A record 69,175 votes were submitted for Bay Area News Group boys high school athlete of the week by the 5 p.m. deadline on Wednesday.
When the voting closed, Bellarmine quarterback Nate Escalada finished on top. He is the athlete of the week for Oct. 25-31, edging Sequoia football player Jack Kern.
Escalada received 30,508 votes (44.10%) to Kern’s 28,272 (40.86%).
De La Salle water polo player Carsten Peters finished third.
Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.
Filling in for injured Wade Smith, Escalada threw for 179 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 89 yards on seven carries as Bellarmine clinched its first winning season in five years with a 45-34 victory on the road over Valley Christian.
To nominate an athlete for next week’s honor, email highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com by Monday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.
Winners are announced each Friday on the Mercury News & East Bay Times websites.
Past winners
Oct. 18-24: Patrick Aiello, Heritage water polo
Oct. 11-17: Liam Smith, Hillsdale football
Oct. 4-10: Jayden Hall, Cupertino football
Sept. 27-Oct. 3: Filippi Montes, Gunn football
Sept. 20-26: Anthony Armendariz, Dublin football
Sept. 13-19: Kevin Green, Gunn football
Sept. 6-12: Tayden Phillips, Lincoln football
Aug. 30-Sept. 5: Jake Calcagno, California football
Aug. 23-28: Robbie Mascheroni, Campolindo football
