Stoneham’s Seth Russell headlines Week 9 Players of the Week

Division 1

Cam Boes, Central Catholic — Thanks to the efforts of their standout linebacker, the Raiders stunned Everett for a 23-20 victory in the North semifinals. The senior from Methuen came up with a sack, tackle for loss, and two huge pass breakups to deny the Crimson Tide.

Matt Crowley, St. John’s Prep — The junior quarterback orchestrated an offensive explosion in Friday’s 55-28 win over Acton-Boxborough, completing 20 of 31 passes for 290 yards and five touchdowns to his favorite targets, seniors Max Freedman and Wes Rockett.

Matt Smith, Needham — The senior tight end provided another epic performance, catching eight balls for 174 yards and touchdowns of 90 and 20 yards in a narrow 35-32 loss to Catholic Memorial.

Division 2

Michael DeBolt, Mansfield — The junior collected touchdowns in nearly all facets of the game Friday night for the Hornets. DeBolt had two short rushing touchdowns and included a 36-yard yard fumble return for a score to boot in the 28-10 South semifinal win against Barnstable.

Ryan Halliday, King Philip — The 5-foot-10 junior back accounted for 80 percent of the Warriors offense on Friday night, rushing for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 38 carries in his team’s South semifinal victory over Natick, 17-7. Halliday was on the field for all but two snaps the entire game on both sides of the ball.

Braden O’Connell, Lincoln-Sudbury — It was a prayer answered and a storybook finish completed from the right arm of O’Connell. With 23 seconds to play and trailing by two, the senior quarterback hit his teammate Cam Anderegg in stride for a 80-yard touchdown to punch the Warriors ticket back to the North sectional finals over Reading, 34-30.

Division 3

Charlie Egan, Hingham — In the Harbormen’s 30-19 South semifinal win over host Walpole, the senior fueled a ground-heavy attack, accumulating 214 yards on just nine carries, including a 44-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

Ethan Phelps, Whitman-Hanson — The senior was the spark for the Panther atack in a 21-20 non-playoiff win over Bishop Feehan. He rushed for TDs of 30, 18 and 6 yards in a 116-yard performance.

Brendan Treacy, Danvers — The Falcons are flying to the North final after their senior quarterback had a hand in all four touchdowns scored in a 28-7 win over Lynn English. He had a pair of short rushing touchdowns, a 4-yard touchdown pass and ran in a two-point conversion.

Division 4

Luke McMenamin, Milton — The senior quarterback was 10-of-15 passing for 258 yards and five touchdowns, connecting with senior wideout Ja’mier Woods on scoring passes of 6, 38 and 48 yards, in the Wildcats’ 34-7 win over Hopkinton in the South semifinals.

Wellington Pereira, Wayland — The senior back scored three touchdowns in the Warriors’ 34-26 double overtime win over Dracut in the North semifinals. His first tied the score 20-20 in the fourth quarter, his second tied the game 26-26 in the first overtime, and his third and subsequent two-point conversion in the second overtime gave Wayland the win.

Jan Peña-Ortiz, Gloucester — The senior back rushed for touchdowns of 52 and 46 yards to lead the Fishermen to a 38-7 win over Revere in the North semifinals.

Division 5

Payton Doyle, Dennis-Yarmouth — The senior completed 22 of 37 passes for 250 yards and a pair of TDs in the Dolphins’ 28-6 non-playoff win at Hanover. Doyle added a rushing score and amassed 148 yards on 18 carries.

Graham Inzana, Swampscott — The junior tossed three touchdown passes as the Big Blue advanced to the North final with a 34-0 victory over Pentucket. Inzana went 13 for 20 with 230 yards passing.

Will Sheskey, Scituate — The junior had a monster night, racking up 228 rushing yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns in the Sailors 57-34 victory over Holliston in the South semifinal. Sheskey also had five tackles on defense, including two sacks, along with a pass breakup.

Division 6

Seth Russell, Stoneham — The junior back pounded his way through the Bishop Fenwick defense for 137 yards, and scored touchdowns of 15, 46, 1 and 23 yards to lead the Spartans to a 48-20 semifinal victory.

Dante Vazquez, Rockland — The 5-foot-8, 185-pound junior quarterback did a little bit of everything on offense in the Bulldogs’ 42-21 win over Silver Lake Friday night, running for 276 yards and three touchdowns and throwing a 31-yard touchdown.

Billy Whelan, Hamilton-Wenham — The senior quarterback was a force on both sides of the ball Saturday afternoon, completing 7-of 12 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, rushing for a 5-yard touchdown, and racking up seven tackles on defense.

Division 7

Will Klein, Abington — Klein ran for an 8-yard TD and caught a 12-yard TD pass from Christian Labossier in the first quarter to help lead the Green Wave to a 36-14 win over Nantucket in the Div. 7 South semi-final.

Matt Lund, Cohasset — It took a well-rounded effort for Cohasset to beat Mashpee, 37-16 in the South semis. Lund was 10-of-14 passing for 221 yards, and four touchdowns.

Eli Norton, Nashoba Valley Tech — The quarterback had five touchdowns — two rushing and three passing — to lead the Vikings (6-3) to a 41-27 win over Latin Academy in the North semis.

Division 8

Christian Keeling, West Bridgewater — In a 41-15 South semifinal victory over Tri-County, the senior back exploded for 234 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 124 yards with two scores, caught a 30-yard TD pass, and had an 80-yard kick return for another score.

Jackson Murray, Coyle & Cassidy — The Warriors trailed Upper Cape, 14-6 entering the fourth quarter of their South semifinal. But the junior QB (19 carries, 134 yards) rattled off touchdown runs of 1 and 39 yards in a 22-14 win.

James Wauhob, Blue Hills — The senior provided all the offense for the Warriors in their 30-14 non-playoff win over Southeastern, rushing for 275 yards with touchdowns of 54, 40, 19, and 4 yards.

Preps

Andy Elkins, BB&N — The 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior receiver was nearly unstoppable Friday night, racking up 10 catches for 145 yards and a touchdown in the Knights’ 47-20 win over Governor’s Academy

Makai Murray, St. George’s —

Making his first start at quarterback, the sophomore was sensational in a 34-28 loss to Tabor. He threw for 375 yards on 16-of-31 passing and accounted for all four scores, throwing for three (67, 73, and 5 yards) and running for another, while also passing and running for one conversion each. He also made six tackles and broke up four passes.

Mike Piazza, Belmont Hill — The senior quarterback was instrumental in handing St. Sebastian’s its first loss of the season, 21-17, tossing TDs of 73, 5 and 17 yards, including the winner in the fourth quarter.

Jack Schneider, Thayer — The 5-foot-9 junior receiver from Braintree snared seven catches for 129 yards and a touchdown and took the second-half kickoff 98 yard for another TD in a 28-7 ISL win over Groton. He also had 77 yards on three punt returns and intercepted a pass.

Correspondents Jake Caccavaro, Brandon Chase, Lenny Rowe, Dan Shulman, Steve Sousa, and Nate Weitzer contributed to this story.