Evan Berdan, Wenatchee (Washington) High School lineman, voted SBLive's National Athlete of the Week (Oct. 3-9)
Wenatchee High School (Wash.) lineman Evan Berdan is SBLive's National Athlete of the Week for Oct. 3-9, as voted by fans and readers.
He received 36.2 percent of the vote after blocking three punts and a point after touchdown kick in Wenatchee's 37-9 win over Ellensburg.
Berdan is the first lineman and defensive player to win SBLive National Athlete of the Week in the 2022-23 season. His game-changing impact largely came on special teams.
"I’ve never seen anybody do that," Wenatchee coach Scott Devereaux said. “He almost had another one that went off his finger.”
He emerged the lead vote-getter out of a collection of 21 of the top high school sports performances from the past week, as nominated by fans, readers and staff. Scroll down to read the entire list of nominees.
If you would like to nominate an athlete in the future, please email athleteoftheweek@scorebooklive.com or tag us on Twitter or Instagram at @SBLiveSports.
National High School Athlete of the Week candidates
Evan Berdan, Wenatchee (Washington) football
The senior lineman blocked four kicks — three punts and one PAT — in a 37-9 win over Ellensburg. Also added eight tackles with two for loss and two sacks. Yes, the stat line is verified.
Jordyn Beverly, Marion (Illinois) football
The junior carried 30 times for a career-high 227 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime as Marion defeated Centralia 32-31 Saturday.
Dillon Brown, Hattiesburg (Mississippi) football
Ran the ball 30 times for 209 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-21 win over Florence.
Keyjuan Brown, South Atlanta (Georgia) football
Turned 19 carries into 309 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a lopsided win over Mount Paran to move South Atlanta to 6-0.
Carson Burns, Benton (Iowa) football
Benton rode Burns to a 28-14 win over Davenport Assumption, turning 38 carries into 243 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Joe Caswell, Anthony Wayne (Ohio) football
Caswell rushed for 260 yards in a 28-0 win over Napoleon, pushing his season total to 1,553 yards and 20 touchdowns break his previous school record for rushing yards in a season of 1,452 yards with two regular season games left.
Tyler Dudden, Norco (California) football
Norco pulled off a 77-76 overtime win over Murrieta Valley and Dudden was the catalyst: 294 passing yards, seven passing touchdowns and 174 rush yards.
Gabe Fields, St. Joseph Central (Missouri) football
The Indians improved to 4-3 on the year with a come-from-behind win against Excelsior Springs. Fields scored five of his six rushing touchdowns in the second half and finished with 331 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Peyton Floyd, Hewitt-Trussville (Alabama) football
Well-rounded offensive outing. He completed 19 of 27 pass attempts for 231 yards and two passing touchdown as well as 22 rushes for 95 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-37 win over Vestavia.
Andrew Frazier, Havelock (North Carolina) football
Frazier had a do-it-all night. Went 20-for-29 for 225 passing yards and a touchdown while running for 211 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries in a 36-34 win over Jacksonville.
Bryce Knapp, St. Paul (Nebraska) football
Knapp had one of the greatest games in his school’s history on Friday, going for 330 yards on 20 carries (16.5 yards per carry).
Mylan Graham, New Haven (Indiana) football
The state of Indiana's receiving accounted for 146 yards on seven catches and scored three touchdowns for the third straight week.
Amareya Greeley, Carroll (Louisiana) football
Had a productive night (145 yards, 20 carries) and played hero in the end, scoring the go-ahead touchdown and two-point conversion in triple-overtime in a 26-18 win over Wossman.
Hudson Hutcheson, Wolfforth Frenship (Texas) football
Went 24-for 28 passing for 439 passing yards and 41 rushing with seven total touchdowns — six passing, one rushing — in a 49-34 district win over Midland Legacy.
Drew Hymas, Highland (Idaho) football
Accounted for three touchdowns (26-yard pass and two rushing), 127 rushing yards and scored the two-point conversion in a 43-42 comeback win over Rigby, Idaho's No. 3 team.
Luke Knight, Merritt Island (Florida) football
Knight didn't take long to make a big impact at a new school. He went 28-for-36 passing for 467 yards with six total touchdowns — three passing, three rushing — in a 45-36 win over Eustis. Led Jesuit to the 6A state title in 2021 before transferring in September.
Ethen Knox, Oil City (Pennsylvania) football
The junior running back, maybe the nation's most productive this year, set a school record with 53 carries Friday night, running for 409 yards and five touchdowns in a 38-21 win over Hollidaysburg — his fifth time this season rushing for more than 400 yards in a game. He has a shot of taking down several national records.
Keland Mills, West Memphis (Arkansas) football
Finished 11-for-25 passing with 321 yards and four touchdown passes — of 49, 57, 23 and 11 yards — in a 37-30 win over El Dorado.
Jeray Mott, Jefferson (Oregon) football
The senior rushed for more than 100 yards, had an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and added an interception on defense for the Democrats in their 26-14 win over Wells in a Portland Interscholastic League game at Jefferson High School.
Cortez Stone, Central (Kentucky) football
The sophomore only needed 10 carries to amass 340 rushing yards in a lopsided win over Waggener. That's 34 yards per carry.
Nate Wall, Texarkana (Arkansas) football
What an all-around performance: Passed for 164 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 146 and two more and logged a game-sealing interception in a 39-31 win over Hot Springs Lakeside.
National Athlete of the Week winners (2022-23)
Dominic Johnson, Hawken (Ohio)
Dante Turner, Mount Dora (Florida)
Sam Merriman, Bishop Blanchet (Washington)
Kassim Johnson, Robinson (Florida)
Editor’s Note: Our Athlete of the Week feature and corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. However, we do not allow votes that are generated by script, macro or other automated means. Athletes that receive votes generated by script, macro or other automated means will be disqualified.
