Before the 2022 Boone County high school football season, we compiled a list of players for our offensive and defensive player of the year preseason watchlists.

After the season, the Tribune will select the county's offensive player of the year and defensive player of the year.

This week, we are expanding our watchlists for these honors.

Here are our mid-season additions:

More:Rock Bridge earns immense CMAC win over Helias: Boone County Week 5 football roundup

Offensive watchlist additions

Southern Boone WR Chase Morris

Rock Bridge WR Drevyn Seamon

Hallsville QB Colton Nichols

Father Tolton QB Jake Ryan

When the Tribune curated the original offensive player of the year watchlist, two starting quarterbacks were unknown. Hallsville's Colton Nichols and Father Tolton's Jake Ryan have burst on the scene as starters, with Ryan throwing five touchdowns in one half last week and Nichols rushing for 16 touchdowns through five games.

The same, in a way, goes for Southern Boone's Chase Morris and Rock Bridge's Drevyn Seamon. New quarterbacks starting for the Eagles and Bruins meant new connections with different receivers. So far, Morris is among the best in the county with the ability to turn a two-yard gain into an 80-yard score. Morris has nine receiving touchdowns on the year. Seamon, a sophomore, has emerged as Rock Bridge's most productive target as he leads the team with 339 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

More:How trust and special teams vaulted Rock Bridge over Helias, as the Bruins are CMAC favorites

Defensive watchlist additions

Centralia DL Jack Romine

Rock Bridge DL Aidan Dubbert

Southern Boone LB Weston Jennings

Harrisburg DB Braden Wyatt

Stout defenders from Rock Bridge, Southern Boone and Centralia who live in opposing backfields have earned their way onto our mid-season watchlist. Rock Bridge's Aidan Dubbert is a disruptive force; he's recorded six tackles for loss and three sacks through five games. Southern Boone's Weston Jennings has almost done the same at linebacker with six tackles for loss and two sacks.

Centralia's Jack Romine is one of a few standouts on a gritty Panthers defensive line, and he has two sacks and a defensive touchdown on his resume this season. Harrisburg's Braden Wyatt has been extremely productive at defensive back, forcing a fumble, returning an interception for a score, recording 10 tackles for loss and tallying four sacks.

When planning out the player of the week parameters, the Tribune decided winners couldnt win in consecutive weeks.

Morris abided by the rules and simply bided his time. It was only a short matter of time before he would win again. By commanding 59% of the vote, Morris won Week 5 player of the week honors.

Morris touched the ball four times and scored three touchdowns in a 49-7 romp over Versailles. He returned an interception for the games first score and caught three passes for 37 yards and two other touchdowns.

This wasnt the record-breaking performance he had in the first week of the season. However, it does show how Morris is a threat to score no matter where he is on the field and what side of the ball hes on.

Thats a boon for Southern Boone, which is putting together a strong season so far.

Morris is a junior, meaning he'll still have a chance to improve as a senior next season. Thats already a thought that should leave opposing head coaches with some nightmares.

Lutheran St. Charles @ Rock Bridge

Last weeks win at Helias makes this matchup a bit of a trap game for the Bruins. However, with the way the coaching staff has been preparing Rock Bridge, its hard to see the Bruins falling into the trap here.

The Pick: Rock Bridge

Smith-Cotton @ Battle

Its been a week for Battle, putting behind last weekends broadcast incident and moving forward. The Spartans get a Smith-Cotton team theyve historically played well against. Battle should earn some more momentum this week.

The Pick: Battle

Jefferson City vs. Hickman

The Kewpies finally got in the win column last week, and its easy to see how they did it. They made plays on offense, and the defense found ways to get the ball back to the offense. Jefferson City is a team thats similar to Hickman. The question is, can the Kewpies keep their momentum rolling?

The Pick: Hickman

More:How Jake Ryan's leadership is lifting Tolton football to meet ambitious goals

Father Tolton @ Doniphan (Saturday)

The other weekend Tolton played a road game on a Saturday was when the Trailblazers easily dispatched Principia. Tolton should make quick work of 0-5 Doniphan.

The Pick: Father Tolton

Centralia @ Clark County

Its time to see what Centralia is made of. After the Panthers suffered their first loss of the season, their chance to rebound is on the road against a Clark County team thats averaging 37 points per game. The Centralia defense has to prove its worth here.

The Pick: Centralia

Osage @ Hallsville

A 30-point win prepares Hallsville for an Osage team thats won two straight games and is finding its footing on offense. Expect Hallsville to keep its offense rolling, too.

The Pick: Hallsville

Eldon @ Southern Boone

Player of the week honoree Chase Morris is back to tantalize another team, and Eldon is coming off a 44-14 loss to Hallsville. The Eagles are looking at a 4-2 record heading into the second half of the regular season.

The Pick: Southern Boone

Harrisburg vs. Ash Grove (@Osage HS)

This is an interesting neutral-site game. Ash Grove and Harrisburg are similar teams, but its easy to give Ash Grove the advantage. Ash Grove has proved it's settled in with a 4-1 record.

The Pick: Ash Grove

Continue reading here:
Who deserves to be added to our player of the year watchlists? Boone County high school football Week 6 preview - Columbia Daily Tribune

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