen / Jimmy Zanor/The Bulletin / 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 3 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 19-21, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected.

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Congratulations to last week's winner: John Manning, Windsor

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

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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. 29th. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Jayzair Barbera, Derby

The senior signal caller was terrific in Derby's 47-28 defeat of Crosby, as Barbera completed 25-of-38 passes for 441 yards and six touchdowns. What a night for the senior.

Donovan Huggett, Platt RVT

Huggett had arguably one of the top rushing performances of any back in the state, as the senior rushed for 263 yards on 19 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 27-21 win over Abbott RVT/Immaculate.

Vincent Burbank, Northwest Catholic

Burbank was terrific in Northwest Catholic's 38-0 victory over RHAM, with the junior signal caller completing 14-of-22 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns.

Mekheem Ambursley, Waterbury Career Academy

The junior running back ran wild in Waterbury Career Acdemy's 38-0 victory over Oxford, with Ambursley rushing 204 yards on 27 carries and scoring five touchdowns.

Michael D'Angelo, Greenwich

The Cardinals' quarterback had himself a night in Greenwich's 37-7 win over Stamford, as D'Angelo completed 8-of-15 passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns.

Elias Rodriguez, New Britain

Rodriguez made an impact in New Britain's 60-20 victory over East Hartford, as the senior hauled in three passes for 147 yards, two touchdowns and eight tackles, two interceptions.

Nathan Pelletier, Southington

The freshman quarterback had his best game of the season in Southington's 42-7 victory over Conard, with Pelletier completed 12-of-18 passes for 161 yards and four touchdowns.

KK Smalls, Bunnell

Smalls, a senior running back, had a strong evening in Bunnell's 58-0 rout of Norwich Free Academy, rushing for 178 yards on just eight carries and scoring two touchdowns.

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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