Stepping Up
Players who are coming up big at the right times for their schools
* In a 30-13 win over Cleveland St. Ignatius, Glenville safety Latwan Anderson picked off four passes from Pittsburgh bound quarterback Mark Myers. Anderson is one of the best ballhawks in the country and showed his speed and open field skill, returning one of the interceptions 100 yards for a touchdown. He and his teammate, cornerback Christian Bryant, who also had an intereception, are two players who have been steadily rising up the rankings since this summer.
* Myers did not have his best game, but that does not take away from the great senior season he has had. He has a strong arm and normally has taken good care of the ball. This performance nonwithstanding, he has shown future starter ability.
* Inkster (Mich) continues to stay alive. The Vikings gutted out a couple of late regular season wins to even make the playoffs, but have rolled since, winning their playoff games by a margin of 136-54. Leading that charge has been quarterback Devin Gardner, who has proven his five-star status by throwing six touchdowns and rushing for five in the three games. The Vikings take on Warren De La Salle this Saturday.
* Despite a loss to Orchard Lake St. Mary's this weekend, Detroit Crockett quarterback Tony Lippett had another strong performance. He was 11 of 17 for 112 yards and rushed for 85. This coming on the heels of a seven touchdown game a week back. A Michigan State commitment, Lippett is slated to move to wide receiver in college and has shown the athleticism and football acumen this season to make that move.
* Western Michigan commitment, Mike Perish, a quarterback out of Chicago Marist has been outstanding as a senior and continued that this weekend, ending Palatine Fremd's perfect season by engineering a 28-16 upset win. Perish was 23-for-31 passing after going 18-for-20 in the first half and finished with 286 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a touchdown.
* Another state of Illinois quarterback, Montini Catholic's Brandon Pechloff has lead his team deep into the playoffs. On the season, the 6'7 Pechloff has passed for nearly 2,700 yards and 36 touchdowns in his first year as the full time starter. In this last game, he completed 14 of 21 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-17 win over Sycamore.
* Indiana commit Matt Perez, a running back out of Maine South (Ill.) rushed for 314 yards and four touchdowns as his team scored a 44-23 victory over Glenbrook South. Perez has been somewhat underrated throughout the process and is a kid we are going to take a closer look at on film after this season.
* One sleeper quarterback having a big season is Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (Ind.) product Wade Markley. He has his team undefeated and tossed two touchdowns in a 49-12 win over Muncie Delta. Markley has been efficient and accurate this season. There are a few FBS schools taking a late look at him. Junior running back Remound Wright caught one of his touchdowns and added 182 yards on the ground. Wright is proving this season that he is one of the top juniors in the state of Indiana.
* Indianapolis Cathedral's Kofi Hughes completed 7-of-13 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 108 yards and a touchdown as they defeated North Central 45-6. The Indiana commitment throughout this season has been proving himself as a quarterback and not just a great athlete.