KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The high school football regular season is winding down, so there are just a few player of the week honors left to hand out as teams begin to make their final push.
Sevier County running back, Malachi Pate, and Wartburg Central cornerback, James Goad, earned 10Sports Blitz Player of the Week honors after eye-catching performances.
Starting on the offense, Pate paced the Smoky Bears with 111 rushing yards at two TDs in a 24-7 win against Daniel Boone to clinch the 5A Region 1 title.
Pate says it's easy to have this type of success with the O-line in front of him.
"It's fun when you have five dudes working their tail off, and contributing to what you're doing," Pate said."
Pate says it's an honor to earn player of the week, especially in his final year.
"It means a lot, especially in my senior year. We've accomplished a lot," Pate said. "I'm proud of my team, and I'm proud of myself."
Over on the defense, cornerback James Goad posted 12 tackles and four tackles for loss from the secondary in a dominant 54-0 shutout against Sunbright.
Goad says he is grateful to win against other competitive nominees.
"It's crazy, especially coming out of Knoxville and all those bigger schools. I'm surprised I got it," Goad said. "I gotta keep doing what I'm doing on defense."
Next up, Wartburg takes on York Agricultural Institute, while Sevier County competes against East Hamilton. Both games are on Friday at 7 p.m.