The season is here, and players are already making it known they plan on making huge impacts for their teams on Friday nights.
This year there is a new honor that will separate the best of the best. The PrepsKC McCarthy Elite team will be announced at the season’s end with only 28 players making the cut. Each week PrepsKC will highlight a position group with some of the top players who are making waves and getting known for their work on the field.
This week we circle back to quarterbacks and running backs. Several players have pushed themselves to the top of the list.
Let’s start with the QBs:
Ayden Wilhelm, junior, Blue Springs South – Led the Jaguars to a 7-2 mark and the top seed in Missouri Class 6 District 7. He’s thrown for 1249 yards with 10 TDs and run for another 605 yards with 6 TDs while averaging 11 yards a carry. South is a state title contender and Wilhelm is a big reason why.
Rocco Marriott, junior, Platte County – Has led the Pirates to a perfect 9-0 mark with 1992 yards and 28 touchdowns. He leads an offense that has scored 50 or more points in five of Platte County’s wins. If the Pirates keep winning Marriott could be among the leaders in several offensive categories.
Tate Nagy, senior, Blue Valley West – The Jaguars signal caller has completed 70 percent of his passes for 1789 yards and 18 TDs. West is 7-1 and Nagy has led the way including the come from behind 35-34 win over rival Blue Valley. Nagy engineered the final drive of 80 yards in 43 seconds to take the lead with 4 seconds left on the clock to secure the win.
Banks Bowen, senior, Lawrence – Has done it through the air with 2090 yards and 22 touchdown passes and on the ground with 760 yards and 8 more scores.
Christopher Aiello, senior, Blue Valley – Has done nothing but get better as the season has gone on with 2099 yards and 20 touchdowns including four each in the last two games of the season. He is coming on strong at the right time for his team.
Brayden Layman, senior, Lee’s Summit – Won the starting job to start the season and all he has done is lead the Tigers to a 7-2 mark for their best season in almost a decade. He’s thrown for 2250 yards and 25 touchdowns for one of the surprise teams of the 2024 season.
Others to watch:
Braven Powell, senior, Gardner-Edgerton
Hudson Bailey, junior, St. Pius X
Zane Thomas, junior, Park Hill
Aiden Scott, junior, Shawnee Heights
Marco Rodriguez, senior, Bishop Miege
Running Backs:
Cal Arndt, junior, St. Thomas Aquinas – He started hot and hasn’t looked back with 1323 yards and 19 TDs in 8 games. The Saints are undefeated, and teams are loading the box but Arndt makes big playes every week.
Reggie Reece, junior, Mill Valley – Has totaled 1484 with 18 TDs for the 7-1 5-time Kansas Class 5A Champs. He’s a workhorse that allows the Jaguars to impose their will on teams on the offensive side of the ball.
Max Armstrong, senior, Olathe South – The Falcons started off 1-5 but Armstrong has been leading the way all season. He’s rushed for 1263 yards scoring 18 touchdowns. In the last two weeks he has led South to back-to-back wins over Lawrence and Shawnee Mission East where he has totaled almost 500 yards against two of the better teams in the Sunflower League.
Jaxon Hicks, senior, Liberty – The numbers don’t lie. Hicks is averaging 201.8 yards per game for a total of 1816 to go along with 22 touchdowns. Hicks is averaging 8.9 yards per carry and is the main cog in the Jays offense that has won six games this season.
Robert Palmer, senior, Grain Valley – Slowed down a bit the last few weeks and sat out the final week of the season resting a sore knee. In 8 games he’s rushed for 1312 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Eagles. If Grain Valley can make a deep run in the Missouri Class 5 playoffs Palmer will be a big part of the success.
Others to watch:
Patrick Stumpff, senior, Spring Hill
John Whitener, senior, Shawnee Mission Northwest
Frankie Tryban, senior, Blue Valley North
Preston Hatfield, junior, Lee’s Summit
AJ Smith, junior, Warrensburg
Gabe Fields, senior, St. Joseph Central
KJ Hawkins, senior, Blue Springs South
