ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: SHAWN STATLER

Shawn Statler

School: Perryville

Sport: Football

Coach: Jerry Tucker

Week Report: Statler ran for 240 yards on 29 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns -- of nine, 10, and 11 yards -- as Perryville downed Windsor 48-34 in the first round of Class 4A, District 2. He also threw a 27-yard touchdown strike to quarterback Tyler Abernathy on a half-back option pass. Statler also had a kickoff and a punt-return for touchdowns called back on clipping penalties.

Season Report: Statler broke the 1,000-yard barrier this past week. The senior now has 1,006 yards on 133 carries (7.56 yards per carry). He has scored 14 touchdowns and has intercepted two passes as a cornerback. His 240-yard game this past week was his second 200-yard game of the season. He rushed for 217 yards on 17 carries in Week 2 in a loss against Ste. Genevieve. But twice Statler has been held to less than 36 yards -- against John Burroughs and against Scott City.

Coach's comments: There are just days that we try to feature him," Tucker said. "Other times teams just focus on him and we feature some one else. But he's a team player. When he's been our feature back, he gets quite a bit more carries and puts up big numbers. He hits the hole exceptionally hard, then he's hard to catch from behind. Once he gets in the open, you're not going to catch him. He didn't run for us at all last year. He played strictly defense. He's an exceptional young man that's really worked hard for us this year."