HILLSDALE COUNTY — Week 8 of the Michigan high school football season produced several impressive individual performances as Hillsdale County teams battled for conference championships, rivalry victories and playoff positioning.
Two rushing attacks from Jonesville and Waldron delivered the biggest numbers of the week, while Litchfield continued its offensive dominance and Hillsdale received another standout performance from its senior quarterback.
More: Five Hillsdale County football teams stay in hunt for playoffs
11-player offensive top performers
John Milks, Jonesville: The senior running back delivered another dominant performance in Jonesville’s 58-24 road victory over Grass Lake. Milks rushed for 232 yards on 23 carries, scoring three touchdowns to help the Comets earn their second consecutive victory. He now stands at 1,656 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns on the season.
Carson Young, Jonesville: Young made the most of his passing opportunities, completing 3-of-4 attempts for 103 yards and three touchdowns.
Jordan Duque and Reece Rundquist, Jonesville: Duque caught two passes for 76 yards and two touchdowns, while Rundquist hauled in a 27-yard touchdown reception. The pair accounted for all three of Jonesville’s passing touchdowns against Grass Lake.
Cole Graves and Max Young, Jonesville: Graves contributed 90 rushing yards on six carries, scoring one touchdown. Young added 68 yards on six carries.
Evan Towne, Hillsdale: The senior quarterback delivered another strong individual performance despite Hillsdale’s 50-19 loss to Blissfield. Towne rushed for 222 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns in the Hornets’ final LCAA football game.
Brody Arnold, Hillsdale: Arnold contributed 57 rushing yards on 10 carries and scored the Hornets’ third touchdown against Blissfield.
Defensive top performers
Harper Griffiths, Jonesville: Griffiths led the Comets defensively with seven total tackles in the victory over Grass Lake, helping Jonesville secure its fourth win of the season. Cole Graves had six tackles. Max Young had five tackles.
Kash Keller, Jonesville: Keller delivered one of the Comets’ key defensive takeaways, recording an interception in the road victory.
Brody Arnold, Hillsdale: Arnold recorded four solo tackles for the Hornets against Blissfield.
8-player offensive top performers
Carter Kurtz, Waldron: The freshman running back delivered one of the most impressive offensive performances of Week 8, rushing for 247 yards on just 15 carries and scoring two touchdowns in Waldron’s 48-28 victory over Pittsford. Kurtz scored on runs of 36 and 44 yards, added a two-point conversion and caught a 17-yard pass. The freshman looks to pass 1,000 rushing yards in Week 9.
Isaac Fether, Waldron: Fether powered the Spartans’ ground game with 141 rushing yards on 22 carries, scoring three touchdowns on runs of 2, 18 and 4 yards. He also added a successful two-point conversion.
Jayden Justice, Waldron: Justice completed Waldron’s trio of 100-yard rushers, finishing with 101 yards on 11 carries. He scored on runs of 26 and 29 yards and added a successful two-point conversion. Waldron finished with 518 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
Caleb Bills, Litchfield: The Terriers’ quarterback put together a perfect passing performance in Litchfield’s 76-36 victory over Tekonsha. Bills completed all six passing attempts for 179 yards and four touchdowns, spreading the ball to Gavin Gutting, Ayden Gutting and Desman Lawless.
Brayden Bradley, Litchfield: Bradley rushed for 75 yards on 10 carries and scored two touchdowns. The senior also delivered one of the week’s top special teams performances, returning a kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.
Ayden Gutting, Litchfield: Gutting caught two touchdown passes from Bills, helping the Terriers put together another explosive offensive performance.
Hunter Peiffer and Ehtna Pickford, Pittsford: The senior quarterback rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns in Pittsford’s loss to Waldron. Pickford finished with 100 rushing yards.
Eryck Flores, Camden-Frontier: Flores led the RedHawks’ rushing attack with 104 yards and two touchdowns in their rivalry victory over North Adams-Jerome. Camden-Frontier rushed for 270 yards as a team.
Dominic Kurtz, Ian Frank, Hunter Sigler and Tripp Friskney, Camden-Frontier: All four players contributed rushing touchdowns for the RedHawks. Sigler also connected with Brandon Menchaca for a 22-yard passing touchdown.
Defensive top performers
- Elijah Winchell, Waldron: Winchell led the Spartans with 17 total tackles and one pass defended against Pittsford.
- Isaac Fether, Waldron: Fether contributed 13 tackles, including one tackle for loss.
- Carter Kurtz, Waldron: The freshman continued his impressive two-way performance with 11 total tackles, a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
- Silas Williams, Waldron: Williams finished with seven tackles, one forced fumble and one tackle for loss.
- Jayden Justice, Waldron: Justice recorded three tackles, intercepted a pass and defended two others. He has six interceptions this season.
- Gavin Gutting, Litchfield: Gutting delivered one of the week’s top defensive performances with 7 1/2 tackles and two interceptions, including a 52-yard return for a touchdown against Tekonsha.
- Ayden Gutting and Desman Lawless, Litchfield: Gutting led the Terriers with 10 total tackles and a sack. Desman Lawless had seven tackles.
- Ethan Pickford, Pittsford: Pickford led the Wildcats’ defense with eight tackles against Waldron.
- Julian Kohli-Baldwin, Camden-Frontier: Kohli-Baldwin delivered one of Camden-Frontier’s biggest defensive performances with 1 1/2 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery returned for a touchdown.
- Dominic Kurtz, Camden-Frontier: Kurtz added another defensive touchdown for the RedHawks, returning an interception 60 yards for a score against North Adams-Jerome.
- Eryck Flores, Camden-Frontier: Flores completed his strong two-way performance with 10 total tackles defensively.
- Carter Rader, North Adams-Jerome: The senior had 11 solo tackles in the game against Camden-Frontier and added a pass breakup.
- Chazze Northrup, North Adams-Jerome: Northrup had 10 total tackles, including one for a loss.
This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Week 8 top performers led by standout Jonesville and Waldron rushers