The 32-players tournament field is set for The News-Sentinel High School Football Fan Choice Area Player of the Year.
The News-Sentinel Fan Choice Player of the Year recognizes the top individual performances from Fort Wayne area players during the regular season and gives fans the opportunity to decide who was the best player.
This inaugural online contest is a bracket-style, five-round tournament pairing up the area's best players against each with the winner being determined through online voting on The News-Sentinel website, news-sentinel.com.
The tournament will begin with the 16 first-round matches at 12:01 a.m. Monday (click here to vote in the first-round matches). Every round, expect for the championship match, will last one day with the polls closing at 11 p.m. (EST). The player with the most votes when the polls close will advance to the next round.
Voting for the championship match will start Friday and the polls will remain up through the weekend. The winner of the News-Sentinel Fan Choice Player of the Week will be announced in the Monday, Oct. 22 issue of The News-Sentinel.
The News-Sentinel sports staff selected and seeded the 32-player tournament field based on multiple factors include a player's performance during the regular season and how the player's team fared.
Four regions will comprise the 32-player field. Each region was named after a standout former high school football player from the Fort Wayne area: the Rod Woodson Region, the Tyler Eifert Region, the Chandler Harnish Region and the Bob Cowan Region.
Below is the tournament field and schedule.
FAN CHOICE PLAYER OF THE YEAR TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Monday: First-round matches
Tuesday: Regional semifinals
Wednesday: Regional finals
Thursday: Tournament semifinals
Friday - Sunday: Tournament championship
Monday, Oct. 22: Winner announced in issue of The News-Sentinel
*Polls close at 11 p.m. (EST) for every round
BOB COWAN REGION
No. 1 seed C.J. Jackson, North Side vs. No. 8 seed Tyler Hands, Carroll
No. 4 seed Brandon Mable, East Noble vs. No. 5 seed Brad Busse, Bellmont
No. 3 seed Justin Tranquill, Carroll vs. No. 6 seed Matt Skowronek, Homestated
No. 2 seed Anthony Moore, New Haven vs. No. 7 seed Josh Spitnale, Snider
CHANDLER HARNISH REGION
No. 1 seed Jaylon Smith, Bishop Luers vs. No. 8 seed Amani Ray, Northrop
No. 4 seed Jaylin Bennett, Woodlan vs. No. 5 seed Drew Schnitz, Huntington North
No. 3 seed Conner Sheehan, Heritage vs. No. 6 seed Donovan Clark, South Side
No. 2 seed Colin Brockhouse, Northrop vs. No. 7 seed Nolan McMahon, Homestead
ROD WOODSON REGION
No. 1 seed Nick Reese, Snider vs. No. 8 seed David Morrison, Concordia
No. 4 seed Brandon Porter, Garrett vs. No. 5 seed Frank Martin, Homestead
No. 3 seed Nic Weimer, East Noble vs. No. 6 seed Jared Murphy, Columbia City
No. 2 seed Anthony Linnear, North Side vs. No. 7 seed D'Marcus Moon, Bishop Dwenger
TYLER EIFERT REGION
No. 1 seed Isaac Griffith, Homestead vs. No. 8 seed Grey Fox, East Noble
No. 4 seed Jordan Hogue, New Haven vs. No. 5 seed Brenton Lockett, Heritage
No. 3 seed Je'norie Smith, Snider vs.No. 6 seed Tyvel Jemison, Bishop Luers
No. 2 seed Jason Nicodemus, Churubusco vs. No. 7 seed Weston Painter, Snider
