Dude Edwards is the man for the First Academy of Leesburg football team.

Edwards has become a mainstay for the Eagles during the program’s growth from an also-ran to, arguably, the top private-school football team in Lake County.

He was a major contributor on both sides of the ball as an underclassmen when First Academy of Leesburg won the Sunshine State Athletic Conference in 2013. Now, as a senior, he still contributes for the Eagles on the field, but he’s also become a leader on the sidelines, the kind of player Edwards’ younger teammates look to for inspiration.

During Friday’s 41-13 win against Ocala St. John Lutheran, Edwards turned into what is becoming a typical performance for the 5-foot-11, 178 pounder. He ran for 163 yards and scored four touchdowns, caught one pass for 56 yards and a touchdown, and also made 10 tackles in the win.

The game marked Edwards’ first 100-plus yard game of the season. Defensively, it was a typical game for the senior, who recorded 17 tackles against Lecanto Seven Rivers Christian on Sept. 11.

“Dude has come through for us this year like he has throughout his career,” First Academy of Leesburg coach Sheldon Walker said. “He’s the kind of kid who deserves everything good that happens to him. He’s always ready to play, even when he doesn’t feel good or he’s hurting. He wants to be on the field for us.

“His value to our football program is priceless.”

Walker said Edwards quickly became an inspiration to his younger teammates during preseason practices. Edwards keeps the underclassmen focused on the game or whatever task is being worked on in practice.

“He’s ahead of the learning curve and his football IQ is incredible,” Walker said. “Dude works with everyone to try and help them get better. His teammates want to be like him, because they see how hard he works at practice and in games. You can’t teach a lot of the things he gives back to our program.

“It’s something he has within him and it makes him a very special student athlete.”

Walker said Edwards’ presence has helped foster an atmosphere that creates leaders. Because of that, Walker believes someone will step up next season and take a leadership role on the team because of the time he spent around Edwards.

He’s also a reason the future looks bright for the Eagles.

“Dude could’ve played football at a bigger school if he wanted to,” Walker said. “He could’ve played at Leesburg and had an outstanding career, but he came here and he stayed here. Our quarterback, Caleb Lynum, also could’ve gone to a bigger school and a couple of others could have, too. Dude showed that you can go to a small private school that was looking to build a program, and be very successful.

“He’s definitely played a big role in helping to establish what we have here.”

Edwards wasn’t the area’s only top performer last week. Here are a few others:

A teammate of Edwards, Lynum passed for 219 yards and three touchdowns against Ocala St. John Lutheran. For the season, the sophomore has thrown for 807 yards and nine touchdowns.

East Ridge running back Tirrek Hooten ran for 235 yards and three touchdowns in the Knights’ 58-52 win on Friday against Orlando First Academy at The Dungeon. For the season, Hooten has run 701 yards and five touchdowns. The Knights, which improved to 3-1, surpassing the win total for the past two seasons, will play at Ocoee on Friday in a Class 7A-District 4 contest.

In South Sumter’s 41-21 win against Umatilla, the Raiders’ 37th straight regular season win, running back Bokeyon Rice averaged 10.6 yards per carry in a 148-yard effort.

Against South Sumter, Umatilla’s Caleb Robinson had four catches for 162 yards — an average of 40.5 yards per catch — and three touchdowns.

Mount Dora’s senior slotback, Danny Daniels, had 133 yards in the Hurricanes 27-24 win on Friday against The Villages. It was his second game of the season with at least 133 yards on the ground.

On the volleyball court, Eustis senior Lauren Orgaz had a double-double with 25 assists, 18 service points and five digs in a 3-0 win against Leesburg on Thursday.

Alyssa Rojas had 32 assists and 11 digs for First Academy of Leesburg on Thursday in a 3-0 win against Mount Dora Christian Academy.

In bowling, Tavares’ Ben Lowe rolled a 258 on Thursday to lead the Bulldogs to a 3-0 win against Umatilla. Lowe also had a 232 game against Eustis on Sept. 15.

Also in bowling, Leesburg’s Jarred Fincher rolled a 227 on Sept. 14 in a 3-2 win against South Lake.

Mount Dora girls bowler Jamie Janego rolled a 216 for the Hurricanes on Sept. 15 in a 3-2 win against The Villages.