E.J. RuizFootball
AFNORTH
Ruiz, a 5-5, 160-pound senior quarterback, completed 12 of 16 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed 10 times for 174 yards and two more TDs Saturday in a 44-6 road conquest of Hohenfels. The big afternoon — 402 yards of total offense — upped Ruiz’s season stats for the 5-0 Lions to 47-for-53 for 875 yards passing, and 607 yards on 45 carries.
"I honestly believe E.J. is easily the best quarterback in DODDS-Europe in 2008," AFNORTH coach Greg Blankenship wrote in a Tuesday e-mail.
"E.J. is a born leader. He is a very articulate and charismatic high honor roll student who holds his team to high standards on and off the field."
"You must contain E.J. Ruiz if you hope to slow the AFNORTH offense. . .," Blankenship continued. "As with any great charismatic leader, if you chase after E.J. Ruiz with ill intent, you will find his friends bearing down on you."
Maddy ZitkaVolleyball
Alconbury
Zitka, a 5-7 sophomore middle hitter, hammered down 22 kills Saturday at Menwith Hill as her Division IV team downed D-III AFNORTH 3-0 and its D-IV hosts 3-2.
"Five-seven is pretty short for a middle hitter," Alconbury coach Susan Payne wrote in an e-mail on Tuesday. "We do not have much height on our team this year, so for the sake of the team, Maddy is playing outside her natural position."
Payne added, however, that Zitka plays taller than she stands and more savvy than her years.
"She has a tremendous vertical leap ...," Payne wrote. "She also is a strong blocker and has caused lots of problems for our opponents’ middle hitters, who are typically much taller than she is. Maddy shows a lot of poise and court awareness during matches — I often forget she is only a sophomore."
— Selected by Stars and Stripes staff