Vote for the Journal Star boys athlete of the week for Nov. 10-15, presented by CEFCU

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

Vote for the Journal Star boys athlete of the week for Nov. 10-15, presented by CEFCU

After plenty of solid fall postseason sports performers over the last week, here are the Journal Star boys high school athlete of the week nominees for Nov. 10-15.

Head to pjstar.com/sports to vote. The poll closes at noon Friday. Information about the nominees is below.

If you have a nominee for the honor, email us at sports@pjstar.com or tag us on Twitter @pjstarsports. Last week, Jayden Schmick of the Dunlap football team was named JS boys athlete of the week.

Cha’von Maxon, El Paso-Gridley football

The sophomore scored three touchdowns to help El Paso-Gridley into the Class 2A semifinals with a 32-15 win over Farmington on Saturday. Maxon caught six balls for 153 yards and a pair of receiving scores of 64 and 60 yards. He accounted for all but one of EPG’s receiving yards. His most impressive play, however, came when he intercepted the ball off a Farmington helmet and returned it 22 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.

Dereon Mays, Peoria High football

The senior turned in an impressive effort as the Lions saw their season end Saturday to Oak Forest, 34-20 in the Class 5A quarterfinals. Mays made a defensive stand, stopping and forcing a fumble on the 1-yard line as OF was going into score. He then caught a screen pass from Peoria High quarterback Breon Greene and went 99 yards for an early first-quarter lead. Peoria High ends its season with a 9-3 record and shared the Big 12 Conference championship.

Peoria’s Dereon Mays runs for a touchdown against Hillcrest in the first half of their 5A football playoff game Friday, Nov. 1, 2024 at Peoria Stadium. The Lions advanced to the second round with a 52-36 win.

Noah Garcia, Washington football

The sophomore quarterback helped lead the Panthers in a 39-6 loss to New Lenox Providence Catholic in the Class 5A quarterfinals on Saturday. He scored the first touchdown of the game, sneaking it in for a 2-yard TD. Garcia threw for 118 yards on 10-for-16 passing, plus rushing for 57 yards on 13 carries. Washington saw its 10-game winning streak snapped with the loss, but still finished 10-2 and went undefeated to win the Mid-Illini Conference title.

Washington quarterback Noah Garcia scrambles to avoid Dunlap’s Mack Sutter in the second half of their Week 7 high school football game Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 at Dunlap High School. The Panthers defeated the Eagles 23-15.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Vote in poll for Journal Star boys high school athlete of the week

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos