Conference Clear Ups: Twin City-Red

The Twin City-Red conference was arguably the toughest subdistrict in the Twin Cities last season. With 2A state semifinalist Minneapolis North dominating the conference while holding off eventual 7-2 Breck, led by Colorado State basketball commit and Minnesota Mr. Football Finalist David Roddy, as well as 4A state entrant St. Anthony Village; Twin City-Red featured some of the most exciting teams and players in the Twin Cities. For the third installment of "Conference Clear Ups" we will examine the Red conference and see how the seven members: Minneapolis North, Breck, St. Anthony Village, Columbia Heights, Minneapolis South, St. Paul Como Park, and St. Paul Harding are looking going into the 2019 season. North: Improving upon a season in which your team went 11-1 and made the state semifinals is no easy task, but if there's anyone who can do it, it's the Polars. Despite graduating MN All-Star Game selection and University of Northern Iowa commit Omar Brown, as well as University of Mary commit Keyhan Porter, the Polars are still stacked. Class of 2021 QB Zach Yeager (6'1, 190), is one of the best QB prospects coming out of Minneapolis since D3 All-West Region Honoree for Augsburg University Ayrton Scott. He is joined by RB Terrance Kamara (5'9, 170) and ATH Dominic Mcmillian (6'3, 206), who are two athletes that will make themselves known in the Red conference this year. They are my pick to win the Red subdistrict in 2019. Breck: It's going to be tough for the Mustangs to replace their stud QB that threw for almost 1800 yards, 21 touchdowns, and ran in another six. The 6'5 and 250 lb Roddy is probably crashing backboards in Fort Collins as I write this, and if Breck has any hope to replicate their 7-2 effort in 2018, they will need senior ATH and last seasons conference tackling leader Alex McKenna (5'11, 215) to ball out in a big way. [caption id="attachment_8837" align="aligncenter" width="217"] Credit: David Roddy @droddy22[/caption] St. Anthony: The Huskies have a great opportunity to overtake Breck as the conferences perennial contender this year. After losing only 19-13 to the Mustangs last year before finishing 6-2 in the regular season before getting hot during sections, St. Anthony returns some girth on the O-line, with SO Jack Hagen (6'0, 250), SR Jackson Mack (6'0, 305), and SO Patrick Lavin (6'1, 265) protecting the trenches, the conferences receiving leader from 2018 SR Troy Ellison (5'10, 170) could have an even bigger year. Look for St. Anthony to have a good season in the conference. Columbia Heights: A strong senior class helped the Hylanders to a respectable 5-3 regular season record in 2018. The conferences leading rusher Antonio Triplett (5'11, 200) has graduated after posting 1159 yards in his senior campaign, meaning a lot of production is going to have to be replaced for the Hylanders to match or build on last seasons record. They will be anchored by a strong defense however, as senior linebackers J'Mar Fowler (5'10, 195) and Isaac Becker (6'3, 200) both show the size and athleticism to play college football. If someone can score some points for Columbia Heights, they should be competitive. South: After going 3-5 in the regular season, the Tigers will be looking to replace senior do-it-all athlete Josiah Lossow, who led South in both passing and tackles. They do however, have an upperclassmen heavy team with size on their OL and experienced playmakers at WR. Players such as OT Tom Isebrand (6'4, 265) and RB Malik Moton (5'5, 145) will have to both produce and lead in order for the Tigers to improve upon their 2018 results. [caption id="attachment_3995" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Minneapolis North Polars v Minneapolis South Tigers Football at South on 31 August 2017[/caption] Como Park: Junior QB Stone Frasl (5'8, 150) will need to have a big season if Como wants to build on their 2-6 effort last year. Frasl's class shows some good potential, as both Jahrese Brandon (6'3, 160) and RB Elvin North Jr. (5'11, 185) are experienced and show the ability to take on more opportunities as upperclassmen. Harding: The Knights have a senior heavy team this year, giving them plenty of opportunity to build on their 2018 season. With good size on both the offensive and defensive lines featuring seniors Godwin Kardor (6'0, 225), Max Chavez (6'4, 350), and Destiny Azonwu (6'0, 209), Harding is looking to hopefully get a couple wins under their belt in 2019.