Top high school QB recruits: How the nation’s top prospects fared over the weekend

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Derek Wilson
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Top high school QB recruits: How the nation's top prospects fared over the weekend



Happy Monday and welcome to another edition of our high school prep report, where we look at the nation’s top 10 quarterback prospects in the 247Sports Composite and how their seasons are shaping up.

Alabama commit Julian Sain, Notre Dame commit C.J. Carr and Penn State’s Ethan Grunkemeier are all preparing for the rest of their careers after losing to the playoffs earlier this month.

The postseason was still in full swing for many of the nation’s top prospects.

Let’s get into it.

Dylan Raiola

School: Buford (Ga.) Highly committed to: GeorgiaRanking: No. 5 nationally, No. 2 QB

Raiola and Buford’s (11-1) team advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 7A Georgia playoffs with a 28-25 win over Norcross (9-3) in the second round on Friday.

The Wolves took a 28-10 lead into the fourth quarter before Norcross came back in the final minutes and scored 15 unanswered points to make things interesting. But Buford has hung in and outscored opponents 262-25 over its last five games. Raiola, a Georgia commitment, was 9 of 16 for 174 yards, four touchdown passes and threw his first interception of the season. The pick, Wolves offensive coordinator Gus Condon said, came off the chest of wide receiver Raiola, allowing the safety to bring the ball.

For the season, Raiola is 149 of 239 for 2,685 yards, 34 touchdowns and a lone interception.

This week the Wolves hit the road to play at 10-2 Grayson, home of four-star UCF offensive lineman Waltclaire Flynn Jr. Cunningham. The Rams are undefeated since September and are coming off a 42-18 win over North Paulding.

DJ Lagway

School: Willis (Texas) Top Commitment: FloridaRunning: No. 17 nationally: No. 3 QB

It’s been a rough season for Florida, but Lagway continues to make things look easy.

Willis went 12-0 with a 10-2 win over Tomball Memorial 42-21 in the second round of the Class 6A DII Texas playoffs. Despite throwing two interceptions, Lagway was 26 of 41 passing for 462 yards and five touchdowns.

For the season, he passed 266 of 360 for 4,269 (!) yards, 56 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Get ready for a big match this week. Willis committed to 11-0 DeSoto, the reigning state champion and home to two top-250 prospects in the Class of 2025: four-star running back Deondra Ryden and four-star SMU wide receiver Daylon Singleton. The Wildcats, who went just 5-5 a year ago, will be hoping to continue their perfect season.

Air Noland

School: Fairburn (Ga.) Langston Hughes B: Ohio State Ranking: No. 29 Nationally: No. 4 KB

After a perfect 15-0 season that ended with a state championship a year ago, Noland’s prep career ended Friday as 11-1 Rome outscored the 9-3 Panthers 42-14 in the playoffs.

Noland had a beautiful 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter, which showed his instincts and accuracy under pressure, but Rome jumped to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter that the Panthers could never recover from.

Noland heads to Ohio State having thrown for over 10,000 yards in his high school career and should be well prepared for what he sees in the Big Ten. He manages the game well, is poised under pressure and has seen a little bit of everything in high school.

“He is faithful. From the time he was a sophomore, he was credited with being smart about sliding guards, taking what he saw, his reads, and so on. “You can be on the other side of the field. In his mind, he’s getting the first down.

“He’s a great kid. Amazing. … He’s on.”

Luke Kromenhoek

School: Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military Academy B: Florida State Rankings: No. 49 nationally, No. 6 KB.

Benedictine from Cromenhoek and the Cadets took care of business with 9-3 LaGrange, 31-7, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 4A Georgia state playoffs.

Florida State led Benedict’s running game (two touchdowns) and defense (one pick six), holding him to just one touchdown pass on the night.

Perhaps more than anything else, Cromenhoek has made headlines for his trouble playing defense — something he’s done twice this season, according to the “Savannah Morning News.” This should excite Florida State fans:

Benedictine returns to action this week on a two-game undefeated streak. The 12-0 defending state champions host 12-0 North Ocono on Friday.

Jadin Davis

School: Charlotte (NC) Providence Day School B: Michigan Ranking: No. 78 nationally: No. 7 QB

A month after Rabun Gap-Nacoochee (Ga.) School handed Providence Day its only loss of the season, Davis and the Chargers got revenge Friday by defeating the Eagles to capture the NCISAA Division 1 championship. Providence defeated Day 34-27 en route to the Chargers’ third straight championship. What a career for Davis.

Davis went 20 of 37 for 289 yards, two touchdowns and two picks in his final high school game, finishing a career-high 204 of 288 for 3,370 yards with 43 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He left Providence Day passing for 6,795 yards as a two-year starter on 86 touchdown passes with 15 interceptions. He heads to Michigan with a 71.7 percent completion rate and an average of 261.3 passing yards per game. Not too rough.

Jake Merklinger

School: Savannah (Ga.) Calvary Day School for: Tennessee Ranking: No. 109 nationally, No. 8 K.B.

Calvary continued its run in the postseason with a 49-0 win over Thomasville 6-6 in the second round. The Knights are 12-0 and three games shy of a Merklinger state championship.

Against Thomasville, Merklinger completed 12 of 16 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns in a light day of work. He also rushed to score.

For the year, the Tennessee commit is 122 of 168 passing for 2,382 yards and 31 touchdowns with just two interceptions. He rushed 41 times for 316 yards and eight touchdowns. Up next: Calvary Day plays 9-3 Wesleyan.

Ryan Puglisi

School: Avon Old Farms (CON) for: GeorgiaRanking: No. 138 Nationally: No. 10 KB

Puglisi and Avon Old Farms lost a close game against South Carolina’s Dante Reno and Cheshire Academy in the NPSAC Championship, 35-28.

Avon Old Farms took a 7-0 lead at the end of the first quarter before the game was tied at 14 at the half. Cheshire Academy went on to score 21 second half points to Avon Old Farms’ 14.

That ends the year for Puglisi, who turns his attention to Georgia.

Bonus

Stanford commit and Mater Dei (Calif.) quarterback Elijah Brown led the Monarchs over Sierra Canyon 42-14 in Friday’s CIF Southern Division 1 semifinal. That said, we’ve got a great rematch for the championship this week that features two perennial powerhouses: Mater Dei vs. St. John’s.

Against Sierra Canyon, Brown was 12 of 19 passing for 200 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. For the season, he is 176 of 247 passing for 2,531 yards, 33 touchdowns and five picks. Friday night should be fun.

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)



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