Football season in review: Nos. 5-1 of the top 10 individual performances

This is the fourth in a series reviewing the 2015 football season. Coming Saturday: A look back at how the preseason Dandy Dozen performed in this year.

On Thursday, we looked at Nos. 10-6 of the top 10 individual performances of the year. Today, we are reviewing the top 5.

From playoff implications to elite head-to-head matchups to one of the best games you'll ever see in high school football, here are the best of the best for 2015.

5. Kalan Watts, Northside vs. Columbus, Oct. 23

Watts had other games with better rushing totals, but his ability to come up big in big situations against Columbus -- a crucial game that could change the fates of both teams' seasons -- is what made this game so impressive.

He rushed 28 times for 114 yards and a touchdown. The totals are good, but not fantastic. But his 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown is what separates this performance.

Fourteen seconds after Northside relinquished the lead for the first time all game, Watts was back in the end zone after racing 98 yards on a kickoff return. Northside hung on for a 24-17 win and went on to earn the No. 2 seed in Region 1-5A.

4. Quan Weaver, Central vs. Auburn, Sept. 4

This is another game where the numbers aren't going to jump off the page, but when you dig into the situation, the performance becomes much more impressive.

Weaver completed 7 of 12 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, and he rushed 14 times for 68 yards and an overtime touchdown that clinched a 27-24 win on the road.

The best part of Weaver's game was that he was making his first start at quarterback for Central after moving from wide receiver to replace injured junior quarterback Zion Webb.

Weaver showed an impressive ability to pass the ball and elite athleticism in the run game, helping the Central offense to come to life.

As it turned out, the game decided the region race, as Auburn finished 4-2 in region play and Central 5-1.

3. Essang Bassey, Columbus vs. Marion County, Sept. 17

Sports writers and football fans live for a matchup like the one this game offered: elite cornerbacks against elite wide receivers.

This one was Bassey versus Marion County do-it-all senior Lorenzo Smothers, who may end the season as the state's best player in Class A.

In this game, though, Bassey, a Wake Forest commit, showed why he should be considered one of the best athletes around as well.

Bassey limited Smothers to just 26 yards of total offense and returned a Marion County fumble 30 yards for a touchdown. Columbus went on to win the game 21-14 to improve to 4-0, its first 4-0 start since the 1974 season.

2. Lorenzo Smothers, Marion County vs. Taylor County, Oct. 30

Don't let that game fool you, though. Smothers is absolutely one of the best athletes in Georgia. He proved it with a five-touchdown performance in a 54-12 win over Taylor County.

Smothers ran for three touchdowns, caught one score and returned a punt 75 yards for another. In all, he rushed for 170 yards on nine carries.

Smothers has done it all in high school, rising to among the state's all-time leaders in total touchdowns and leading his team to a state championship as a sophomore. He even passed for a touchdown in one game in 2015.

His season was cut short in the playoffs by an injury, but he will undoubtedly be playing on Saturday's for a very lucky team next season.

1. Jawon Pass, Carver vs. LaGrange, Oct. 10

Let's set the scene first. Carver travels to LaGrange for a region game, and gets absolutely hammered to begin the contest. It is 28-0 in the second quarter, and the Grangers are showing no signs of letting up.

But then Pass' offense starts to chip away. It scores a touchdown on a 17-yard pass to make it 28-7. After a defensive touchdown to make it 28-14, Pass leads the Carver offense down the field before the half and breaks off a 39-yard touchdown run to make it 28-21 by intermission.

Pass hits Gerald Reid on a 46-yard score to tie the game early in the third, runs in a touchdown and two-point conversion to give the Tigers a 36-35 lead, tosses a 63-yard touchdown to make it 43-42, and, with 2:52 remaining, throws a 12-yard touchdown pass and runs in a two-point conversion to make it a 51-50 win.

In all, Pass finished 15-of-28 for 292 yards and four touchdowns passing, and 119 yards and two touchdowns rushing, plus two successful two-point conversion tries.

It was Pass' best high school performance and undoubtedly the best individual performances of the 2015 season.

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Football season in review: Nos. 5-1 of the top 10 individual performances ."