Vote now: 4th Down Magazine Player of the Week presented by Crown Trophy of Harrisburg

Welcome to 4th Down Magazine’s vote for Players of the Week presented by Crown Trophy of Harrisburg (in Lemoyne).

The nominees for the week are listed below. Vote for the players in each category with the most impressive performance.

The poll will remain open until Tuesday evening at 11 p.m. and voting is allowed once per hour. The winner will be announced Wednesday evening.

Ethan Dorrell, jr., QB, Cedar Cliff: Back-to-back quality performances from the junior. Dorrell is now averaging 250 yards per game after a 20-for-28, 246-yard, three-TD performance in a 33-27 win over Cocalico. The Colts are now 2-0 thanks to Dorrell, who added 61 yards and a score on seven carries.

Trenten Smith, sr., WR, Cedar Cliff: On the receiving end of nine of those 20 Dorrell completions was Smith, the impressive pass catcher who added 132 yards and a score. He’s been Dorrell’s top target during the Colts’ 2-0 start, already eclipsing 303 yards this season while snaring three TDs in 16 total receptions.

Aidan Mencia, sr., RB, Waynesboro: The Indians trounced Red Lion 47-14, grinding out 324 yards on 37 carries (8.8 yards per carry). Mencia led that charge, plowing ahead for 120 stripes and two scores — one of them for 76 yards — on just 11 carries (10.9 ypc). He also snagged two passes for 27 yards.

Rashawn Early-Holton, sr., WR/DB, Mechanicsburg: Neither offense could get much going in this one, but Early-Holton saved the Wildcats, scooping up a blocked field goal attempt in the fourth quarter for a 79-yard game-tying drive. The ‘Cats went on to beat Elizabethtown in OT 14-7, and Early-Holton added three receptions for 27 stripes.

Dion Bryant, sr., RB, Milton Hershey: The Spartans picked up their first win since Nov. 8, 2019 — they didn’t play in 2020 due to the pandemic — and Bryant led the charge. The senior scored five times, on runs of 10, 19, 65, 10 and 65 yards, totalling a monster 337 yards on 21 touches to lead Milton Hershey past Susquehanna Township 52-14.

Randy Rudy, sr., WR/DB, Central Dauphin: Sure, Max Mosey was impressive at QB as well during the Rams’ 41-22 win over Berks Catholic. But look at Rudy’s numbers — he caught a 37-yard touchdown pass, and on defense he recorded 13 tackles (tied for the team lead), three TFLs, a QB hurry and a forced fumble.

Alex Erby, so., QB, Steel-High: The stud signal caller tossed three straight touchdowns in the first quarter — crossing yardage of 10, 13 and 19 stripes — to thrust the Rollers to a 34-0 win after 12 minutes, and eventually a 61-6 win over Philadelphia-area’s Belmont Charter. Erby, who threw one final TD for 35 yards in the fourth quarter, was 9-of-15 for 199 yards and threw a pick. The Rollers won their 800th game.

Kobe Moore, so., FB/LB and Mike Shartle, jr., DB, Camp Hill: The Lions have roared out of the gate early, moving to 2-0 after a 38-0 whitewash of Biglerville. Moore had his fingerprints all over the outcome, scoring on a 54-yard run to finish with 89 yards on five touches, and recording seven tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a recovery on the other side of the ball. Shartle was active defensively with a safety and a scoop-and-score.

Aiden Metzger, sr., FB/LB, Boiling Springs: The Bubblers made it consecutive shutouts this week with a 35-0 win over Bermudian Springs. Metzger made several impactful defensive players for the red-hot Bubblers, tallying two tackles (two for loss) and two sacks. On offense, he added 81 yards and a score on 11 carries, finishing second to Joey Menke’s 130-yard, three-TD performance for the team.

Marcus Quaker, so., QB, West Perry: The Mustangs have a knack for unleashing solid dual-threat passes. Quaker lit up Newport in a 49-0 win for four touchdowns, rushing for 168 yards and throwing for 136 more in Friday’s victory. He ran in two scores of 27 and 6 yards and tossed two more of 38 and 30 yards. West Perry won the first meeting between the Perry County schools in 25 years.

Alex Achenbach, so., RB, Williams Valley: Showing signs of becoming the latest in a string of remarkably productive running backs in a high-octane Williams Valley attack, Achenbach lit the fuse on the Vikings’ 26-14 victory over neighboring Pine Grove. All the youngster did was rush 28 times for 235 yards and two scores in the Colonial-Schuylkill League crossover. In fact, his 59-yard touchdown run with four minutes left in the opening quarter propelled Tim Savage’s squad to a 6-0 lead they would not relinquish while improving to 2-0.

Layne Yoder, so., WR, Tri-Valley: Yoder enjoyed a terrific Week 2, catching seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns as Jeff Sampson’s Bulldogs improved to 2-0 with a 21-0 whitewash on the road at Mahanoy Area. With Jonas McGrath doing the pitching, Yoder hauled in TD tosses of 3 and 53 yards as Tri-Valley claimed the Colonial-Schuylkill crossover.

Carter Enders, so., QB, Halifax: Although the shorthanded Wildcats came up short in a 50-39 loss to visiting James Buchanan, Enders did everything he could to keep Earl Mosley’s squad in the mix for a positive Liberty Division result by completing 13 of his 20 pass attempts for 333 yards and four touchdowns. Three of Enders’ scoring passes went to Landon Areford (11, 44 and 9 yards), while the fourth was hauled in by Peter Ranck (65 yards). Ranck finished with seven catches for 203 yards for Halifax (0-2, 0-2).

Nathan Brake, jr., RB, James Buchanan: Playing a leading role throughout James Buchanan’s 50-39 success at Halifax, Brake rolled up 187 yards and one touchdown on 25 attempts as the Rockets (1-1, 1-1) claimed the Liberty Division result. Brake’s touchdown run midway through the third quarter, which covered 25 yards, pushed a JB side that rushed for 336 yards against the host Wildcats ahead to stay (28-27).