Friday Afternoon Lights: South vs. Roosevelt Recap
There was a lot of excitement surrounding the 3-0 start of the Minneapolis South Tigers in the Twin City Gold subdistrict, as the Tigers have shown resolve and grit in the their first three victories, culminating in a thrilling 20-18 OT victory against Edison last Friday. With a tantalizing 4-0 beginning of the season within reach, the Tigers welcomed Minneapolis rival Roosevelt to their home turf for a Friday afternoon matchup that was filled with hard hits and big plays. The visiting Teddies came with some intensity and energy, and also had something to say about South’s hot start. Scroll below to find out what happened in this South Minneapolis edition of Friday Afternoon Lights.
Both teams wobbled trying to find their footing in the beginning of the first quarter, and traded offensive possessions while feeling the other teams defense out. The teams were fired up though, and echoes of trash talk and pads crackling filled the air from the jump. Despite the slowish start, things got going quickly. With spotty punting, Roosevelt ended up on a short field that they took advantage of, as standout senior QB August Butler led a balanced offensive attack to march down the field and inside the 10 of South. The Tigers defense dug their heels in though, and made three straight impressive gang tackles - led by 2022 LB Sergio Altamirano and the POTG RB/DE Demetrius Seay - to force a 4th and goal from the 2. The ball was somehow fumbled forward, and Butler fell on it in the endzone for the first points of the game. Butler then hit WR Isaiah Hollimon for one of their eventual four 2pt conversions, and the Teddies were up 8-0 with 6 minutes left in the first. On the following drive Hollimon picked off the attempted Tiger deep ball, and Roosevelt once again found themselves with the ball, this time at their own 27. The Teddies then opened the game up with the play of the game, as Butler threw a beautiful fade route to Taylor Jackson, who made a great catch and slipped through the DBs tackle attempt for a big-time play and a quick 16-0 lead. South and their sideline got somewhat deflated after this, and despite some tough running from Seay on the following offensive possession, Roosevelt again found themselves with the ball as the first quarter expired. END OF ONE: Roosevelt 16, South 0
The second quarter was a battle on both sides. South’s defense was well-coached and played really tough team D on short fields all game, and they made a lot of great plays in the second quarter. LB Adam Kelbrants made multiple impressive TFLs to put Roosevelt behind in the chains, and Seay pitched in with a bone-shaking sack for one of the hardest hits of the game. Seay also was running like a madman when South had the ball, and it was really fun to watch him grind against Roosevelt defenders such as Oliver Mueller, Kevin Jones, & Hollimon. It was awesome high school ball to watch, and the scoring resumed on basically the last drive of the half, as Butler once again orchestrated a nicely balanced drive down the field, with running and throwing efficiently combined to keep the Tigers reeling. Butler ended up taking advantage of a sleeping CB to find
Dennis Holte
Dennis
Holte
6'2" | QB
Minneapolis Roosevelt | 2021
State
MN
in the corner of the endzone with 40 seconds left, and Hollimon added another 2pt conversion for a 24-0 Teddy lead. HALFTIME: Roosevelt 24, South 0
The third quarter was basically the Demetrius Seay show. I won’t focus on him too long, as Roosevelt also made some nice plays in the third quarter to hold their lead, but Seay was an offensive one man wrecking crew who was running with impressive vision, strong cuts, and was finishing his runs like a MAN. The dude was running behind his pads like a Mack Truck, and his natural lower body strength and nastiness as a ball-carrier combined to make him a load and a half to tackle. He took over the third quarter with strong and violent runs, shifty and speedy screens, and even went airborne and hurdled a Teddy DB - making me audibly gasp with delight. He’s got great size and ran with more power than anyone I’ve seen this season, and he really needs to be playing college football next year. He led the Tigers down the field, helped by great blocks from his OL, for South’s first score of the game, inciting excitement and energy from the South sideline and some life back into the attempted Tiger comeback. The third quarter ended with the score sitting at: Roosevelt 24, South 8
The Teddies were too much for the Tigers however, and squashed the comeback with their ever-pressing offensive attack and versatile and athletic playmakers. They found the endzone once again in the fourth as Butler kept the ball himself to put an exclamation point on another strong Teddy drive, putting the score at 32-8. Roosevelt also added a safety after an intentional grounding was called when South’s QB was in the endzone, and the score finished at 34-8 in favor of Roosevelt. Although the score was somewhat lopsided, it was a fun game to watch with exciting plays and players on each side.
