Vote: Who should be the Polk County Football Player of the Week? (10/16/23)

Here are 7 nominees with outstanding performances from this past weekend.

Bill Kemp | Oct 16, 2023

Vote: Who should be the Polk County Football Player of the Week? (10/16/23) /

We enter the eighth week of the 2023 season in Florida high school football and with the playoffs lurking just around the corner, the intensity is accelerating. But the best players always seem to rise to the top this time of the year. Here are seven nominees for the Polk County Player of the Week. Take a look and cast your vote now.

Voting will conclude Sunday, September 22nd at 11:59 p.m. and the winner will be announced in next week's poll.

Congratulations to last week's winner: Keon Young of Lakeland.

Here are this week's nominations:

Jaysean Pritchard, Auburndale, Running Back

The junior scored three touchdowns -- two rushing and one receiving -- during a 62-0 win over Liberty. For the season, Pritchard has six rushing and three receiving touchdowns.

Zander Smith, Lakeland, Quarterback

The junior was 13 of 16 passing for 269 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions during a 59-0 win against George Jenkins. He has throw for 974 yards with 10 touchdowns on the season. Lakeland has won its past five games and entertains Clearwater Academy International Friday.

Lakeland quarterback Zander Smith is once again nominated for Polk County player of the week. He has led his team to five straight wins while throwing for 269 yards this past weekend / Photo by Bill Kemp

Fentrell Graham, Lake Gibson, Running Back

The senior rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns during a 35-7 win against Kathleen. He has rushed for 707 yards with eight touchdowns on the season.

Dontavious Purdy, Lake Wales, Defensive lineman

The sophomore recorded nine tackles -- seven solo -- and recovered a fumble during a 41-0 win over Kissimmee Gateway. The defending Class 3S state champions are 7-0 and host Liberty this week.

Quan'tavious Callaway, Winter Haven, Running Back

The senior rushed for 68 yards and two touchdowns during a 41-0 win over Ridge Community. Winter Haven has a makeup game against Lake Region Monday and will travel to Lake Gibson Friday. The Blue Devils are 3-3 on the season.

Zyrell Thomas, Victory Christian, Running Back

The sophomore scored on a 5-yard run as time expired to give Victory a dramatic 19-16 win at Lakeland Christian. It was the first win for the Storm against LCS in three attempts.

James Taylor Jr., Lakeland, Receiver

The senior caught four passes for 102 yards with two touchdown during a 59-0 win against George Jenkins. He has 543 receiving yards on the season.

Published Oct 16, 2023

BILL KEMP

Bill Kemp is an award-winning sports journalist at the state and national levels. Over the course of 25 years, he’s covered more than 4,000 sporting events including the NFL regular season, playoffs and Super Bowls, Major League Baseball regular season and spring training, NASCAR racing at Daytona and Talladega International Speedways and major college football regular seasons and bowl games. He was named by the Associated Press Sports Editors as a Top 10 sports columnist and Top 3 by the Alabama Press Association for best sports column and sports page design. He has served as preps editor at the Lakeland Ledger as well as sports editor at five different newspapers in Florida and Alabama. He has been published in dozens of newspapers including USA Today, the Miami Herald, the Orlando Sentinel, the Jacksonville Times Union and the Tampa Bay Times. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida. He has been writing for SBLive Sports since 2022.