Notre Dame commit recap: RB Kyren Williams scores 6 TDs in one half
Notre Dame’s commits are entering pivotal final stretches in their seasons. With most of them having one or two games remaining in the regular season, the Irish pledges are vying for playoff berths and seeding.
ND Insider recaps how 18 commits fared, including new 2019 pledge Isaiah Rutherford.
• 2019 RB Kyren Williams | Kirkwood (Mo.) St. John Vianney 77, St. Mary’s 31: Williams earned 10 touches on Friday night. Yet, he managed to score six times — in the first half. He gained 146 rushing yards on seven attempts and caught three passes for 19 yards. Williams found the end zone on runs of 45, 28 and 45 while also catching a 14-yard touchdown.
In the final minute of the second quarter, Williams registered two pick-sixes. The first one of 35 yards occurred after Williams read the opposing quarterback’s eyes and tracked down a deep pass. He then returned an interception 68 yards to the house with six ticks left. Williams now has 24 touchdowns through eight games for the Golden Griffiths (6-2).
Notre Dame 2019 commit Kyren Williams scored 6 TDs last night...in ONE HALF. That includes 2 pick-sixes. He now has 24 TDs in 8 games (h/t @GriffinsTV_Live). pic.twitter.com/2vyFGKkPCi
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) October 13, 2018
• 2019 QB Brendon Clark | Midlothian (Va.) Manchester 55, Lloyd C. Bird 7: Clark continued his interception-less streak, going 12-of-20 for 196 yards with three passing touchdowns. He also added five rushes for 41 yards. Clark threw a 24-yard touchdown to Alston Robinson and connected with Colin Harding for scores of 19 and 55 yards. The Lancers (7-0) remain unbeaten under Clark’s 19-0 TD-INT ratio.
• 2019 LB Osita Ekwonu | Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day 42, Charlotte Country Day 6: Ekwonu arguably delivered his most complete outing of this season. He registered seven tackles and one fumble recovery on defense. He also ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Ekwonu’s scores of one and four yards helped the Chargers (5-3) jump to an early 28-0 lead.
• 2019 CB Isaiah Rutherford | Jesuit (Calif.) High 42, Davis 27: A few hours after Jesuit’s sixth straight victory, Rutherford committed to Notre Dame. The 6-1, 174-pounder felt under the weather, rendering him mostly ineffective. Rutherford did return a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. His coach pulled him after the second offensive series, though. He garnered no targets on the game.
Below are highlights of Rutherford's senior year thus far via Hudl.
• 2019 LB Jack Kiser | Royal Center (Ind.) Pioneer 36, North Judson 0: The Panthers (9-0) concluded the regular season with their seventh shutout in 2018. Ineffective through the air, Kiser made amends on the ground with touchdown runs of 50, 26 and 15 yards. The defending champs now begin postseason action with its Oct. 19 sectional opener against winless South Newton.
• 2019 WR Kendall Abdur-Rahman | Edwardsville (Ill.) High 37, Belleville West 6: Abdur-Rahman completed two passes for seven yards. On the ground, though, he ran on 20 occasions for 175 yards and two touchdowns. The night’s first score came on an 80-yard Abdur-Rahman run in the first quarter. He later increased the lead to 30-6 with a 40-yard rush. The Tigers (5-3) head to Collinsville on Friday for their regular season finale.
• 2019 CB K.J. Wallace | Atlanta Lovett 13, Pace Academy 17: Wallace’s best performance of the season was not enough to upset Pace Academy. He rushed for 141 yards on 25 carries and hauled in eight passes for 106 yards. Falling to 3-5 with two games remaining, the Lions are in danger of missing the playoffs.
• 2019 DE NaNa Osafo-Mensah | Fort Worth (Texas) Nolan Catholic 49, Liberty Christian 21: Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Taylor made his debut, replacing injured starter Luke Macias. His defense, including Osafo-Mensah, made it easy for him. The Vikings (6-1) registered 10 sacks and yielded minus-nine rushing yards. Osafo-Mensah recorded five tackles, four TFLs, three sacks and two pass deflections. Taylor held his own, scoring on five occasions and throwing for 273 yards.
• 2020 TE Michael Mayer | Park Hills (Ky.) Covington Catholic 21, Highlands 14: The Colonels (8-0) held off the AP’s fifth-ranked Highlands in their first close game of the season. Highlands limited Covington Catholic’s passing game. But Mayer’s lone 28-yard reception keyed Covington Catholic’s first touchdown drive of 62 yards. The Colonels relied on running back Casey McGinness, who turned 28 carries into 203 yards and two touchdowns.
• 2019 P Jay Bramblett | Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Hillcrest 26, McAdory 35: Playoff hopes dipped for the Patriots (3-5), who fell for the third time in four contests. Bramblett could not come out heroic this time, going 26-of-35 for 256 yards with one touchdown and an interception at quarterback. His two punts traveled an average of 40 yards, and one was downed at the 15. Last week, Bramblett impressed with seven touchdowns in a critical win over Bessemer City.
• 2019 S Kyle Hamilton | Atlanta Marist 57, Denmark 7: Hamilton played in limited action with Marist leading 50-7 by halftime. The War Eagles (7-1) scored six touchdowns — including two pick-sixes — in the second quarter en route to their fourth straight victory. Hamilton did not load the stat sheet but made a few impressive pancake blocks.
• 2019 OL Zeke Correll | Cincinnati (OH) Anderson 42, Turpin 24: A dominant second half helped the Redskins (6-2) outlast their rival, which had a 24-14 halftime advantage. Correll’s push helped them amass 341 rushing yards, which mostly came in the final two quarters. Junior Owen Koelle ran 34 times for 215 yards and quarterback David Thompson tallied four rushing touchdowns.
• 2019 WR Cam Hart | Olney (Md.) Good Counsel 10, St. John’s College High 31: The DMV heavyweights squared off on ESPN2, but Hart could not make the most of it. The Falcons (5-2) stuck to the ground game and seldom aired it out. Hart caught one pass for nine yards. St. John’s owned a 21-0 advantage in the second half.
• 2019 OL Quinn Carroll | Edina (Minn.) High 21, Maple Grove 14: The Hornets (6-1) hung on thanks to Jake Boltmann’s 80-yard touchdown run — which came in part by Carroll’s blocking — in the fourth quarter. Boltmann hauled in a 13-yard touchdown grab on the opening drive. A Rami Sabri two-yard score on the ensuing possession increased Edina’s lead to 14-0. Maple Grove pieced together a drive late but fumbled.
• 2019 DE Howard Cross III | Montvale (N.J.) St. Joseph Regional 31, Don Bosco Prep 10: Last season, St. Joseph pulled off a thriller over Don Bosco, scoring a 15-yard touchdown with 27 second remaining. No theatrics were needed this time, as the Green Knights (5-2) relied on their defense. Cross tallied three tackles, one TFL and one sack that resulted in a 10-yard loss.
• 2019 S Litchfield Ajavon | Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal 32, St. Albans 7: The Maroons (5-0) remained perfect under five sacks and seven TFLs from their defense. Ajavon recorded just two tackles on the night. His presence was felt, though, as big plays were few and far between for St. Albans.
• 2019 OL Andrew Kristofic | Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland 42, Mount Lebanon 24: Junior Luke Meckler scored in three different ways — on a 36-yard rush, 54-yard pick-six and 20-yard reception. Kristofic’s blocking paved the way for Meckler to amass a game-high 106 yards on 18 attempts. The Rams (7-1) are winners of seven straight contests.
• 2019 OL John Olmstead | Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph 21, South Brunswick 0: The Falcons (5-1) returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, then found the end zone on rushes of seven and three yards. Beyond his blocking success on the latter two scores, Olmstead provided pressure all night as a defensive lineman.
Bye week: 2019 DT Jacob Lacey, 2019 DT Hunter Spears, 2020 QB Drew Pyne, 2020 TE Michael Mayer.
Stats reported were provided by players, parents, coaches, MaxPreps and the following news organizations: Richmond Times-Dispatch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Denton Record-Chronicle, Star Tribune, TribLIVE, NJ.com, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Bergen Record.
