Kane Archer has put together one of the best seasons of any individual player in Arkansas prep football history, still with a state championship game left to go, and has been named the 2024-25 Gatroade Arkansas Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-1 junior gunslinger has led Greenwood to a perfect 12-0 record, while the Bulldogs have also won a state-leading 25 consecutive games dating back to the beginning of the 2023 season.
Archer has put up true video game numbers, completing 82% of his passes for 3,559 yards with 54 touchdowns (he has only 49 incompletions) to only 1 interception. Archer also leads Greenwood on the ground with 664 yards along with 6 touchdowns on 63 carries.
“His decisiveness, accuracy and mobility are off the charts,” Fort Smith Southside head coach Kim Dameron said of Archer in the press release. “The thing that makes him the most dangerous is what he can do when the play breaks down. Not only with his feet, but also with his ability to deliver the ball accurately with different arm angles.”
Previous winners of the Gatorade Arkansas Player of the Year include Fayetteville’s Drake Lindsey (2023-24), Shiloh Christian’s Eli Wisdom (2022-23), Pulaski Academy’s Joe Himon (2021-22) and Bryant’s Austin Ledbetter (2020-21).
Along with his success on the field, Archer maintains a 3.4 GPA and has volunteered for the Special Olympics as well as other events around his community.
More about the Gatorade Player of the Year Award:
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Archer as Arkansas’ best high school football player, and he joins an impressive group of alumni that spans CEOs, coaches and star athletes such as Emmitt Smith (1986-87, Escambia High School, Fl.), Peyton Manning (1993-94, Isidore Newman School, La.) and DJ Lagway (2023-24, Willis High School, Texas).
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states across 12 different high school sports – football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field – and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations. To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, check out past winners or to nominate student – athletes, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com or follow us on social media on Instagram at instagram.com/Gatorade, Facebook at facebook.com/GatoradePOY and X (Twitter) at x.com/Gatorade.
Cover photo by Arkansas PBS
Kyle Sutherland is a journalist and podcast host (Arkansas Preps Weekly) for The Natural State Sports Network. His written work has been featured in outlets including the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Best of Arkansas Sports and Hooten’s Arkansas Football. He is also the color commentator for 103.7 The Buzz’s high school football Game of the Week. Email Kyle at kyle@naturalstatesports.com.