Carlinville High School Football: Player of the Week

Zac Dixon has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, is a two-way starter at quarterback and linebacker for the Cavaliers. He led the team in tackles with 16 including five solos in their Class 2A playoff game against Maroa-Forsyth.

“Zac is a kid that is very coachable,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “He’d do anything for you. If I told him he was only playing one way, he’d play one way at 110%. If I told him he had to be the waterboy, he’d be the waterboy. He does a multitude of things for us in the kicking game, offense, and defense. Mentally, he is one of the tougher kids that I have coached. We’re going to miss him.”

Dixon received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Josh Rives has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Rives, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior, ran for 191 yards with 3 touchdowns to help Carlinville to a 39-20 win at Litchfield that clinched an IHSA playoff berth. Rives has gained 1256 yards in nine games this season with 15 touchdowns for the Cavaliers.

“He makes plays – he’s a hundred thirty pounds soaking wet – he knows when to stick and when not to,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “If you’re around football a lot, that means a lot. That’s something you don’t coach. That’s just something the kid has. He has that nose for a hole. That darn kid just never gets hit hard. He’s slimy, he’s slippery – you just never see him get laid out. He had another great effort and hopefully he’s got a couple of more games like that in him.”

Rives received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Eddie Ray has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Ray, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior, had a solid all-around game as he helped the Cavaliers to a 35-16 win over Southwestern. Ray, who leads the team with 85 tackles this season, had 14 tackles including 7 solos. He also returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to seal the CHS victory.

“Eddie is one of a kind,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “He’s a kid that’s very coachable. He’s very honest – he’s honest with me, so he gives it back just as much as he can take it in. Eddie just played a phenomenal game on both sides of the football. He had to step up and play some offense with Darnell Scott out and we didn’t miss a beat. Defensively, he was just all over the field. He probably played the best game of his career.”

Ray received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Zac Dixon has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, received the award for the second week in a row for his play in Carlinville’s game against Hillsboro. Dixon rushed for 67 yards with 2 touchdowns and completed 4-9 passes for 48 yards with one interception. Dixon has thrown for 266 yards this season and rushed for 240 yards.

“Zac has stepped up when we’ve need him too all season and he did it a couple times in the Hillsboro game,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “He made some key passes on second down or third down. That run at the end is one of the top three plays I’ve seen in high school football. It was just a great athletic play. He showed a lot of determination and that’s what Zac is about. He got it done for us and he is definitely deserving of this award.”

Dixon received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Zac Dixon has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, is the starting quarterback for the Cavaliers and also starts at linebacker on defense. Dixon had a career-best rushing day as he had 106 yards on five carries including touchdown runs of 65 and 13 yards to help CHS to a 54-14 win over East Alton-Wood River. He also threw a touchdown strike of 10 yards to Bobby Simmons and was 4-5 passing for 36 yards.

“I’m hard on Zac and my expectations for him are very, very high,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “I’ve always told Zac that I’ll be happy with him in November, but playing the quarterback position is a constant reminder of everything you do wrong. Very few times do you get to hear what you do right. He embraces that – he is a kid that doesn’t mind being coached up and he does a great job with it.”

Dixon received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Eddie Ray has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Ray, a 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior, starts at linebacker on defense, and also sees playing time as a backup fullback on offense. He had five tackles in Carlinville’s 43-0 win over Roxana and lead CHS in tackles with 49 including 29 solos. He also tackled the Roxana punter in the end zone for a safety and on offense, he caught a 16 yard pass for a first down.

“Eddie is a kid for two years in a row that just plays defense for us and he’s just real solid defensively,” said Carlinville coach Chad Easterday. “He plays bigger than his size. When you look at him, he does not look like a middle linebacker at all, but he’s extremely tough both physically and mentally. He’s a hard kid to get blocked. He’s done a great job for us and probably doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves.”

Ray received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Josh Rives has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.

Rives, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior running back, wins the award for the second consecutive week after gaining 206 yards on 27 carries in the Cavalier’s 13-0 win over Pana. Rives scored on a 66-yard run in the first quarter to put CHS on top 10-0.

“I said it last week and I’ll say it again – he has an innate ability to always get you a yard,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “He’s 130 pounds soaking wet and doesn’t look that impressive when he walks on the field, but when you give the football to him, you better be holding on. He did a great job against Pana and I was very proud of him.”

Rives received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Josh Rives has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.  This is the 15th consecutive year that Edwards has co-sponsored the award.

Rives, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior running back, had 103 yards rushing on 17 carries against Greenville. Rives leads the lead with 341 yards rushing in three games with two touchdowns. Last year, he ran for 963 yards with 14 touchdowns.

“Josh has one of these talents that not a lot of kids have,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “He is definitely a gamer. He lives for the moment and when he puts that jersey on, he can flip a switch and not a lot of kids have that. He has that energy and that ability. He’s a fun, exciting kid to watch and for two weeks in a row now, he’s just getting the job done.”

Rives received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Zac Dixon has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.  This is the 15th consecutive year that Edwards has co-sponsored the award.

Dixon, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior quarterback, rushed for three touchdowns and threw two touchdown passes in Carlinville’s 41-19 win over Vandalia. He had touchdown runs of 18, 10, and 11 yards and threw two 16 yard TD passes to Trevor Rhodus.

“He deserves that performance against Vandalia,” Carlinville coach Chad Easterday said. “That kid has worked his butt off along with all of the rest of my seniors. He rose to the top Friday night and showed his leadership and I’m really proud of him.”

Dixon, the son of Ryan and Shannon Dixon, received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.

Darnell Scott has been selected as this week’s Country Financial/Gary Edwards Player of the Week.  This is the 15th consecutive year that Edwards has co-sponsored the award.

Scott, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound senior, led CHS in rushing with 104 yards on 21 carries in the Cavalier’s season-opener against Marquette Catholic. Scott also had 1 reception for 15 yards. A two-way starter at running back and nose guard, he also had eight tackles on defense including five solos.

“I thought Darnell just was a warrior – he never left the field,” Carlinville head coach Chad Easterday said. “He ran the ball, he played defense. I thought he brought us that little ‘pop’ on offense where we were able to pound the ball at them. He never, ever got tired.”

Scott, the son of David and Latesha Scott, received a plaque, courtesy of Edwards, a Country Financial representative in Carlinville and, along with a large pizza, compliments of Little Italy’s Pizza in the Carlinville Plaza.