Gunner Stockton, a sophomore quarterback at Rabun County, is the GHSF Daily State Player of the Week for his performances Friday in a 49-7 victory over Union County.
Stockton passed for 251 yards, rushed for 167 and had a hand in seven touchdowns in a game that decided the Region 8-AA championship. He had 68 rushing or passing attempts.
Stockton is rated as the No. 1 sophomore QB prospect nationally by 247Sports, largely for his throwing skills, but his five TD runs against Union demonstrated what it means to be a dual threat.
"With him having that special arm talent, I think the thing people sometimes forget is how deadly he can be in the run game," Rabun County coach Jaybo Shaw said. "He is a very physical and dynamic player with the ball in his hand. He will have a chance to be a 3,000-yard passer as well as a 1,000-yard rusher."
But Shaw was more praiseworthy of Stockton's competitiveness.
"What it really all boils down to at the core of it is his will to win and his desire to lead this football team," Shaw said. "You will not meet a more competitive young man. He prepares with a relentless mindset throughout the week to get ready for Friday nights."
Rabun County is 10-0 and ranked No. 2 in Class AA heading into its first-round game Friday against B.E.S.T. Academy.
Top five
*Athens Academy RB/LB Kurt Knisely rushed for 248 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries, made seven tackles and intercepted a pass in a 50-21 victory over Hebron Christian.
*Chestatee QB Christian Charles was 15-of-21 passing for 334 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 194 yards and four touchdowns in a 70-14 victory over West Hall. WR Seth Pressley had nine receptions for 225 yards and two touchdowns.
*First Presbyterian QB Parker Ingram was 29-of-34 passing for 446 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-30 victory over Warren County. His leading receivers were Harrison Aulds (8-192-3) and Jordan Jones (11-158-1).
*Hart County RB Malachi Thomas rushed for 290 yards and five touchdowns, had two receptions for 51 yards and intercepted a pass in a 49-14 victory over Morgan County.
*Rabun County QB Gunner Stockton was 29-of-40 passing for 251 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 167 yards and five touchdowns on 28 carries in a 49-7 region-clinching victory over Union County.
Best of the rest
*Allatoona RB Alex Wilson rushed for 190 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in a 35-12 victory over Sequoyah.
*Apalachee RB Shaan Cook rushed for 264 yards and five touchdowns on 15 carries in a 56-49 victory over Habersham Central.
*Athens Christian RB Johne'ss Davis rushed for 284 yards in a 56-8 victory over Towns County and finished with 1,787 yards on the season, breaking a school record set in 2007 by Dreco Bostic.
*Banneker RB/DB Kobe Harris rushed for 360 yards and two touchdowns and made five tackles in a 37-28 victory over Grady.
*Carver (Atlanta) freshman DL Aquantis Clemmons had five tackles for losses and a sack in a 36-8 victory over Decatur.
*Clarke Central CB Tracy Hill had four solo tackles, one for a loss, broke up a pass and intercepted a pass in a 31-28 victory over Buford.
*Dacula RB Kaleb Edwards rushed for 193 yards and three second-quarter touchdowns on 11 carries in a 61-31 victory over Winder-Barrow.
*Dawson County WR Dakohta Sonnichsen had six receptions for 200 yards and two touchdowns and scored a third TD rushing and a conversion in a 40-37 loss to North Hall.
*Denmark LB Zach Burchfield had 16 tackles, two sacks and two other tackles for losses in a 34-14 victory over Flowery Branch.
*Dunwoody WR Tyler Eith had 18 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown in a 49-14 loss to Johns Creek. Eith set a DeKalb County record for receptions in a season with 86, breaking the mark of 79 set by current South Gwinnett head coach Steve Davenport of Southwest DeKalb in 1984.
*East Coweta LB Deven Holmes had 10.5 tackles, 4.5 sacks and two other tackles for losses in a 28-21 victory over Newnan.
*Fannin County RB Treylyn Owensby rushed for 265 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries in a 42-21 loss to Greater Atlanta Christian.
*Habersham Central QB Ryte Woodruff was 17-of-27 passing for 324 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 202 yards and five touchdowns on 29 carries in a 56-49 loss to Apalachee.
*Haralson County RB Gabe Davis rushed for 202 yards on 34 carries in a 37-13 victory over Murray County.
*Hawkinsville RB Casson Clark rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in a 41-33 loss to Greenville.
*Jackson County DL Andrew King had five tackles for losses in a 17-0 victory over East Jackson. It was Jackson County's third shutout of the season, the most in school history.
*Lanier WR Tyler Washington had six receptions for 227 yards in a 41-38 victory over Gainesville.
*Lee County RB/DB Caleb McDowell rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries, had eight tackles, broke up two passes and returned a kickoff 45 yards in a 45-13 victory over Coffee.
*Lithonia LB Asmaar Hasan had 13 solo tackles, eight assists, a sack and a fumble recovery in a 37-7 victory over Arabia Mountain.
*Loganville QB Tanner Greene was 15-of-19 passing for 204 yards and one touchdown in a 35-14 victory over Johnson of Gainesville.
*Manchester RB Anthony Ferguson rushed for 212 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries in a 40-19 victory over Dooly County.
*Marion County RB Brandon Thomas has 75 yards rushing and 85 yards receiving in a 37-20 victory over Macon County in the Region 3-A championship game.
*McEachern QB Bryce Archie came off the bench and was 9-of-9 passing for 227 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-14 victory over North Paulding.
*McIntosh County Academy LB Josh Amerson had seven tackles behind the line in a 27-0 victory over Treutlen.
*Milton DE Zander Barnett had six tackles for losses, including two sacks, and three QB hurries and recovered a fumble in a 33-9 victory over North Forsyth that clinched Region 5-AAAAAAA.
*Monroe Area sophomore QB Salation Straughter was 9-of-11 passing for 203 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 74 yards and a score in a 35-0 victory over Franklin County.
*Monticello RB Mario Greene rushed for 170 yards on 10 carries in a 50-20 victory over Social Circle. Greene finished with 1,257 yards rushing on the season.
*Morrow MLB Owein Blas had 18 tackles, five for losses, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass in a 39-13 victory over M.L. King. The must-win game put Morrow in the playoffs for the first time since 1996.
*Mount Paran Christian QB/LB Niko Vangarelli rushed for 132 yards, passed for 118, had eight tackles and forced a fumble in a 27-7 victory over Trion.
*Mountain View DE Jakobe Walls had three sacks and two other tackles for losses in a 55-6 victory over Duluth.
*Newnan WR Josh Harris had eight receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown in a 28-21 loss to East Coweta.
*North Atlanta RB T.K. Mack rushed for 229 yards - putting him at 2,001 on the season - and scored three touchdowns in a 42-35 victory over Chattahoochee.
*North Cobb backup QB Malachi Singleton, a freshman, rushed for 130 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-24 victory over then-No. 8 Hillgrove.
*North Murray WR Landon Burrell had six receptions for 188 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-21 victory over Sonoraville.
*Ola LB Baylen Sanders had 12 solo tackles, eight assists, and one tackle for a loss in a 27-26 victory over Eagle's Landing that gave Ola a school-record seven regular-season wins.
*Parkview DT Mason Huntley had four solo tackles, two sacks, another tackle for a loss and four QB hurries in a 38-14 victory over Central Gwinnett.
*Peach County RB Noah Whittington rushed for 282 yards on 10 carries and scored on runs of 8, 65, 63 and 86 yards in a 68-21 victory over Westside of Macon.
*Prince Avenue Christian LB Davis Ridings had three tackles for losses, a sack and four QB pressures in a 58-0 victory over Lakeview Academy.
*Richmond Hill RB Ashaud Robertson rushed for 137 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in a 41-0 victory over Effingham County.
*Savannah Christian LB Mike Vidan had 11 tackles, three for losses, and intercepted a pass in a 41-0 victory over Montgomery County.
*Social Circle freshman QB Logan Cross was 27-of-42 passing for 334 yards and three touchdowns while freshman Mason Moore had 15 receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns in a 50-20 loss to Monticello.
*South Paulding LB Jackson Evans had 12 solo tackles and three assists, broke up a pass and forced and recovered a fumble in a 7-6 victory over Creekside.
*Sprayberry RB Demarion Owens rushed for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in a 40-7 victory over River Ridge. Owens finished the regular season with 1,506 rushing yards.
*Stephenson RB Deondre Jackson rushed for 150 yards on 30 carries and scored on a 12-yard run to break a 7-7 tie with 10 seconds left in a 13-7 victory over Tucker.
*Toombs County RB D.J. Mincey rushed for 130 yards and a touchdown and had 40 yards receiving in a 31-20 victory over Swainsboro.
*Tucker DB Tyler Montgomery had 18 tackles, three for losses, and caused a fumble in a 13-7 loss to Stephenson.
*Vidalia freshman Darrell Brown rushed for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries in a 26-10 victory over Bacon County.
*Washington County RB Sha'Marcus Poole rushed for 165 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-23 victory over then-No. 3 Dublin.
*Wesleyan RB/LB Griffin Caldwell rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries and had four tackles and a sack in a 27-6 victory over Trinity Christian.
*West Laurens LB D'Eryk Jackson had six solo tackles, three assists and a tackle for a loss in a 36-2 victory over Perry in a game that decided the 2-AAAA title.
*Wilcox County RB/LB Desmond Tisdol rushed for 184 yards and five touchdowns and had three solo tackles, three assists, two QB pressures and a sack in a 48-24 victory over Atkinson County.
*Winder-Barrow WR Brett Landis had nine receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns in a 61-31 loss to Dacula.
Lines of distinction
*Athens Academy's offensive line of Kris Knisely, John Ferguson, Ethan Connelly, Johnerio Holt, John Bostwick, Julian Attaway and Hugh Laughlin was the pillar in a 50-21 victory over Hebron Christian for the Region 8-A championship and the Spartans' 10-0 season. Athens Academy put up 404 yards of total offense.
*St. Pius' offensive line of Joseph Miller, Camden Wooden, Charlie Long, Joey Sanfilippo, Colby Wright, Marc Weick, Lawson Schultz and Casey Ver Meulen paved the way for 24 first downs and 370 yards rushing on 54 attempts in a 42-21 victory over Stephens County. St. Pius scored on every drive except one, which burned off the final six minutes of the game.
*Warner Robins’ unit of Manasseh Thompson, Ryan Cooper, Jahmere Bryant, Bobby Hutchinson, Marshall Engledow and C.J. Brooks helped the Demons put up 292 yards passing, 270 rushing and a season-high points total in a 47-17 victory over Veterans, a team allowing only 13.3 points entering the game. The victory clinched for Warner Robins (9-1) a third consecutive Region 1-AAAAA championship.
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