Team Prospect Report: Eastview Lightning

The pivotal sequence of the Eastview Lightning's opening round 6A playoff game against Robbinsdale Armstrong came late in the first half. Trailing 14-6, Armstrong was out of timeouts but had a first and goal at the one with less than a minute to play. On first down, Jack VandeBerg got underneath the Falcons' offensive line and stuffed a run up the middle on first and goal. On second down, Armstrong tried to pass, but PJ Swanson tracked down the quarterback for a ten-yard loss. Now forced to pass, Armstrong threw a fade into the corner of the end zone, but cornerback Derek Rauch knocked the ball harmlessly to the ground. The entire secondary had good coverage on fourth down, and the quarterback's throw was nowhere near an intended target. Although it was the biggest moment of the game, the Lightning had plenty of individual moments before and after the half ending goal-line stand to come away with their <a style="color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;" href="https://www.northstarfootballnews.com/2018/10/special-teams-and-defense-key-eastviews-soggy-victory/">21-12 victory</a>. Rauch's fingerprints were all over the Lightning's home victory. He started the game with a long kick return. At defensive back, he undercut a crossing route to knock down a pass. Rauch knocked the ball away on a throw to the sidelines. On a crossing route, it looked like he ran the route better than the receiver and picked off the pass. He got his hands on another ball on an outside route and nearly had a second interception. The senior was solid against the run as well. He helped stuff an option run by making a tackle on the pitch man. Before the goal line stand, Swanson pressured the passer and knocked down a pass. As a blocking back on the punt team, he took a direct snap, found a hole in the line and picked up 30 yards on a fake punt. He nearly joined Rauch with an interception as he undercut a route and almost came up with a pick. In the second half, VandeBerg and Swanson had textbook defense on the option. VandeBerg took the quarterback and made the tackle for a loss as Swanson covered the running back, giving the quarterback no viable pitch option. VandeBerg then filled the hole on an inside run for a short gain. When Armstrong tried to throw a screen pass, VandeBerg got underneath the blockers and made a tackle from behind for a short gain. Safety Kathan Decker closed on a sweep for a short gain. Then he came up strong on a running play to make a tackle for loss. Inside and out, Decker continued to make plays in the running game. He made a tackle on a run up the middle. He came up strong to make a tackle on a swing pass and then prevented a first down by tracking down a running back from behind on the outside. Corner Alan Youngberg had tight one on one coverage on the outside. In the second half, he was in tight one on one coverage again and then covered a deep crossing route well. He capped off his night by coming up with an interception. Sam Lewison filled the hole on the middle on a read option. Then he combined with VandeBerg to tackle the running back for a loss. Mikey Kamano got penetration and drew a holding call. Then he came up from the outside to make a tackle on the inside of the formation. He blitzed and forced a bad throw that Peter Pueschner was able to react to and bat the ball away. Kamano also made an impact on special teams. He would score the first points of the game when he recovered a blocked punt in the end zone. The blocked punt was set up by the punting of Connor Smith. His 36-yard punt was downed at the two. The kicking game was solid all night. Brian Zurich made three good open field moves on a 30-yard punt return. During another punt return, he caught the punt on the run and used his speed for a 25-yard return. Daniel Swedin, Kyle Le, Jack Lewison controlled the line of scrimmage, stopped the run and kept the linebackers clean, helping them roam free and make plays. On a 3rd and 2, Jack Lewison got penetration and dropped the back for a two-yard loss. Then he pressured the quarterback and forced the bad throw that Youngberg intercepted. Swedin stuffed a pair of inside runs from his nose tackle position. Then, he got down the line of scrimmage to stuff a quarterback draw. With a downpour almost the entire game, consistent offense was hard to generate for both teams. Running back Quintcy Suggs was the most successful Lightning offensive weapon. During a run off the right side, Josh Lesch nice trap block behind Carter McKenzie, Matt DeWitte and Joe Young for big yardage. On a later run, Suggs found space behind McKenzie and DeWitte. He ripped off a 30-yard run off the right and Ty'rell Jones. He runs with a low pad level and tough to bring down, but he showed he has quick feet too. A designed run to the outside should have been stuffed for no gain, but he cut it upfield and picked up ten yards. On a draw play off the right side, he showed his speed on a 42-yard touchdown behind Jones and Lesch. When it wasn't Suggs running the ball, it was Isaiah Misukanis. He broke multiple tackles on a fifteen-yard run. He took a handoff on a draw play in the middle and cut to the outside for a 17-yard touchdown. The senior showed his power on a clock-killing power run up the middle late in the game right behind Quinn Hoffman the center. Quarterback Erik Reimann was not asked to do much because of the conditions. He did a great job doing his most important job – protecting the ball. He did connect on a few passes, most notable was a quick pop pass to tight end Tate Machacek for ten-yards. Then Reimann hit a short in route to Zurich. Zurich was hit in stride and was able to cut upfield for 15 yards. The Lightning will travel to East Ridge Friday night in the round of sixteen.