High Five: St. Michael-Albertville vs. Shakopee

It was a great way to start the high school football season Friday night in Shakopee. St. Michael-Albertville trailed heading into the fourth quarter but rallied to take a two-score lead, only to have to hold on against a late Shakopee rally for a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2020/10/st-michael-albertville-hangs-on-to-win-opener/">29-26 victory</a>. There were some outstanding individual performances on both sides of the ball. Here are five guys I felt stood out. [player_tooltip player_id="18211" first="Jack" last="Drobinski"] QB St. Michael-Albertville Drobinski played an efficient game in his first career varsity start. In the first half, he looked comfortable in the pocket and effectively threw the short or intermediate routes. He usually got the ball out quickly to his receivers. He made his two best throws in the second half. Drobinski threw two bullets; the first was on a seam route that set up a score, and the second was a 19-yard touchdown that Drobinski threw into a tight window. Props must go to receiver Reynold Hamann here too. He was blasted by the defensive back just as he caught the ball, but he hung on for the touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="23686" first="David" last="Collins"] RB St. Michael-Albertville Collins can lower his pad level to get tough yards. In the first quarter, he turned a loss into a four-yard gain by continuing to move his feet, pushing the pile forward for positive yards. Collins – who rushed for 144 yards, also helped in the passing game – catching the one ball thrown to him. His greatest assist is his feet. His first touchdown run started to the left, but Collins saw a lane and cut against the grain to a five-yard touchdown. Especially in the second half, his cutback ability shredded the Sabers’ defense. <strong>Caleb Warren</strong> DL St. Michael-Albertville Both of STMA’s defensive ends had a tough job Friday night. Facing an option offense, the pressure that style of offense puts on defensive ends is real. Warren made several stops for short gains against the Shakopee option. He held the edge effectively and didn’t allow Shakopee quarterback David Bigaouette to either get the corner or cut inside of him often. He made two stops in a row late in the fourth quarter, forcing a crucial punt. [player_tooltip player_id="18030" first="Deven" last="Eastern"] DL Shakopee Eastern was easily the best player on the field; it was evident in the first half. He totally wrecked the offensive game plan for the Knights. The defensive coaches lined him up on the nose and both defensive end spots in the Sabers’ base 3-4 defense. If STMA tried to run at him, he would either make the tackle or eat up two blockers and force the runner to bounce outside. When they ran away from him, Eastern often ran down the play from behind to make the play or at least be a factor. At times, it looked like somebody shot him out of a cannon; he was in the backfield so quickly. <strong>David Bigaouette</strong> QB Shakopee Bigaouette was nearly perfect running the option during Shakopee’s game-opening, 93-yard, eight-minute scoring drive. He was more likely to keep the ball than pitch it or hand the ball to his fullback on the dive, but it worked in the first quarter. Bigaouette showed he was not just an option quarterback. In the second half, his passing was one of the keys to keeping the Sabers in the game and almost completed a fourth quarter comeback. He finished the game completing seven out of nine passes with two touchdowns to go with his 115 yards rushing.