Vote: North Georgia high school football Player of the Week (9/9/2024)

Cast your vote to decide who had the best performance from the opening weekend of high school football in North Georgia

Chattooga running back Zayden Cook rushed for a whopping 338 yards and five touchdowns on Friday. He is a candidate for North Georgia High School Football Player of the Week. Vote for your choice now. /

It's hard to believe but we are closing in on the midway point of the 2024 Georgia high school football regular season, which seems like it just got underway. With each passing week the stakes rise and the performances, it seems, are rising as well.

This past weekend was another great example of the caliber of play in the Peach State and we invite you to review our list of candidates below and vote for your choice for this week's North Georgia High School Football Player of the 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, Sept. 15. The winner will be announced in the following week's poll. Here are this week's nominees:

Elijah Hayes, West Hall

What West Hall senior running back Elijah Hayes did Friday night in their 73-0 drubbing of Johnson will be hard to beat. On just 12 carries, Hayes, rushed for 220 yards and scored seven touchdowns in the win. 

Zayden Cook, Chattooga

Indians senior running back Zayden Cook quite simply couldn’t be stopped Friday night in their 45-20 win over Mount Zion. He carried the ball 17 times for 338 yards and scored five touchdowns. His average per carry was just shy of 20 yards. 

Reid Giles, Rabun County

Wildcats running back Reid Giles had himself a night rushing the football against Dalton. The junior had just 10 carries, but made the most of them rushing for 151 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-13 win. He also caught four passes for 37 yards. 

Maddox Young, Union County

Panthers senior wide receiver was off to the races in their 49-6 win over Murray County Friday night. He caught six passes for 131 yards and scored three touchdowns. He also added a carry that went for 14 yards in the win. 

Darnell Kelly, Peachtree Ridge

Looking to get in the win column for the first time this season, Lions junior quarterback Darnell Kelly did just that, leading them with 301 passing yards and three touchdowns in a 41-7 win over Mountain View. 

Ezekiel Theodoris, Norcross

Blue Devils linebacker Ezekiel Theodoris was back at it again wreaking havoc on defense. This time it came against Walton in which  the senior led the team in tackles with 16, and also returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown. 

Elijah Muhammad, Wheeler

Albeit a losing effort, it wasn’t from a lack of effort from Wildcats senior Elijah Muhammad, who recorded 11 tackles (10 solo) in their loss against Kell Friday night. 

Javen Parker, East Paulding

Raiders running back Javen Parker was a hard man to bring down Friday night. The senior was a workhorse, carrying the ball 34 times for 162 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a 38-27 win over Hiram. 

Brock Tankersley, Stephens County

The Indians didn’t get the result they had hoped for against Jefferson, but they did get a standout performance from senior Brock Tankersley, who finished with a game-high 21 tackles including 12 solo. 

Kain Brown, Ridgeland

The Panthers weren’t able to get the win against Coosa Friday night, but they did get a stellar performance from Kain Brown on defense, who led the game wtih 14 tackles including 10 solo. 

Mason Hollingsworth, Whitefield Academy

Wolfpack junior running back Mason Hollingsworth showed out at home against Social Circle. He carried the ball 20 times for a smooth 135 yards and found the end zone twice. He also caught a pass for 14 yards in a 35-14 win. 

Ryan Hall, North Gwinnett

Bulldogs senior quarterback Ryan Hall was instrumental in helping lead them to a thrilling 37-34 win on the road at Mill Creek. He threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner that went for 73 yards in the closing minutes. He also rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown. 

Zamarcus Lindley, Douglas County

On a team full of weapons at wide receiver, it was junior running back Zamarcus Lindley who made the most noise in a 21-14 win over Langston Hughes. Lindley carried the ball 22 times for 118 yards and scored two touchdowns in the win. 

Keyon Standifer, Athens Academy

Spartans wide receiver Keyon Standifer made the most of his opportunities Friday night in a 47-14 win over John Milledge Academy. He caught only four passes, but raced for 125 yards and two scores. His longest reception went for 63 yards. 

Peyton Groce, Gordon Lee

Junior running back Payton Groce had himself a great night running the football for the Trojans. He carried the ball 23 times for 148 yards and scored three touchdowns in a 38-28 win over Heritage.