Who should be the Providence Journal Semifinals Player of the Week? Vote now to pick the winner

Semifinal Weekend continues to provide the most entertainment of the high school football season and what happened Friday and Saturday was no exception.

Ten teams kept their 2024 season alive, earning Super Bowl berths with wins over the weekend. Finding nominees for the Providence Journal Player of the Week wasn’t difficult, but narrowing down the list to just five were.

While there were a couple performances that made for obvious nominees, coming up with the final two nominees was a little tougher. Football is a team sport but this award is based on individual performance, so to round out the list we really looked carefully at how crucial that one player was to their team’s success.

This week’s selections weren’t hard to see. Running backs, as usual, dominated, although not all were because of running the ball. One quarterback stood out above the rest and to not include him after the game he had wasn’t an option.

So how does one win Providence Journal Player of the Week? This is the fun part.

The award is designed to be an interactive way for the state’s passionate football communities to show their support for their local players. We want schools, teams and players to create social media campaigns to garner support and try to earn as many votes as possible for their nominee. When a player wins, the whole community does – because it shows which pockets of the state truly support high school football.

In short, you, the reader, decides. Voting is free, you can vote as many times as you want from now until the poll closes on Thursday night. Check out the nominees below and vote in the ballot at the bottom of the page.

What does the Providence Journal Player of the Week receive? Just clout – which is all people are after anyway. Have some fun with it and go get your favorite a dub after they got you one.

Emails sent to the Journal with a player’s name does not constitute a vote. If you ask why a player from your team wasn’t nominated, talk to you head coach about why stats weren’t sent. If you want to send an email about voting being rigged or bots being used, it will be used as social media fodder. Jokes will be made.

Below are the nominees for Providence Journal Player of the Week for the semifinals. Happy voting!

PROVIDENCE JOURNAL SEMIFINAL FOOTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

James Branch, West Warwick

The Westerly defense kept Branch’s damage to a minimum for three quarters, but with the game on the line the senior stepped up. Branch’s 61-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run turned the game around in favor of the Wizards and he capped the 27-13 win with another 13-yard TD run. Branch finished the game with 27 carries for 225 yards and two touchdowns and, a year after losing in the D-III Super Bowl, a chance to play for the D-II title.

Terrence Campbell, La Salle

Turns out putting the ball in Campbell’s hands any way you can is a pretty good strategy. The senior was a beast in the pass game and a YAC machine, catching five balls for 107 yards and a 59-yard touchdown. He only had 44 yards rushing on 16 carries, but was a first-down monster on short yardage and a red zone monster with three rushing touchdowns in the Rams’ 43-22 win over St. Raphael on Friday.

Jordan Duke, Classical

The one player Rogers had to stop Saturday was not. Duke imposed his will all afternoon, starting with over 150 total yards and four touchdowns in the first half before closing things out I the second. When the clock struck zeroes on the 56-22 win, Duke had a wild stat line to go with his Super Bowl berth – 11 rushes for 168 yards and four TDs and four catches for 121 and two scores.

Ziahair Gibau, Davies

In a game that turned into a track meet, Gibau was a steady source of offense in the Patriots’ 49-36 win. The senior running back helped Davies move the ball up and down the field and finished his night with 23 carries for 194 yards with three red zone touchdown runs. He stepped up on defense as well, with a 60-yard interception return that helped put the game away in the fourth quarter and send Davies back to the D-IV Super Bowl.

Matt Timpson, Narragansett

Rhode Island’s most entertain offense has resided in South County all season and Friday, Timpson showed why. The Mariners found themselves in a shootout with Smithfield and had the better gunslinger in Timpson. The senior quarterback completed 13 of 27 passes for 291 yards and five touchdowns – including a 60 and 90 yarder – ran for times for 31 yards and a TD and played a role on defense in Narragansett’s 48-30 win.