Vote for the Journal Star boys athlete of the week for Oct. 27-Nov. 1, presented by CEFCU

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Vote for the Journal Star boys athlete of the week for Oct. 27-Nov. 1, presented by CEFCU

After plenty of solid postseason fall sports performers over the last week, here are the Journal Star boys high school athlete of the week nominees for Oct. 27-Nov. 1.

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, Brett Bane II of the Tremont football team was named JS boys athlete of the week.

Blake Maxwell, Peoria Notre Dame football

The senior running back was the Irish’s leading rusher in a 35-21 road victory over Marengo in the Class 4A first round on Friday night. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns as the Irish won their eighth in a row. He was a part of a PND backfield that produced 343 yards and five rushing TDs. PND (8-2) now hosts top-seed Lombard Montini in the second round on Saturday.

Peoria Notre Dame’s Blake Maxwell (22) tries to pull away from the Bloomington defense in the first half of their Week 7 high school football game Friday, Oct. 10, 2025 at Richwoods Stadium. The Irish defeated the Purple Raiders 53-19.

Noah Passmore, Farmington football

The senior lineman came up with two big defensive plays as Farmington escaped with a 10-8 victory over Lanark Eastland/Pearl City in the Class 2A first round last Saturday. Passmore blocked the go-ahead field goal with 16 seconds to play, securing the win and an advancement to the second round. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder also provided a sack two downs earlier for a five-yard loss. The Farmers (10-0) now host Aurora Christian (8-2) at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Farmington players congratulate teammate Noah Passmore after he blocked a last-second field goal to preserve the Farmers’ 10-8 lead for a win over Eastland/Pearl City in their Class 2A high school football playoff game Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025 in Farmington. The Farmers advanced to the second round with a 10-8 victory.

Evan Knobloch, Stark County cross country

The sophomore turned in a big-time performance at the Class 1A sectional meet. Knobloch won the Sherrard Sectional, clocking in at 15:01.4. His time was 17 seconds faster than runner-up finisher and Byron senior Tim Starwalt (15:18.4). This gives Knobloch two postseason victories and his eighth win of the season. He now will run at Detweiller Park with the state’s fastest Class 1A time on the state finals course.

Stark County freshman Evan Knobloch races to a 13th-place finish in the Class 1A boys race of the First to the Finish Invitational cross country meet Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024 at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Isaac Reetz, Washington soccer

Reetz’s goal helped the Panthers make school history. The senior midfielder scored with 1:29 left in the second overtime, propelling host Washington to 2-0 double-overtime Class 2A sectional win over Normal West on Saturday. This is the first sectional title in program history. With just under 90 seconds remaining before a penalty kicks, Reetz’s goal came off a rebound where he buried it into the back of the net.

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

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