Prep Tracker: Garrett Wilson, Steele Chambers, Jaxon Smith-Njigba And Marcus Crowley Turn In Huge Performances In State Playoffs

THE WIDEOUT WAY

One thing is for sure: the future of Ohio State's receiving corps is in good hands ... and I'm not talking about coach Brian Hartline. A pair of Texas prospects in Garrett Wilson (Austin, Texas) and Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Rockwall, Texas) continued to torch defenses this past weekend while Jameson Williams (St. Louis, Mo.) felt at home again in the end zone.

In a 56-35 win over Madison for Lake Travis, the Buckeyes' top 2019 commit hauled in 169 receiving yards and scored three touchdowns; one on the ground and two through the air. Since returning from injury last week, he's now tallied 316 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

From the San Antonio Express-News:

It doesn’t matter if Lake Travis senior wide receiver Garrett Wilson is lined up for a catch or in the backfield, he finds ways to get to the end zone.

Wilson, an Ohio State commit, had 169 receiving yards and three touchdowns — one rushing and two receiving — in Lake Travis’ 56-35 victory over Madison on Friday afternoon at Cougar Stadium in a Class 6A Division I playoff game.

This is Wilson’s second game back from a back injury and it couldn’t come at better time for Lake Travis (11-1).

“Garrett’s incredible, there’s probably not another athlete like him in the country so we are certainly better with him and he’s getting more and more back into shape,” Lake Travis coach Hank Carter said.

Wilson praised the team's defensive performance against Madison’s high-powered offense.

“If they are under 40 points we expect to win the game — honestly if they score any amount we expect to win — but whenever they are under 30, it’s on us (offense) if we lose,” Wilson said. “They held them to below 40 and we did our job so that was huge on the defenses part.”

Meanwhile, Smith-Njigba took no prisoners at anytime Friday night. The talented 2020 commit had nine catches for 229 yards and three scores ... in the first half. He finished with 14 receptions for 247 yards and the three trips to the house.

Rockwalls Jacob Clark to Ohio State commit Jaxon Smith-Njigba, his 3rd TD of the game. Allen leads 28-26. #txhsfb pic.twitter.com/l01S56xOjs

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) November 24, 2018

Despite Smith-Njigba's efforts, Rockwall fell by a 52-40 final. According to Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News, Smith-Njigba suffered a minor injury early in the second half but returned to the game. He finishes his junior season with 96 catches for 1,719 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Williams had a rather quite night ... for Williams at least. As his Cardinal Ritter Lions trounced Mt. Vernon 49-6, the 2019 receiver commit caught just three passes for 36 yards and a score. The Lions, however, could have been saving him for next weekend when they play for a Missouri Class 3 state championship.

He now has a total of 62 catches for 1,486 yards and 22 touchdowns on the year.

GROUND AND POUND

Much like the future of the receiving corps, Ohio State's backfield also seems to be insured as 2019 commits Marcus Crowley (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Steele Chambers (Roswell, Ga.) continued spectacular years of their own this weekend.

Chambers rushed for 124 yards on 17 carries as Blessed Trinity Catholic beat Eastside 42-15. The Titans advance to the state semifinals with the victory.

From the Covington News:

The Titans gained over 350 yards rushing, and got a big night from Jackson Hamilton who rushed for 162 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns, while 4-star prospect Steele Chambers chipped in with 124 yards on 17 carries and two scores of his own en route to a 42-15 Blessed Trinity win that punched its ticket to the semifinals next Friday, while ending Eastside’s historic season with a thud.

As for Crowley, well, he still has a problem with trying to be tackled.

In a 34-7 victory over Bolles, the Trinity Christian running back rushed for a ridiculous 268 yards on 18 carries — 14.9 yards per attempt — alongside three touchdowns. If you're wondering, he now has 2,146 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns this fall. He's averaging 11.2 yards per carry.

A little taste of what's coming your way Buckeye Nation. This was Friday night in round 3 of the FHSAA 5A playoffs. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/3tXzo3AXvg

— CWillis (@Iamsirfishalot) November 25, 2018

STATE TITLES OR BUST

While Wilson, Smith-Njigba, Williams, Chambers and Crowley all continued their postseason runs, so did St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) safety Jordan Battle, Spring Valley (Huntington, W. Va.) offensive lineman Doug Nester and Whitehaven (Memphis, Tenn.) tight end Cormontae Hamilton.

For Battle and the Raiders, a 35-0 shutout of Dwyer did the trick. As St. Thomas Aquinas advances into the state championship game where it'll face Venice, the Raiders have now held opponents to under 10 points in seven of their last eight games.

Nester helped Spring Valley stay undefeated at 13-0 with a 56-14 drubbing of Capital. Up next for the Timberwolves is a date with two-time defending state champion Martinsburg in the Super Six finals. Oh yeah Martinsburg is riding a 41-game winning streak.

And for Hamilton and his Whitehaven Tigers, they'll play for a Class 6A state championship this coming Thursday after beating Ravenwood 43-24 and scoring 33 unanswered points to do so. Thursday's game is a rematch of the 2016 state championship game, one that Whitehaven won 12-9.

While the aforementioned three commits will play for state championships this weekend, Luke Wypler and St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.) have already won one. With a 13-0 victory over Bergen Catholic, the Green Knights captured New Jersey's Non-Public 4 state championship. They end their season at 10-2 overall.