Game Balls: Week 3

Each week after watching the film and going through the stats, we would like to recognize standouts and award “Game Balls” for their performance.  Here is a group of players, and one unit, that earned the PrepRedzone IN Game Balls for week 3… <ul> <li>TE/WR [player_tooltip player_id="38918" first="Landon" last="Morris"]- Fishers</li> </ul> Landon’s 6 catches for 171 yards and 1 TD is an impressive stat line, but the real reason he is on this list is because of what you see when you turn on the film.  This was a complete performance by one of the states best.  Morris, who is known more for his size, proved that he is much more than just a big body and red zone target.  Landon showed the speed to stretch the field, the hands to make the tough catch, the ability to run every level of route, and proved that he can be a big time blocker in the run game as well.  I had a chance to see Landon play a few times last season when he was at Nazareth Academy (IL), and this is definitely the most complete performance that I have seen from him over the past two seasons.  Syracuse has to be excited when they turn on the film, because they are getting one of the best big WR’s in the midwest, and he also has the ability to play TE at the next level.  His ability to line up at multiple spots on the offense will create a ton of mismatches in college. <ul> <li>QB/ATH Carter Giacone- Speedway</li> </ul> It only takes a quick glance at the stat sheet to see the type of game Carter had on Friday, but the most impressive thing to me was the way he put his team on his back and willed Speedway to a 4th quarter victory.  He was 14/21 passing for 187 yards and 5 TD’s, and ran for 6 yards and a TD on the ground.  The Touchdown numbers are obviously impressive when looking at the game stats, but what the stats don’t tell you, is that Speedway went into the 4th quarter trailing 34-37.  Giacone completed two TD passes to Donivan Benninger in the final quarter to seal a come from behind victory. This was a clutch performance, and shows you how much the Sr QB wants the ball in his hands when the game is on the line.  When you turn on the film, you see a heck of an athlete that is capable of beating you with both his arm and feet.  I believe that he is capable of playing QB in the right offense in college, but I have no doubt that he can be a heck of a player at a number of positions at the next level as well. <ul> <li>QB/ATH J’uan Swanson- Ben Davis</li> </ul> Behind the incredible play of Swanson, Ben Davis was able to get a much needed win over Pike on Friday.  While throwing for 341 yards / 3 TD’s, and rushing for 38 yards and another 3 TD’s, the Jr QB was phenomenal with both his arm and legs on the evening.  Even more than the big yardage and TD statistics, Swanson was extremely efficient and made very few mistakes on the night.  He completed 74% of his passes, threw zero interceptions, and also completed a 97 yard TD pass.  This will not be the last time you hear of a performance like this out of Swanson, as he is a D1 prospect with the size and athleticism to play a number of different positions at the college level.  That being said, if he continues to put up passing numbers like he did on Friday, I have a feeling that a lot of D1 QB coaches will be looking to potentially offer him in the coming months. <ul> <li>Larry Campbell- North Central</li> </ul> There are a number of factors that I consider when awarding game balls.  One of the biggest things I like to recognize is high impact/game changing plays.  There were many strong performances on the North Central defense during their shutout win over Warren Central, but Campbell’s 2nd quarter interception takes the cake.  With the game tied at 0, he did a great job of reading the QB’s eyes, intercepting the pass, and bringing it all of the way back inside the opponents 5 yard line.  This directly led to North Central’s only TD of the night, and proved to be the only points they would have needed to come out on top.  Along with his game changing INT, Campbell also had 8 tackles and a PBU. When you turn on the film, you see an instinctive defender, that is good in coverage, equally good against the run, plays with a high motor, and a player that will make a WR pay when going over the middle.  Continued performances like this will be sure to catch the eye of college coaches as the season moves on. <ul> <li>Center Grove Defense</li> </ul> With D1 players at every level on the defense, it is no surprise that Center Grove has been great on that side of the ball this season.  The only surprising part may be how dominant they actually have been  In a rematch of last years state champion game that saw Carmel win 20-17, Center Grove came out with their hair on fire and something to prove.  Not only did they shut Carmel out, they held them to 143 total yards, and zero first downs in the second half.  This performance comes fresh off their shutout of Warren Central in which they held them to 58 total yards.  We have seen Center Grove give up a total of 14 points through three games, and they aren’t just doing it against any teams, they are doing it against some of the top competition in the state.  This may be one of the more dominant defenses that I have seen in the midwest over the past few years, and if Center Grove can continue playing like this, they are sure to have a season to remember. &nbsp;