Vote: Who was the top performer from the 2024 FHSAA Rural State Championships?

We give you eight candidates from last week's two Rural state championship games

Madison County Cowboys Kemari Scurry (1) holds the State Championship trophy while waving his medal. The Hawthorne Hornets played the Madison County Cowboys in the 1R State Championship at The Range at HG Morse Stadium in Sumterville, FL on Friday, December 6, 2024. The Madison County Cowboys defeated the Hawthorne Hornets 21-14. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s playoff time in the Sunshine State for high school football and we’ve got your top performers from both sides of the ball coming at you. 

From quarterbacks to running backs to wide receivers to defensive standouts, we examined each game to give you the top candidates from the Rural State Championships. We ask you, who was the top performer from last week? 

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. - SBLive Sports

Voting closes on December 15th, 11:59pm

Here are the nominees:

Omari Russell, ATH, Fort Meade

What didn't Russell do for Fort Meade in its win over Dixie County last week? Russell accounted for 127 all-purpose yards, a touchdown and picked off a pass.

Jaden McCutchen, QB, Fort Meade

McCutchen came in the clutch for Fort Meade in bringing home a championship for the Miners, with the quarterback completing 8-of-16 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns in the Rural Invitational championship win.

Mister Williams, RB, Dixie County

The hard-nosed running back had a big night for Dixie County despite coming in a losing effort. Williams rushed for a game-high 141 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns.

Jahiem Taylor, LB, Dixie County

Taylor led the defensive effort for the Bears in the loss to the Miners, with the linebacker notching a team-high 6.5 tackles.

Jason McDaniel, RB, Madison County

The Cowboys' running back led the charge on the ground in the victory for Madison County over Hawthorne, rushing for 95 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.

Octavious Hodge, DB, Madison County

No defender had the kind of game Hodge did for the Cowboys en route to bringing home the hardware back to Madison County. Hodge made 9.5 tackles and broke up a pass in the victory over Hawthorne.

Keenon Johnson, RB, Hawthorne

Though the Hornets didn't pull off the 3-peat, Johnson had a big night running the ball regardless for Hawthorne. The tailback carried the rock 26 times for 107 yards and scored a touchdowns at The Villages.

Josue Knapp, P, Hawthorne

Not that any team wants to see their punter here, but Knapp did have a strong contest and averaged 38.2 yards on four punts and two landed inside the 20-yard line.

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