With sports seasons now being defined by the grind of September, Gulf Coast Media’s next Athlete of the Week poll is currently live on our website.

Four athletes from Baldwin County will be included in the voting each week, which will open at noon on Mondays and close at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Individuals can only vote for their chosen athlete once, with the winner being announced on GCM’s website and social media pages soon after polling concludes.

This week, we have three standouts from the gridiron and a cross-country prodigy making up the list of candidates, with two of them notably being underclassmen.

Bayside Academy’s Davis Barnett has jumped out to a stellar start to his junior season, which is best represented by the fact that he’s thrown more touchdowns (13) than incompletions (12) through three games.

The veteran signal-caller completed 19-of-22 passes for 236 yards and five touchdowns during his team’s 55-6 win over St. Luke’s on Friday, as he again looked poised and confident while commanding Barrett Trotter’s offense.

“We started out slow and had a lot of penalties tonight, but we just have a lot of guys that have the ability to go score,” Barnett said of his performance. “So I just trust those guys, and my line gives me so much time.”

And to add on, Barnett has done all of this while not having thrown a single interception yet this season.

Meanwhile, St. Michael’s Emily Friedel is a well-documented phenom on the cross-country trail, and she stole the show again this past weekend.

The sophomore placed first in the girls 5K at the Fairhope Pirate Invite on Saturday, as she finished with a time of 19:52:33. The mark was just over a minute faster than the second-place runner, and Friedel’s team earned sixth place out of 11 teams overall.

Elsewhere, Fairhope’s Gus Faulkner continued to be a force for the Pirates defensively, as he racked up a team-high 16 total tackles and even forced a fumble during his team’s 24-14 win over Mary Montgomery on Friday.

A Tulane commit, Faulkner is a leader for the Fairhope defense and currently ranks 9th in the state in total tackles with 50.

And lastly, Spanish Fort’s Ford Turner is becoming a dynamic threat for the Toros offense, and he put his skills on full display during the team’s 28-0 win over Baldwin County.

The speedy sophomore carried the ball a whopping 20 times for 92 yards while also hauling in a pair of passes for 31 yards. On the year, Turner averages 6.2 yards per carry, meaning he picks up a first down every two touches.

Vote at the link below to support your favorite local athlete, and be sure to share the poll with family and friends!