The PTP offensive players of the week

The PTP pick

ATH Xavier Townsend, Jr., Berkeley Prep

See Xavier Townsend elude tacklers on carries. See Townsend turn catches into big gains. See Townsend leaving defenders breathlessly behind on his way to the end zone. 

See a trend there. 

Townsend, Berkeley Prep’s most versatile offensive weapon, did a little bit of everything last week against Lakeland Victory Christian.

He ran the ball 18 times, gaining 152 yards and scoring twice on the ground. He also added 101 yards on five catches, three going for touchdowns. 

In all, Townsend accounted for 252 of the Buccaneers’ 458 yards of offense and scored all but one of their touchdowns. That was just enough to help Berkeley Prep outlast the Storm in a 41-35 victory.   

The fans’ pick

QB Nick Felice, Sr., Plant City

Playing in Newsome’s run-oriented offense, Nick Felice threw the ball just enough to let defenses know he was still on the field. After all, it took him seven games to reach 400 yards passing with the Wolves last year.

That all changed this season.

Felice transferred to Plant City, beat out two other quarterbacks for the starting job and now throws plenty of passes to a talented trio of receivers that includes Mario Williams, an Oklahoma commit who is ranked among the nation’s best. 

Operating in a more pass-happy offense, Felice has put up impressive numbers. 

Last week was his performance yet. 

Felice threw for a career-high 424 yards and five touchdowns to ignite a furious rally against Tampa Bay Tech. Down by 12 in the final three minutes, Felice completed the comeback with his feet. Eluding the rush, Felice took a short run for a touchdown on the final play of regulation to beat the Titans 43-42. 

The fans approved. Felice received more than 64 percent of the votes (12,055) to beat out St. Petersburg Catholic’s Martel Mott, who had more than 26 percent (4,977).