Team Prospect Report: Blaine Bengals

Cover image from <a style="color: #ff0000; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://mnhshp.com">http://mnhshp.com</a>   Due to an electrical fire that caused a power outage shortly after the beginning of the second half, I was only able to watch one half of the Blaine Bengals' 6A quarterfinal victory over Eastview. The game started on Thursday night and concluded in another location on Friday afternoon. I was not able to attend the Friday afternoon conclusion it was apparent the game was going Blaine's way. In the snow, the first half ended with the Bengals leading 14-2. The defense was outstanding in the first half, and it appeared the offense was beginning to solve the Eastview defense and the weather. Blaine would go on to defeat the Lightning 42-14 and advance to the 6A semi-finals. Defensive end Lucas Becker tracked down a run on the outside for a loss of yardage. On the same series of downs, he came down the line of scrimmage to make a tackle on the inside. The stop on third down resulted in an Eastview punt. The Lightning offense had no answers for Becker in the first half as he made his third tackle of the first quarter. On third and nine he was able to unleash his pass rushing abilities and sacked the quarterback forcing yet another punt. Hakeem Sidibe was also tough to handle in the Bengals' front seven. The defensive end opposite Becker, he got off a block and made a tackle on the inside for a short gain. Later he put pressure on the quarterback and forced an early throw. Zach Shaffer showed good speed to the outside to stop a sweep. He squared up and made a solo tackle preventing the running back from getting around the corner. Defensive back Brennen Koste ripped the ball out of an Eastview runners' hands allowing fellow defensive back Hunter Hake to recover the fumble for the Bengals. Safety Hake made a big hit on a receiver allowing a catch but no more. It took a great effort by the receiver to hold onto the ball with the hit coming just after the ball got to the receiver. He would lead the team with thirteen total tackles. Justin Sandberg made a nice tackle on a run and ended the game with eleven other tackles for the game. DJ Gurley had tight coverage down the field. Eastview tried a deep ball down the sidelines, but Gurley was able to knock down the pass. Like the entire offense, quarterback Jack Haring took some time to get used to the elements. As soon as he did, he showed the skills of a top-tier quarterback. He connected on an out pattern to Josh Schlangen to pick up a first down. On a third and 8, Haring picked up another first down with a ball to Peyton Downey for fifteen yards. Haring is not just a pocket passer. Rolling to his right, he completed a pass into the flat to Brandon Wittig to pick up a first down. Despite the conditions, Haring threw a nice deep ball. They were not able to hit on any of them in the first half, but his ball didn't seem to be affected by the snow or wind. He finally hit a long ball on a post pattern to Derek Heldman. The ball was right on the numbers of his receiver and picked up 25 yards. Right before the power outage, Haring threw another great ball down the middle of the field. The pass was right on the money. If not for a great play by the defensive back, the ball might have been caught. Haring occasionally lines up at wide receiver. I don't think there were many packages where he was going to have the ball thrown to him, but the Bengals used a Wildcat-style formation extensively. At quarterback in the Wildcat formations was running back Will Frederickson. Frederickson showed good patience with a run up the middle. He is a taller back but has good feet and was able to make short little cuts despite the snowy conditions. The offense found something they liked with Frederickson running between the tackles. He got around the corner again right before the half – helping to set up the games' second touchdown. Tackle Tyler Strand made the run happen with a good seal block on the outside. The same type of play behind Strand would result in a touchdown run for Frederickson. It gave the Bengals a 14-2 lead right before the end of the first half. Guard McGuire Enlow was one of the interior linemen the Bengals relied on during their first touchdown drive. He powered his man out of the hole on an interior run by Frederickson for eight yards. On the other side of center Alex Byers, Dylan Brouillard was doing much the same thing to the Lightning defensive front. The drive concluded with a three-yard touchdown run by Frederickson right behind the three interior linemen. Tyler Byers and Hunter Erickson are the bookend tackles that kept Haring clean in the pocket and created some short corners for the option game and outside running game. With the success they had running the ball up the middle and the blocking of the tackles – the Bengals moved the ball consistently on the ground. Also crucial in the running game was Da'Mari Porter. He usually lined up as a wing back or tight end type of position. He made some nice blocks on the edge to help the outside running game. Blaine's special teams also looked good. Jason Kaul uncorked a 55-yard punt and Ben Greenberg – in the snow - was six for six on extra points. Next Blaine will play Eden Prairie on Thursday night for the right to go to the Prep Bowl.