PNJ Top Performers: Catholic's Showers, Pine Forest's Thomas highlight Week 2's best

Week 2 of the area's 2022 High School football season spread across three days after two games were rescheduled.

Milton and Pensacola Catholic faced off on Thursday, with the Crusaders earning a 26-14 triumph on the road. Meanwhile, Tate and Pensacola battled in a Saturday-morning affair, with the Aggies pulling out a 35-26 home victory.

In many ways, the second week of the season was much different than the opening week. Last week, only one game was decided by one score or less; that's compared to five the previous week. However, the margin of victory on average was larger in Week 1 (19.2) than in Week 2 (17.6).

Whether they played in a blowout or a game that came down to the wire, there were a number of spectacular efforts to highlight. With that said, here are Week 2's top performers:

Offense 

Battle Alberson, Troy Coughlin and Bryson Rouillier, Gulf Breeze

During the Dolphins' 24-21 victory against Crestview, Coughlin hit the 100-yard mark for the second game in a row, finishing with 139 rushing yards on 24 carries. The senior running back also caught three passes for 54 yards. Alberson delivered three touchdown passes to three different players, with Rouillier catching one score. The junior wide receiver paced the team with six catches for 88 yards.

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Landyn Cooley and Hayden Morris, Jay

The tandem led the Royals to their first win of the season. Cooley racked up 17 carries for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Morris entered the end zone on a 79-yard score. The sophomore quarterback also delivered a touchdown pass to Tomas Ravendo.

Jamarcus Jefferson, Northview

The area's touchdown leader reached the end zone three times. Jefferson finished with 145 yards on 12 carries during the Chiefs' shutout win against the Lighthouse Private Christian Academy.

Nick Simmons and Ben Tyner, Pace

The sophomore duo combined for all five of the team's touchdowns during the Patriots' 38-18 win against St. Martin (Miss.). Tyner led Pace with 149 yards for 21 carries and a touchdown. The team's other four scores came from Simmons, who finished with 125 yards on 22 carries.

Aidan Byrd and Jayvion Showers, Pensacola Catholic

Byrd and Showers starred in the Crusaders' aerial-attack victory at Milton. Showers was the best player on the field, produced nine catches for 187 yards and three touchdowns. Byrd put up his best performance of the young season, completing 20 of 27 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns.

Miequle Brock and Donielle Hayes, Pine Forest

Brock was back to his explosive self in the first game of the season during the team's convincing win at Navarre. On just eight carries, the junior running back finished with 165 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Hayes made a pair of highlight-reel catches for his two scores. The senior ended his night with five catches for 128 yards.

Carmelo Campbell, Taite Davis and Jackson Perryclear, Tate

Davis notched his first win as a starting quarterback after completing 17 of his 28 passes for 198 yards and five touchdowns. The sophomore delivered three scoring throws to Perryclear, who had a team-best 80 receiving yards. Davis' two other touchdowns were thrown to Campbell.

Defense

Grayson Bernicken, Cole Hepworth, Turner McLaughlin and Dakota Watson, Gulf Breeze

Hepworth posted a team-high 12 tackles during the Dolphins' win against Crestview. Chipping in with 11 tackles and an assisted sack, McLaughlin had a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss. Lastly, Bernicken and Watson each put up six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.

Brayden Gates and Jackson Ward, Pace

After leading the Patriots in tackles a year ago, Ward ripped off a team-high 13 tackles while Gates finished with 10 tackles (team-best seven solo) during Pace's win against St. Martin.

Zack DeJesus, Tim Gulley, Nigel Nelson, Ja’Brill Rawls and Jeremiah Shelby, Pensacola Catholic

Contributions came from multiple places during the Crusaders' wire-to-wire win at Milton. Gulley (seven tackles, four tackles for loss) and Shelby (six tackles, three tackles for loss, fumble recovery) each had a sack as part of a solid defensive line showing. From the linebacker spot, Nelson (nine tackles) tied with Gulley with a team-high four tackles for loss while DeJesus produced a Catholic-best 10 tackles. Rawls made a pair of critical plays in the fourth quarter. The Florida State commit stopped Panthers senior Raymond Cottrell on fourth-and-short before making a diving interception after a Nelson deflection.

Lamont Jackson, Lamartaz Odoms, Marcell Thomas and Tyrese Thomas, Pine Forest

For the second time in his career, Tyrese Thomas snatched three interceptions, and nearly had a fourth on the final play of the night against Navarre before the ball popped out of his hands. Marcell Thomas, Jackson and Odoms had eight tackles apiece for a defense that's yet to allow a touchdown in two weeks this season.

Kekoa Davis and Markell Redding, West Florida

Like the Eagles, the Jaguars haven't relinquished an offensive touchdown. Redding had two interceptions while Davis put up a team-best two tackles for loss in West Florida's shutout of Booker T. Washington.

Special Teams 

Terence Marshall, Navarre

The junior wide receiver started Friday night with a bang, as he returned the opening kickoff for an 80-yard touchdown during the Raiders’ loss to Pine Forest.

Reice Griffith, Pace

The senior place kicker remains perfect this season on extra-point and field-goal attempts. After St. Martin, Griffith went 5-for-5 on PATs while also nailing a 35-yard field goal.

Caleb Westergreen, Tate

The senior showcased his talent with a number of booming punts that forced Pensacola at times to start possessions deep in its own territory. He blasted a 65-yard punt that got moved up due to an Aggies personal-foul penalty. Westergreen also was unblemished in five extra-point attempts.

Jackson Clarke, West Florida

The junior place kicker was 2-for-2 on field-goal attempts, with a long of 32 yards.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (850) 503-3828, on Twitter @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Football: BTW's Sherman, Pine Forest's Douglas dominant during Week 2