Vote for the Daily Memphian high school football player of the week, Week 6
Arlington's Seth Rice (6) and Carson Kelly (12) stop Collierville's Lawrence Autry (8) as he tries to rush up the middle in the Region 7 contest at Arlington High School. (Greg Campbell/Special for The Daily Memphian)
Once again this season, The Daily Memphian is honoring a high school football Player of the Week. But we need your help.
Each Monday, we’ll post several candidates from the previous week’s games and ask you — our readers — to vote on who you think is the most deserving. Voting ends at 5 p.m. each Thursday.
This year’s player of the week vote is sponsored by Landmark Heating and Air Conditioning. Visit them or call 901-617-7321.
Here are the candidates from Week 6:
Lawrence Autry, Collierville: Tulane is getting a good one in Autry, who scored four touchdowns as the Dragons improved to 4-2 with a 38-20 region victory over Bartlett. Autry had scoring runs of 8, 36, 6 and 1 yards and ended the night with 129 yards on 16 carries.
Darrick Franklin, St. George’s: Franklin did a little bit of everything as the Gryphons improved to 5-1 with a 48-16 victory over KIPP. He completed 10 of 10 passes for 145 yards and three touchdowns, carried 12 times for 150 yards and a touchdown and also caught a 20-yard pass.
Akeem Hunt, MASE: Let’s hear it for the defense. MASE is now 3-0 in Region 8-2A following its 30-6 win over Mitchell and the Phoenix haven’t allowed an offensive point in those games. Leading the way is Hunt, who had 19 tackles against the Tigers — including five for lost yardage.
Tavarco Jackson, Melrose: The Golden Wildcats won their fifth straight after a Week 1 loss to Central, blanking region rival Hamilton, 56-0. Jackson played a key role; the junior caught scoring passes of 60, 10 and 28 yards from Thomas Heffner and also scored on a 68-yard pick-six.
Larry Johnson, Germantown: Johnson, a junior, had arguably the best game of his terrific career to date as Germantown improved to 6-0 with a 45-21 victory over previously-undefeated Central. He accounted for 342 all-purpose yards, rushing for 243 on just 15 carries with three touchdowns while bringing a kickoff back 99 yards for a fourth score.
Tay Starks, Munford: A Class 5A Mr. Football semifinalist as a freshman in 2024, Starks is continuing make the remarkable look routine for the unbeaten Cougars (5-0). In a 36-35 overtime victory over Whitehaven, he carried 39 times for 228 yards and three touchdowns — including a 69-yarder — and completed 2 of 3 passes for 61 yards and a fourth score.
Starks has now rushed for 810 yards in the last three games.
Previous winners
Week 1: J.D. Donaldson, Briarcrest
Week 2: Dequavion Bell, Munford
Week 3: Price Renovich, MUS
Week 4: Hudson Tucker, Briarcrest
Week 5: Brooks Wright, Central
Topics
TSSAA MSCIAA High School Football High School Football Player of the Week Collierville High Germantown High Melrose High Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering Munford HIgh St. George's Lawrence Autry Darrick Franklin Akeem Hunt Tavarco Jackson Larry Johnson Tay StarksJohn Varlas
John Varlas is a lifelong Memphian who has covered high school sports in various capacities for over 20 years.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.