The section 5AAAAA matchup between Irondale and Spring Lake Park featured some exciting and flashy offensive performances that deserved some individual recognition in the form of Northstar’s presentation of the Top Offensive Performances of this section semifinal contest.
-The offensive line of Spring Lake Park may be the #1 performance of anyone on the offensive side of the ball for either team. Consisting of #50 Eric Amundson (6’2, 200), #56 Max Horn (6’2, 270), #62 Marvin Lamin (6’3, 250), #64 Xavier Crooms (5’11, 280), and #68 Jacob Ward (6’, 220) with the addition of TE hammer Trey Toner Trey Toner 6'5" | TE Spring Lake Park | 2020 State MN (6’5, 235) were tenacious and aggressive at the point of attack all day long for the Panthers. Over matching the defensive front-7 of Irondale couldn’t have been easy, as their DL and LB’s were not by any means small, but the OL of SLP just continued to grind and work together to open huge holes for the triple option rushing attack for the entire four quarters. The smell of pancakes remained in the air all afternoon.
–Brian Orellana was running the football with an aggressiveness not often seen in a back who stands 5’10 and 170 lbs. After scoring the first TD of the game on a 34-yard dash to the end zone, the back played a pivotal role in opening up holes for his QB Dunbar and always finished his runs in impressive style as multiple Irondale defenders found themselves getting ran over out of bounds trying to tackle the RB. He finished with 10 runs for 85 yards and was key in aiding Dunbar to his 176 yards on the day.
-Despite not posting any points in the game, the Irondale duo of 2021 QB Griffin Bourassa (6’, 191) and 2021 WR Gabe Kasper (6’3, 189) had chemistry and production all game. Bourassa has a good arm with great accuracy, and Kasper has a knack for creating separation and making contested catches both in the air and over the middle. They were fun to watch and I believe will be an even more dangerous tandem next season and one that class 5A should watch out for. They should both be playing college football somewhere on Saturday’s.
