Impact Players To Watch: Week 3 Indiana

This weekend is sure to be packed with excitement, passion, and surprises.  Let’s dissect some of this weeks most important matchups, and highlight four impact players for week 3. <ul> <li>OL [player_tooltip player_id="38913" first="Justin" last="Pickett"]- Carmel</li> </ul> The battle in the trenches could very well dictate the winner in this re-match of last years State Championship game.  With two national recruits, and other D1 prospects on the Center Grove DL, it is no secret that the Carmel OL will have their hands full from the opening whistle. Carmel must rely on their Sr leader, [player_tooltip player_id="38913" first="Justin" last="Pickett"], to try and set the tone at the line of scrimmage.  Pickett has the size and athleticism to hold up in this matchup, but he must come out playing a physical brand of football in order to get a jump on the Center Grove DL early.  With the ability to play OG or OT, it will be interesting to see how Carmel lines him up to give their offense the best matchups possible.  If Pickett and the rest of the Carmel OL can hold up against the pass rush, and create big enough holes to get a couple explosive running plays, they will give themselves a great chance in this matchup. <ul> <li>RB/DE Jamarius Evans- Yorktown</li> </ul> Jamarius is coming into this game off back to back 100+ yard / 3 TD games.  In order for Yorktown to get their first win over New Pal in years, they are going to need another standout performance from him week 3.  Evans will play a roll on both sides of the ball, as he is a disruptive pass rusher, good against the run, and has the ability to cause turnovers. That being said, it his offensive performance that will be relied on here. Both teams like to play old school, physical, grind it out, football. The team that can control the clock, and make the fewest amount of mistakes, will have the advantage in this matchup... This is why Jamarius’ role is so important in this game.  Listed at 6’5" 220 on his Hudl, he is a physical runner with the size to wear down an opposing defense.  It is important for Yorktown to stay ahead of the chains in this matchup, so it will be important for Evans to pick up chunks of yardage on the early downs, and keep his team out of obvious passing situations. The ability to do that, while breaking off an occasional explosive play, could give Yorktown a chance to walk out with a long awaited victory. <ul> <li>DB [player_tooltip player_id="38968" first="Terez" last="Reid"]- Warren Central</li> </ul> North Central brings in a high flying offense that has averaged 38 points per game after two weeks. They have a number of weapons on offense that Warren Central will need to slow, but Sr WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id="38905" first="Theran" last="Johnson"], is the playmaker that makes the show run for North Central.  This is why [player_tooltip player_id="38968" first="Terez" last="Reid"] of Warren Central is so important in this game.  Reid is a talented cover man, strong open field tackler, and should be up to the challenge of trying to stop Johnson.  He is a versatile player that can lineup at safety or corner, so it will be interesting to see how he is utilized this week.  Whether he is preventing the home run play from the safety position, or getting in Johnson’s face while playing man to man coverage, his ability to do both of those could determine the outcome of this game.  The matchup between a talented WR and DB is one of my favorite things to watch in a football game, and this is about as exciting of a matchup that we could see this week. <ul> <li>QB Brennan Stow- Lapel</li> </ul> The game between Lapel and North Decatur is a classic matchup of high flying offense against an extremely stout defense.  Coming into this game, Lapel is averaging 45 points per game, and the North Central defense is only giving up 7.5 points per game.  Something has to give this week! For Lapel to keep scoring points like they have, it is going to come down the the play of their Jr signal caller, Brennan Stow.  Listed at 6’3" 205, Stow has the prototypical size for a college prospect, and he has a big arm to match.  He comes into this game having thrown for 491 yards/7 TD’s, while completing passes to six different receivers on the year.  The North Decatur defense has few holes, so it is going to be key for Stow to continue distributing the ball the way he has, in order to keep North Decatur guessing.  If Stow and the Lapel offense can limit their mistakes, take what the defense gives them, and make a couple of big plays... They will have a chance to beat North Decatur for the second year in a row after handing them their only regular season loss last season.