Vote: Who Should Be Missouri High School Football Player of the Week? Oct. 28, 2025

Check out the candidates from Week 9 and cast your votes for the best!

Levi Payton | Oct 28, 2025

Who should be Missouri High School Football Player of the Week? / SBLive

It felt like a flash, but the Missouri High School football season officially came to a close last week, but not without a bunch of dominant performances.

This week's POTW candidates feature a running back who had 399 yards, a two-way player with three rushing touchdowns, a pile of tackles and a couple of sacks, and an entire offensive line unit that stacked up 93 pancake blocks in a single game.

Our POTW polls will continue throughout the postseason.

Congrats to Carthage’s Landon West, who earned top honors for Week 8 with 50.65 percent of the vote after rushing for 215 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries, in a 28-14 win against Webb City.

This week’s winner will be announced next week.

The poll is located at the bottom of the page beneath the list of candidates. You may vote as many times as you’d like.

Missouri High School Football Player of the Week Candidates

Grayson Burgess, St. Michael the Archangel

Guiding the Guardians to a 53-point night and a big win against Father Tolton Catholic, the senior quarterback passed for 245 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also got it done on the ground, rushing 11 times for 93 yards.

Anthony Cordell, Ozark

He’s not the biggest guy off the bus, but the 5-foot-7, 155-pound junior had a monster performance against Kickapoo. Cordell rushed 25 times for 243 yards and scored three touchdowns.

Brayden Christian, Lebanon

In the final regular season game of his varsity career, the 5-foot-6, 170-pound senior rushed 18 times for 186 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 56-7 win against Lebanon. He averaged 10.3 yards per carry with a long of 41.

Carter Dowell, Troy Buchanan

Dowell averaged 11.6 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns in a 49-0 thrashing against Battle, rushing 14 times for 163 yards in the blowout.

Jett Easley, Ozark

A 5-foot-10, 165-pound speedster, Easley was part of a two-headed monster with teammate Anthony Cordell against Kickapoo. He carried the ball 17 times for 209 yards and two touchdowns.

Jonas Fagin, Webster Groves

Making a statement for the Statesmen, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound receiver pulled in nine receptions for 174 yards and two touchdowns against Seckman.

Graham Faust, MICDS

In a dominant 35-13 win against Mexico on Saturday the 6-foot-3 defensive stalwart brought packed a punch. Faust collected 17 tackles, including 14 solo stops, and recovered a fumble in the regular season finale.

Jake Hensel, Park Hill South

One week after setting a program record with 229 yards receiving against North Kansas City, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound wide receiver broke his own mark Friday against St. Joseph Central. He hauled in seven receptions for 233 yards and scored all four touchdowns in the Panthers’ 28-14 win.

Jason Hervoyavich, Dexter

Dominant on both sides of the ball, the 5-foot-10, 210-pound senior running back and linebacker rushed 11 times for 73 yards and scored three touchdowns. Defensively, he piled up 16 tackles, including 13 solo, had five tackles for loss, two sacks and a quarterback hurry against Scott City.

Gabe Johnson, Webb City

Whether it was Johnson or fellow senior Mason Williams, the results were practically mirror images against Joplin. Splitting carries with Williams, Johnson rushed 17 times for 195 yards and scored three touchdowns. He added a 47-yard reception and had a carry go for 62 yards.

Nick McClellan, CBC

Quarterbacking the No. 3 Cadets to a 56-9 win against St. Mary’s South Side, McClellan completed 7-of-8 passes for 203 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and rushed four times for 112 yards.

Nixa’s offensive line

Putting an entire position group on this list is unconventional but hear us out: Nixa’s linemen had a staggering 93 pancake blocks (yes, 93) in a 63-21 win against Glendale. Senior Hayden Mays led the team with 24 pancakes, followed by five-star Miami Hurricanes commit Jackson Cantwell with 21, junior Jamison Truitt had 19, fellow junior Jaxon Stewart added 17 and senior Urban Arnold finished with 12.

Ethan Miller, West Plains

Guiding his Zizzers to a 37-30 win at Carl Junction, the 6-foot senior quarterback completed 21-of-34 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns, including strikes from 11, 31 and 26 yards.

Logan Reser, Stockton

Reser capped a fantastic regular season with an amazing performance. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound running back shredded Pierce City – rushing for 399 yards and six touchdowns on 42 carries. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry and finished the regular season with 2,191 rushing yards and 27 TDs.

Austin Ryan, St. Dominic

Helping guide his team to a dominant 45-21 win against Westminster Christian, the 6-foot-1 junior wide receiver hauled in six receptions for 159 yards and three touchdowns – an average of 26.5 yards per catch.

Cody Shaver, St. Pius X (Festus)

One of the top rushers in the St. Louis area, the junior running back now has 1,739 rushing yards on 200 attempts this season after rushing for 207 yards and a touchdown on 34 attempts against Valle Catholic and added a sack on defense.

Logan Shuster, Liberty (Wentzville)

One of the top tacklers in Eastern Missouri, Shuster was like a heat-seeking missile against Holt last week. He knifed his way into 23 tackles, including seven solo in a 42-10 victory.

Wyatt Slavens-Lewis, Kickapoo

With his team trailing 31-29, Slavens-Lewis drilled a 27-yard field goal as time expired to give Kickapoo a 32-31 victory against Ozark and the No. 3 seed and a crucial bye into the semifinal round of the Class 6 District 5 playoffs.

Grayson Smith, Lawson

Averaging a staggering 20.5 yards per carry, Smith rushed 12 times for 246 yards and scored three touchdowns against Lathrop in the regular-season finale. The 5-foot-10, 205-pound star broke off a 93-yard run to highlight the night.

Clark Struckhoff, Herculaneum

Like a firework, the 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior popped off for the Blackcats on both sides of the ball against De Soto. Struckhoff rushed 24 times for 213 yards and four touchdowns and added nine tackles on defense, including seven solo.

Noah Walton, Potosi

Every bit of his monster performance was needed in Potosi’s thrilling 48-41 win against St. Charles West. The 6-foot running back rushed 22 times for 279 yards and six touchdowns – averaging 12.7 yards per tote.

Barrett Wheeler, Perryville

The 6-foot senior closed out the final regular season game of his high school career in style. He rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and caught a 52-yard touchdown pass in a blowout against Cuba.

Lee White, St. Charles West

The junior running back went off in a shootout with Potosi. Closing the regular season strong, White had his second straight week with at least 200 yards rushing, finishing with 215 yards and five rushing touchdowns on 23 carries.

Mason Williams, Webb City

Splitting carries with fellow senior Gabe Johnson, Williams helped the Cardinals sprint past Joplin 42-28. Averaging 12.2 yards per carry, he compiled 220 yards and rushed for three TDs on 18 carries and chipped in three tackles (two solo) on defense.

Ta’Vren Williams, North Point

Leading his Grizzlies to a 67-10 win against St. Charles, the junior quarterback was a perfect 7-of-7 passing for 195 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 54 yards.

Logan Wilson, Windsor (Imperial)

Breaking the 200-yard barrier for the third time this season, Wilson rushed for a season-high 220 yards on 25 carries and scored three touchdowns in a big 46-6 win against Bayless.