Vote for your choice for Week 11 Hollis Wright Birmingham Player of the Week
The Alabama High School Athletic Association football regular season wrapped up on Thursday and Friday with the playoffs set to begin this week after Week 11 produced some outstanding performances.
We have 10 nominees for the Hollis Wright Birmingham Player of the Week - since we're counting one coach's nomination of six standouts as one.
Check out the nominees - selected from submissions by coaches or from AL.com game reports - listed alphabetically below and make your choice in the survey before 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Results are posted on Thursday.
Kylen Newell, Homewood. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior caught 8 passes for 124 yards as the seventh-ranked Class 6A Patriots whipped 7A James Clemens 24-10. Homewood, the second seed from Region 5, will host Athens in the playoffs opener.
Oak Grove offensive line. Caden Broadhead, Jack Scott, Levi Findley, Bain Morris, Andrew Nix and Griffin Wesson smashed the Hanceville defense for 426 yards on the ground in a 57-13 road win. The unit paved the way for 7 rushing touchdowns and allowed the Tigers to average 14.6 yards per attempt. Oak Grove travels to Ashford for a first-round 4A playoff game.
Anthony Palmieri, Shelby County. The 5-10, 190-pound senior accounted for 316 of the Wildcats' 448 yards on the ground in a 43-7 win at East Limestone. Palmieri had 36 attempts and scored three touchdowns as Shelby County wrapped up an 8-2 regular season. The second-seeded Wildcats host Citronelle in the 5A playoffs on Friday.
Josh Renfro, Oak Mountain. The sophomore place-kicker hit a 43-yard field goal with 10 seconds left to give the Eagles a 16-14 upset win over Chelsea. Renfro was also 1-for-2 on extra-point kicks, missing one after a 15-yard penalty making the attempt a 35-yard try. He made up for it to give Oak Mountain its fourth win of the season.
Luke Reynolds, Briarwood Christian. Reynolds, a 6-0, 180-pound senior, carried the ball 33 times for 206 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Lions won their fifth straight. Class 5A Briarwood beat playoff-bound 6A McAdory 55-35 to close to its season at 5-5.
Jayden Roberts, Vincent. The 6-1, 163-pound junior picked up 180 yards on 30 carries with 2 touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets nipped Montevallo 21-19 to finish at 8-2 on the year. Second-seeded Vincent will host Sand Rock on Friday to open the Class 2A playoffs.
Andre Russell, Woodlawn. Russell, a 5-11, 175-pound senior, hit 11-of-19 passes for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Colonels beat Center Point 32-20 on the road to snap a nine-game losing streak. Russell also ran for 102 yards on 11 carries and had an interception.
Charlie Taaffe, Vestavia Hills. Completed 17-of-26 passes for 237 yards - 6-of-8 for 152 yards and both of his touchdown throws in the second half - and ran for 89 yards with another TD as the Rebels beat Class 6A No. 5 Clay-Chalkville 28-14. Region 3 No. 4 seed Vestavia Hills (5-5) travels to third-ranked Mary G. Montgomery (9-1), the top seed from Region 1, on Friday to open the playoffs.
Troy Thomas, Corner. The junior running back gained 144 yards on 18 attempts with 3 touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets beat Springville 38-14 to close out their season at 9-1. Corner, the top seed in Class 5A, Region 5, host Lawrence County on Friday.
Frankese Winston, Carver. The backup quarterback stepped in for the injured DJ Wade and completed 7-of-12 passes for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Rams whipped Cordova 42-0 on the road. The sophomore ran for 40 yards in the win.