Week 13 Huntsville Player of the Week is defensive standout

Week 13 Huntsville Player of the Week is defensive standout

The Week 13 Huntsville Football Player of the Week made two standout plays on defense to earn top performance honors.

Madison Academy senior linebacker Brandon Tanner recovered two fumbles – one at the Mustangs 4-yard-line with 18 seconds remaining – to preserve a 21-14 class 3A second-round playoff win over Mars Hill.

The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder earned 77 percent of the 4,064 votes cast in the poll.

Tanner’s win marks the third time a Madison Academy student-athlete has earned the award – and the second straight. Quarterback Jake Poldiak topped the voting last week and in Week 5.

Second-ranked Madison Academy (12-0) will host No. 9 Sylvania (10-2) on Friday in the 3A quarterfinals.

West Morgan quarterback Braxton Peters finished second in the voting after he threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score in a 35-14 win over Corner.

The Rebels (12-0), ranked fifth, meet No. 4 Cherokee County (11-1) in the 4A quarterfinals.

Westminster Christian quarterback Brandon Musch was third in the balloting after he ran for 193 yards and threw for 111 more in a 39-35 win over Deshler.

The Wildcats (10-2) will play at Brooks (8-4) on Friday in a 4A quarterfinals game.

Voting for the Huntsville Football Player of the Week opens on Sundays during the season and runs through Wednesday. Nominees are determined from statistics submitted by coaches or official team statisticians before noon each Saturday.

In Week 13, more than 40,900 votes were cast across the three AL.com player of the week polls.