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Wheeling's Best, Waubonsie's Griffin pick up Week 4 MVP honors

Michael Best of Wheeling and Grayson Griffin of Waubonsie Valley are the Daily Herald football MVPs for their performances in Week 4 games.

OFFENSE

Michael Best, Wheeling: Best was most definitely best for Wheeling last Friday. In a 45-42 come-from-behind win over Vernon Hills, the 6-foot-2 senior quarterback was 32 of 56 passing for 374 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also rushed for 42 yards and kicked a field goal of 39 yards as the Wildcats moved to 2-2 for the season. Of 204 plays in the game, Best was on the field for 192 of them.

D'Lo Hardy, Lakes: The Eagles wanted to get the ball in the hands of the returning wide receiver more this season. They've done that by handing off to him, and the senior has responded. His school-record 5 rushing touchdowns led the Eagles to a 56-44 win over Grayslake North. He rushed 27 times for 258 yards.

Brandt Stare, Neuqua Valley: A Normal Community score with 37 seconds left seemed to seal Neuqua's fate. Instead, Stare's 77-yard kickoff return for touchdown followed by Will Chevalier's 2-point run gave Neuqua a 36-35 road victory. A senior receiver, Stare added a 19-yard touchdown catch and gained 197 all-purpose yards.

Josh Raby, Dundee-Crown: The Chargers' 70-55 loss to two-time Class 6A state champion Prairie Ridge was not due to a lack of production from their quarterback. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior completed 23 of 31 pass attempts for 7 touchdowns and 552 passing yards, a new Dundee-Crown record, according to coach Mike Steinhaus. Raby threw touchdown passes of 71, 11, 12, 40, 49, 13 and 85 yards. He also carried 8 times for 32 yards.

DEFENSE

Grayson Griffin, Waubonsie Valley: Playing not at all like a sophomore, the 5-foot-9, 160-pound outside linebacker helped force Edwardsville into negative first-half yardage in a 21-7 Warriors win on the road. Griffin caused 2 fumbles, had a sack and a quarterback hurry, made 3 other tackles for loss and recorded 17 tackles overall.

Quinn Urwiler, Batavia: This dynamic outside linebacker was omnipresent in Batavia's 42-12 DuKane Conference victory over Glenbard North. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior made 2 tackles, one for a loss, assisted on 2 tackles, jumped to knock down one pass and defended two others. Urwiler snared one of Batavia's 3 interceptions and his 60-yard fumble return for a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the first half staked the undefeated Bulldogs to a 16-point cushion.

Zach Bauer, Stevenson: When a Patriots linebacker went out with an injury against Zion-Benton, the senior backup was more than ready for his opportunity. Bauer intercepted a pair of passes in the second half to spearhead another stellar defensive effort by the Patriots, who won 51-14 to remain undefeated.

Anthony Cardi, Hersey: This 5-foot-11, 170-pound junior cornerback had 5 tackles, 2 assists and 2 big interceptions to help the Huskies defeat Maine West 51-28 in a game between unbeaten teams. The win gave Hersey a 4-0 record for the first time since 1975.

D'Lo Hardy.
Brandt Stare
Josh Raby
Grayson Griffin
Quinn Urwilier
Zach Bauer
Anthony Cardi
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