2020 Prep Bowl Picks: 9-Man

This series of stories will cover my picks for the best Prep Bowl matchup for Classes 9-man through 3A, solely based on those are the classes I have the most knowledge on, I will mention the "Players to Watch" from each team. I will not pick winners because we were lucky to get a season this year, and I would rather see teams play on the field than explain what the rankings and the simulations say. These picks will be a Top Three type setup since there are many teams in each class who never got their chance to compete at the State Tournament. These articles are written on my opinion based on my knowledge of teams and partially rankings, know they will not be gold to everyone. The first article will cover a very talented 9-Man field, which is mostly the reason why I decided to make a Top Three setup, here it is: <em>Hancock Owls</em> (7-0)- Hancock was Runner-up a season ago, they were making a strong statement to get back to the Prep Bowl and even win the big game this year given the opportunity. The Owls were averaging 50 points a game and giving up 9 points a game on defense. QB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="22930" first="Preston" last="Rohloff"]</strong> ran the offense to a T as a Junior, making good decisions and passes every time they threw the ball. He is very comfortable in the pocket with great presence, good footwork, and squeezes the ball through tight windows as well. RB- <strong>Isaac Nienhaus</strong> was a good power back out of the backfield, and a good target split out wide as well. He’s not flashy as a runner, he just puts his head down and runs hard and earns every yard. OL/LB- <strong>Adam Shaw</strong> is an excellent drive blocker after snapping the ball, lots of pancakes in the run game. Defensively, was good in pass coverage from the backer position, flows really well to the ball in the run game. <em>Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots</em> (7-0)- HBC was Section runner-up last year to the eventual State Champ, Mountain Lake Area, but returned most their starters and were on a tear this year. The Patriots averaged 48 points a game on offense and gave up 5 points defensively. QB/DB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18047" first="Gavin" last="Wysong"]</strong> primarily a running QB, but that’s all he needed this year, on film he ran like an absolute mad man, running past, through, and around defenders. Defensively a 9-man LB but a definitely DB by technique in pass coverage. RB/DB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18103" first="Tyson" last="Bork"]</strong> was a good second threat, where if you didn’t pay attention to him, he’d hurt you too. He has all kinds of speed and power, once in open field, he’s more than likely gone. Defensively, filled in run-support quickly and delivered a hit, excellent form tackling. <em>Renville County West</em> (6-0)- RCW came back with a vengeance after a State appearance a season ago. Very balanced in the pass-run game and a stellar defensive unit, they may have gone the distance given a State Tournament. Averaging 36 points on offense and giving 7 on defense. RB/LB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24439" first="Jaden" last="Kolker"]</strong> reads the offense well and flies to the football making many tackles with stellar technique. He was also a good runner on offense, runs hard and shows bursts of speed, is also a good target out of the backfield. OL/DL- <strong>Landon Tanner</strong> opened up seams for the run game and gave the QB time to throw. Is very athletic at the Center position, pull blocks after a snap and makes in-game adjustments with his teammates to help the offense along. WR/DB- <strong>Riley Ashburn</strong> was a good target in the pass game, but was also a great blocker for the run game. He has height and speed to get to the ball and make nice catches. Defensively, plays his position well, being the last line of defense making the tackle or in pass coverage.