Xavier vs. West DePere Players of the Game

Last night’s entertaining clash between West DePere vs. Xavier proved to be a fun to watch combination of tough ground-and-pound rushing attacks, game-changing plays through the air, and strong tackles and big collisions defensively. Between the two teams some expected and unexpected prospects balled out and had themselves a great ball game, and PrepRedzoneWI is hyped to present our West DePere vs. Xavier offensive and defensive players of the game. Check out who won below and get a little synopsis of their performance. Thanks for reading! Player of the Game: [player_tooltip player_id="30939" first="David" last="Vanderlogt"] (West DePere) RB. 5’10, 170 lbs. Rushed for 157 yards and a TD. Vanderlogt showed a deep skill-set in his performance last night, as he ran through people, ran around them, caught the ball out of the backfield, blocked, and always seemed to have gained positive yardage on even his smaller runs. His vision was lower-body strength were particularly impressive, and he used both to pop off some really exciting and spectacular runs throughout the game. His stat-line should be even better too, as his most impressive TD run of the night was called back due to holding. He really turned the tide of the ball game in favor of the Phantoms with the first big play of the game, a wheel route out of the backfield that went 80+ yards down to the six yard line of Xavier to set up the first score of the game in the first quarter. For the 170 pounds he ran really hard, and slipped through multiple tackle attempts seemingly every offensive drive. He’s a good one. [embed]https://twitter.com/ChancellorTV/status/1319847155201355777?s=20[/embed] Offensive Players of the Game [player_tooltip player_id="30775" first="Josh" last="Blount"] (West DePere) QB. Threw for 133 yards and two TDs and rushed for 62 yards. The Illinois State baseball commit was an efficient duel-threat QB last night whose arm strength and obvious athleticism was hard to ignore. He threw the ball and on the money, and was capable of throwing deep comebacks and fades with precision, as well as shorter routes such as slants. The throwing TDs he recorded were things of beauty, as he hit the WRs right in stride and put them in a great position to score after the catch. He was also mobile in the pocket and capable of extending plays, and was deceptively shifty when toting the rock. He’s a great looking QB prospect and I wish he was playing football in college. Aaron Wagner (West DePere) WR. Caught 4 passes for 116 yards and a TD. Wagner was a burner and every catch he made last night was for a big gain. His TD catch was on a bomb thrown by Blount, and Wagner put in the work prior to the throw, as he was more than a few steps ahead of the DB. His speed definitely stood out. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2EUGmu">vs. Xavier</a> [player_tooltip player_id="30743" first="Mac" last="Strand"] (Xavier) RB. 6’2.5, 220 lbs. For most of the game Strand was the Xavier Hawks most productive offensive weapon, and busted out multiple 10+ yard gains in the first and second halves. It was a joy watching him run the ball, as he’s a large human being who runs like his size would suggest. He was a load and a half to bring down, and ran with a low pad level and constant knee drive, which made for some electric second effort driving of the pile with multiple defenders draped all over him. Defensive Players of the Game [player_tooltip player_id="31184" first="Sam" last="Loken"] (Xavier) LB. 5’9, 190 lbs. Loken had the best defensive effort on either team last night, and from start to finish was all over the field. A strong tackler who can read and react quickly, he made multiple TFLs in the backfield and could go sideline to sideline in pursuit if needed. He’s a tough kid too, and made a ton of solo tackles halting the rushing efforts of West DePere’s ball-carriers. He also made the play of the game for Xavier, one that almost ignited their comeback, as he picked off the Phantoms QB in the third quarter on a beautiful read that saw him step in-front of a little screen attempt, giving the ball back to the Hawks offense. He’s an instinctual prospect and would make for an excellent WIAC recruit. [player_tooltip player_id="30743" first="Mac" last="Strand"] (Xavier) LB. 6’2.5, 220 lbs. Strand was a tackling machine for Xavier, and every time he hit someone the pads would boom through the livestream’s audio. There’s a reason he’s the #1 LB in Wisconsin, as he’s got great range and is very hard to block in run-support or pass-pro. He put all of that on display yesterday, and more. Justin Benoit (West DePere) DL. 6’, 230 lbs. Benoit was quick off of the ball and recorded some nice TFLs and QB pressures throughout the game. He really set the tone defensively for the Phantoms as well.