Prep Athletes of the Week: Jett Feeney commands Moorhead’s high-powered offense

"He can make all the throws," said Moorhead coach Kevin Feeney, who thrusted his son into the starting role as a freshman. "You can notice the progression he has made during that time. The game has slowed down for him and he does a good job reading the defense. He has a great understanding of what we are trying to accomplish."

A junior, Bina owns the state's fastest time in the 500-yard freestyle at 5 minutes, 7.38 seconds and owns the school record in the 200 individual medley at 2:09.69. She also has the state's fourth-best time in the 200 freestyle this year at 1:56.30. "Ellie has started the season with some great times, having trained hard in the off season," Mustangs coach Chris Yauch said. "Even with having her attention partly on deciding where to go for college and taking college visits, she is focused on outperforming her own records from last year. She is ready and capable of putting up some serious times this year."

The senior leads Holy Angels' outstanding defensive unit. The Class 2A, No. 1-ranked Stars (10-1), according to the coaches association poll, have given up four goals while posting seven shutouts this season. Hegwood has also scored a pair of goals. "Jackson's selfless versatility has been an essential cog in our start to the season," Holy Angels coach James See said. "Jackson's adaptability is a key variable in our team's success this season, while his flexible performances offer our team the ability to successfully shift our play [and] systems within games."

Schmidt is a big reason the Royals are 13-0 and ranked No. 5 in Class 4A by the coaches association. The 5-11 senior outside hitter/setter leads Rogers in kills and service aces and is second on the team in assists. She is the school's all-time leader in all three categories, entering the season with 1,288 kills, 543 aces and 1,521 assists. The St. Thomas recruit is also the single-season record holder in kills and aces with 566 and 197, respectively. The Royals have made three consecutive state tournament appearances, the only three in program history.

The last name alone must mean success when it comes to distance running. The Mainstreeters junior — no relation to the Drevlows at Hopkins — won the Melrose Invitational with a time of 16 minutes, 42.3 seconds at the 5K course at Meadowlark Country Club. It marked his fourth time as medalist this season, previously winning the Morris, Wadena-Deer Creek and Long Prairie-Grey Eagles invitationals. He is ranked 10th in Class 1A by the coaches association. "He is a great leader in sports, at school and in the community," Sauk Centre coach Jim Metcalf said.

The Scarlets junior is making the most of her opportunity in her initial season as a striker. Downs has scored 16 goals during the Scarlets' six-game-winning streak. She has 23 goals and seven assists on the season. "Livi has all of the skills you look for. She's strong, quick, very good on the ball, and has a powerful shot," Mankato West coach Carrlin Meier said. "What has set her apart from other strikers I have worked with is her attention to detail and willingness to constantly ask questions. Every opportunity that she gets in each game is taken as a learning moment to be better when she finds herself in a similar position again."

Manjo returned two punts for touchdowns in the first quarter, springboarding the Hylanders to their first victory of the season. The senior took punts 41 and 72 yards to the house in a 48-6 victory over Twin Cities Charter. "Julian did a great job making the first person miss. After that he used his ability to read blocks and his speed to take it to the end zone," Columbia Heights coach Matt Townsend said. "Julian brings an energy and a toughness to our football team. He is one of our players we count on to make big plays."