Vote: Mid-Central Florida football Player of the Week (9/2/2024)

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

Hawthorne Hornets quarterback Adrian Curtis (12) throws the ball against the Newberry Panthers before the game at Hawthorne High School Football Stadium in Hawthorne, FL on Friday, August 30, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Florida high school football is back and so begins our Player of the Week polls for areas all around the state. Teams showcased what they’ve got in Week 2 of the regular season.

As such, we have eight athletes nominated this week for the SBLive’s Mid-Central Florida Football Player of the Week award from August 29-31, and we ask you, the fans, to help decide who should indeed be the top athlete selected.

---

Congratulations to last week's winner: Malakhi Boone, LB, South Sumter

The UCF commitment was all over the field in the Raiders’ 35-28 loss to Niceville, tallying a team-high 16 tackles.

---

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. 8th. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Here are this week's nominations.

Collin Dunmore, Newberry: The Panthers got a stellar game from Dunmore, despite falling 28-27 to Hawthorne. Dunmore completed 10-of-16 passes for 144 yards, one touchdown. Also rushed for 77 yard and two scores.

Lacosta Byrd, Fort White: In the Indians' 41-6 win over Belleview, Byrd rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns on offense. Defensively, the linebacker tallied a team-high 15 tackles.

Devin Johnson, Gainesville: The running back was leaned upon in the Hurricanes 33-7 win over Alachua Santa Fe, rushing for 190 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

Semaj Shines, South Sumter: The Raiders had their way in a 41-7 rout of Forest, with Shines leading the defensive effort with three sacks.

Drew Simmons, Union County: Simmons had a huge night in a 35-0 win over Keystone Heights, rushing for 135 yards on nine touches and scoring three times.

DJ McCoy, Taylor County: Helping out in the offensive end of things in a 27-20 win over Wakulla, McCoy rushed for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Ben Aguayo, Interlachen: In Interlachen's 40-6 victory over Brooksville Central, he sophomore quarterback completed 8-of-11 passes for 193 yards and three scores.

Jadarius Horne, Suwannee: Horne led the ground game in Suwannee's 21-13 win over Lafayette, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdowns.

---

Follow SBLive Florida throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!

Download the SBLive App

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

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