Vote: Who is the Houston/SE Texas High School Football Player of the Week - Oct. 7, 2025

Check out this week's candidates and cast your vote for the best in the poll at the bottom of the page!

Levi Payton | Oct 7, 2025

Four-star wide receiver Benny Easter Jr. had a monster game Friday in a comeback victory against Atascocita. The junior is one of our candidates for Houston/SE High School Football Player of the Week. / Franklin Jenkins

It's time once again for our weekly Houston/SE High School Football Player of the Week voting, and do we ever have some great performances to choose from this week.

As a reminder, fan voting is wide open. You may cast as many votes as you'd like until next Monday for each player, and we encourage you to to share this page on all of your social platforms in order to get exposure for each of these deserving players.

With Week 6 games in the books, we want to provide some exposure for these top performers from across the Houston area.

We focus on some of the top players in this poll, which is in addition to the statewide High School on SI’s Texas Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week done by Bob Lundeberg.

Congratulations to Colson Collins, of The Woodlands Collins, who won last week’s voting with 47.75 percent of the vote. Collins accounted for five touchdowns in a 52-13 victory against Fort Worth Country Day, completing 22-of-28 passes for 416 yards and four TDs while also rushing three times for 13 yards and another score.

Voting remains open until Monday, Oct. 13, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific. The winner will be announced in the following week’s post.

The poll is near the bottom of the page, below the write-ups on each athlete.

Houston/SE High School Football Player of the Week candidates

Oct. 7, 2025

Braden Baker, Houston Cypress Ranch

Making short work of Cypress Park in Thursday’s 84-14 blowout win, the junior quarterback was in his bag. Baker completed 11-of-15 passes for 192 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Giavani Baker, Pearland Shadow Creek

Baker was cooking on Thursday. He sprinkled in a pair of tackles in Shadow Creek’s 47-24 win at Houston Dobie and added a pair of fumble recoveries for touchdowns into the mix.

Dorian Barnes, Houston North Shore

Kingwood couldn’t cover him on Friday. In a 71-7 victory, Barnes had four receptions for 197 yards and three touchdowns. A big play waiting to happen, the senior averaged a whopping 49.3 yards per catch.

Brody Bartee, Missouri City Ridge Point

In a 62-14 win against Richmond Fort Bend Bush, the junior quarterback completed 18-of-24 passes for 268 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. His longest pass went for 34 yards, and he averaged 14.9 yards per completion.

Marco Beltran, The Woodlands College Park

Helping his team to a 55-37 road win at Willis on Friday, Beltran, a senior free safety, had a massive game. He recorded nine tackles, including six solo and one for loss, broke up four passes, picked off a pass, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Cary Clay, Galena Park

Describing Clay’s game on Thursday as productive would certainly be one way to put it. Averaging 14.3 yards per carry, the senior running back rushed 16 times for 229 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-14 win over Houston Spring Woods.

Khylan Davis, Missouri City Fort Bend Hightower

A dual threat junior quarterback, Davis was nearly perfect on Friday. In a dominant 61-7 win at Sugar Land Fort Bend Dulles, he accounted for six touchdowns and was nearly perfect through the air, completing 12-of-15 passes for 300 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Davis also rushed six times for 54 yards and a TD.

Landen Dellinger, Shepherd

Dangerous with the football in his hands, Dellinger scored in a variety of ways in a 38-28 win against Diboll. The senior scored a touchdown on a 90-yard kickoff return, threw a 16-yard TD, rushed for touchdowns of 1 and 71 yards and scored on a pair of 2-point conversion runs.

Benny Easter Jr., Houston Summer Creek

This four-star wide receiver with multiple Power 4 offers, Easter proved why in a dramatic come-from-behind victory against Atascocita. The 6-foot-3 star was practically uncoverable, and a reliable target for fellow junior quarterback Noah Spinks, hauling in 13 receptions for 218 yards and three touchdowns in the 38-35 win.

Cory Hosea, La Marque

He ripped off 10.7 yards per carry in a 36-6 win Friday against Wharton. A senior running back, Hosea rushed 25 times for 267 yards and four touchdowns, including a long of 74 yards.

Kaleb Maryland, Houston North Shore

When half of your completions go for touchdowns, you know it’s going to be a good day. In a 71-7 victory against Kingwood, Maryland averaged 33.7 yards per completion, going 10-of-14 passing for 337 yards, five touchdowns and no picks.

Jack Merryman, Montgomery

All five of the touchdowns Merryman accounted for were critical Friday for the Bears. In a 42-31 win over Montgomery Lake Creek, the senior quarterback completed three passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed eight times for 58 yards and three TDs.

Wayne Shanks Jr., Houston Kinkaid

Five of Kinkaid’s six touchdowns went to Shanks, as the junior running back rushed 23 times for 192 yards and five touchdowns in a 45-22 win against Dallas St. Mark’s. He averaged 8.3 yards per carry with a long of 42 yards.

Noah Spinks, Houston Summer Creek

The junior quarterback had an outstanding performance in a dramatic 38-35 win against Atascocita. In addition to leading his team on a 90-yard, game-winning drive - a drive that saw Summer Creek score the go-ahead touchdown in the final minute of regulation - he atoned for a pair of early interceptions by going 29-for-43 through the air with a whopping 499 yards and three touchdowns.

Ian Thomas, Tomball

Leaning heavily on its sophomore running back, Thomas carried the ball 25 times in Tomball’s 53-47 win against Klein for 136 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 5.4 yards per attempt.

Brayden Tibbetts, Sugar Land Fort Bend Christian Academy

Averaging 15.7 yards per completion, the junior quarterback was money in his team’s 48-14 victory against Shiner St. Paul on Friday. Tibbetts completed 23-of-34 passes for 360 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

Kenneth Trahan, Houston Westbury

Guiding his Huskies to a 58-36 win against Houston Milby, Trahan showed off for the home crowd with a big defensive effort. The junior linebacker racked up 10 tackles, including two solo, and got on the scoreboard with an 88-yard interception return for a TD.

Xavier Williams, Houston King

A 6-foot-2, 180-pound junior linebacker, Williams had a big game Friday in a 70-20 win against Baytown Goose Creek Memorial. He racked up nine tackles for the Panthers, including six solo and three for loss, and added two sacks.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes - even thousands - and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.