By james art We are quickly approaching the end of the Alabama High School Athletic Association football regular season and teams are fighting for playoff spots or to improve their position. Several standout student-athletes had top results for Week 9.
See the nominees for the Hollis Wright Birmingham High School Football Player of the Week from last week’s games.
Readers can vote until 5pm on Wednesday, with the results published on Thursday, so make your choice below.
Players are selected from nominations from coaches or from AL.com game reports.
If you can’t see the survey below, use this link: Player of the Week poll. Don’t forget to click “End Poll” to submit your vote.
The nominees:
Stuart Andrews, Mountain Brook: The 5-foot-8, 180-pound junior running back carried the ball 18 times for 154 yards and 3 touchdowns for Class 6A No. 9 Spartans in a 42-0 win over Huffman.
Corey Barber, Spain Park: The junior wide receiver caught four passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — while 6A No. 4 Jaguars remained undefeated at 8-0 and 5-0 in Class 6A, Region 3 with a 42-7 win over Calera.
CJ Durbin, Chelsea: The 5-8, 185-pound senior wide receiver caught 12 passes for 201 yards and a score in a 38-28 loss at Helena, which dropped the Class 6A Hornets to 6-2 on the season.
Aidan Gassaway, Vincent: The senior running back/linebacker ran for 121 yards on 24 carries with 3 touchdowns and had 10 tackles as the Class 2A ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets beat Isabella 49-0 to improve to 7-1.
Jayden Martin, Ramsay: The 5-9, 170-pound junior rushed for 185 yards on 18 touchdown attempts — and two that were nullified by penalties — as the Rams beat Carver 41-8 to win their fourth straight, extending their record to 5- 3 and 4-1 in Class 5A, Region 5.
Justin Murray, Fairfield: The 5-10 junior running back had 14 carries for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Tigers’ 30-28 win over Bibb County. Fairfield is 6-2 overall and 4-2 in Class 4A, Region 4.
Conor Nelson, Leeds: The 3-star college quarterback prospect ran 18 times for 161 yards and 4 touchdowns and returned an interception 25 yards for another score as the ninth-ranked Class 5A Green Wave beat Center Point 49-24.
Ryan Reese, Ramsay: The 6-2, 220-pound defensive tackle finished with 8 total stops with 6 sacks and a pass breakup as the Rams beat Carver on Thursday.
Jeremy Spratling, Helena: The senior running back had 162 yards on 16 carries and 2 TDs in the first half as the Huskies beat Chelsea 38-28 to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in Class 6A, Region 3 play.
Charlie Taaffe, Vestavia Hills: The 5-11, 185-pound sophomore quarterback completed 11 of 15 passes for 235 yards with 2 touchdowns and ran six times for 89 yards and 2 more scores in a 42-0 Class 7A, Region 3 win over Tuscaloosa County.
Jordan Ward, Montevallo: The 5-11, 190-pound junior quarterback ran 16 times for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns and completed 6 of 17 passes for 141 yards and a score in a loss to Sipsey Valley.
Braxton Yocom, Oak Grove: The 5-10, 175-pound senior rushed for 171 yards on 12 attempts with 3 touchdowns and recorded 7 tackles with a pass breakup as the Tigers beat American Christian 34-6 to improve to 6-2 on the year.