Game Balls: Week 4

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 that earned the PrepRedzone IN Game Balls for week 4… <ul> <li>QB Gehrig Slunaker, Mount Vernon</li> </ul> For the first time this season, we are awarding a game ball to a player that was also featured in our "Impact Players to Watch" for the week. That gets me excited because we knew what Slunaker had to do in order for Mount Vernon to end New Palestine’s 65 game regular season winning streak, and he did all of that and more.  He was 20/30 for 272 yards and 3 TD’s through the air.  He also chipped in another 31 yards and a TD on the ground.  There may have been bigger stats at the QB position this week, but it can be argued that no individual player in the state led their team to a bigger win during week 4.  One thing that really stands out about this performance is the way Slunaker and his teammates were able to overcome adversity when New Pal returned the opening kickoff for a TD.  It would have been easy to panic, but instead, Mount Vernon took their opening drive right down the field. The drive was capped it with a 22 yard pass from Slunaker to [player_tooltip player_id="20277" first="Tanner" last="Koziol"] to tie up the score.  It was no turning back from there, as Mount Vernon never trailed again in the game.  There are a number of players that could have received this honor for Mount Vernon, but the clutch performance by their Jr QB takes the cake for me. <ul> <li>RB Thomas Hogan, Lafayette Jefferson</li> </ul> This game ball comes with a special shoutout to the Lafayette Jefferson OL, because you don't run for over 400 yards without great play up front. Hogan carried the ball 32 times for 479 yards and 9 TD’s during their 76-55 victory on Friday.  I could go on and on about the stats because they are certainly uncommon, but at the same time I feel like they speak for themselves.  In my eight years of covering the midwest, this definitely goes down as one of the best single game performances that I have come across.  The explosive Sr ATH has a great burst, will make you miss in space, shows impressive cutting ability, and is a flat out playmaker.  When you throw in the fact that he has verified track times and the speed to go the distance... you see how impressive of a prospect he can be.  Hogan doesn't have a big list of offers right now, but the stats/film from this game will make its way to many college coaches in the coming days.  Once that happens, I expect his recruiting to pick up! <ul> <li>RB [player_tooltip player_id="39066" first="Caleb" last="Marcus"], Brownsburg</li> </ul> When you are an underclassmen on a team of talented upperclassmen, it is often hard to come across enough touches to put up big numbers. But, Caleb did just that during Friday’s 47-29 win over Avon.  In a game that featured a number of D1 commitments, it was the sophomore running back that stole the show with 21 carries for 223 yards and 3 TD’s.  I am a big fan of Caleb as a prospect, and this is the breakout game that I have been waiting for.  This is a young player with a tremendous all-purpose skill-set and the speed to hit the home run.  When you turn on the film, his 57 yard touchdown is the play that does a great job of displaying his skill-set, and is one that is sure to get college coaches talking.  He broke a tackle in the backfield, avoided another defender right after, and outran the rest of the defenders while taking it to the house.  Caleb is a D1 prospect all day, and is a player that you will be hearing plenty about in the coming years. <ul> <li>QB Nathan McCahill, Cathedral</li> </ul> Cathedral is rolling behind some incredible performances by McCahill this season.  He could have easily been awarded game balls for his play in the past weeks, so it was only a matter of time until he made this list.  In Cathedral’s win over Brebeuf, McCahill was 26/39 for 359 yards and 2 TD’s with no interceptions.  He also chipped in with 48 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground.  It has been fun following Nathan this season because he has gone from role player as a Jr, to a bonafide star as a Sr.  The stats and winning are obviously impressive, but his accuracy and lack of mistakes are two aspects of his game that stick out to me.  It typically takes a handful of games for a first year QB to get in sync with his WR’s, and to get comfortable reading coverages in order to minimize mistakes, but McCahill has been doing that since week 1.  He has completed at least 66% of his passes in every game and has only thrown 2 INT’s in 116 attempts.  When you look at him as a prospect, he checks a lot of the boxes that college coaches look for in a young QB... Winner, above average completion %, leader, field vision, and capable of making plays with both his arm and feet.  I also like that he could potentially slot at a few different positions in college...That only increases his value. &nbsp; &nbsp;