Ironwood @ Desert Mountain: Offensive Standouts

It’s the first week of playoffs and quarterfinals week for 5A ball, and it did not disappoint. Ironwood was able to come back from a 24-7 deficit at halftime to beat Desert Mountain 35-30. Desert Mountain was able to pound the ball up the gut in the first half and Ironwood had no answer for it. Then, when you put the ball in [player_tooltip player_id="42593" first="Will" last="Haskell"]’s hands, you can expect big things to happen. Ironwood came back slinging the ball around the field and finally put a stop to the Desert Mountain run game. Ironwood will face Notre Dampe Prep next week in the semis. Here's a look at 6 offensive standout of the game: Offensive MVP: [player_tooltip player_id="42593" first="Will" last="Haskell"], QB, Ironwood HS (C/O 2021)<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-76552" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5043-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> The San Diego State commit defined the saying "Big time players, make big time plays, in big time games". He had 5 total TD’s including the game winner with a minute left on a 40 yard fade to [player_tooltip player_id="42667" first="Elijah" last="Sanders"] streaking down the sideline. Haskell completed the trifecta as he ran, threw, and caught TD’s. He displayed a quick release with excellent arm strength and velocity, with the ability to fit balls into tight windows. He did a great job with his pre-snap reads and consistently identified the "mike". Haskell showed excellent touch and placement on his deep passes as they sunk right into his receivers hands. He ran 3 TD’s on the ground, in which he showed good speed and great vision and balance to take them in for six. He is your ideal dual threat QB, as he was scrambling and finding receivers downfield all night. Haskell is legit, and is a true competitor. He’ll look to bust loose next week against Notre Dame Prep. <strong>Zack Kilburg, RB, Desert Mountain HS (C/O 2021)</strong> Kilburg was a work horse for Desert Mountain and was able to find the endzone for 2 TD’s on the night. His first TD came on a 10 yard run up the middle, in which he pounded the ball up the middle the entire drive to set up his own score. His second of the night came on a 37 yard run up the gut in which he showed a solid burst through the hole and was able to out run the DB’s to get into the endzone. He is more quick than fast, but showed an excellent eye for the hole. Kilburg is a slippery ball carrier and utilized this to frequently slip through small holes and through defenders up the middle for solid chunks of yards throughout the night. Desert Mountain fed him the ball all night as it was very effective, and showed to be a gritty and scrappy ball carrier. [player_tooltip player_id="42667" first="Elijah" last="Sanders"], ATH, Ironwood HS (C/O 2021)<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-76553" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5044-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /> Sanders impressed me in many different ways. His athleticism is off the charts, and shows elite level speed. He caught the game winning TD on a 40 yard vertical route down the sideline and needs to be an identified threat every single play. He is utilized as a RB, outside receiver, slot, DB, and return specialist. As a ball carrier, he is explosive through the hole and shows excellent acceleration out of his cuts. He has good lateral agility and once he hits open field, nobody will catch him as there is a huge speed separation. He runs solid routes, and can either take the top off a defense or catch a screen and make half the defense miss. He is very reliable in coverage as a DB, and showed he can bring the hit stick to life on ball carriers. Do not overlook him because of his size. The 5’10" 170lb speedster can be utilized best at the college level as an outside or slot, as his athleticism allows both. He is a true FCS level talent and is a Tyreek Hill style player. Get him on your radar ASAP. <strong>Aiden Cerullo, QB, Desert Mountain HS (C/O 2021)</strong><img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-76554" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5026-rotated-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Cerullo is a tough kid, and played well as he threw 1 TD, and was very effective as a ball carrier. His TD came on a corner route when he dropped a dime to [player_tooltip player_id="42763" first="Rogan" last="Freeburg"] for a 10 yard TD. He showed solid touch and placement, as it was right over the DB's head for Freeburg to high point the ball in the corner of the endzone. As a ball carrier, he was frequently gaining chunks of yards on the edges on designed QB runs. He was able to pick up a couple clutch first downs to keep the chains moving. Desert Mountain didn’t really give him a shot to unleash his arm until the last drive when they were down, but overall Cerullo played well and delivered when he got his opportunities. [player_tooltip player_id="42707" first="Mekhi" last="Faison"], TE, Ironwood HS (C/O 2021) Faison was a mismatch all night against the Desert Mountain DB’s. He lined up in the slot and caught numerous slant routes for big chunks of yards. He was able to come up with a clutch 3rd down conversion on a slant in which he took it for 18 yards to eventually set up a reverse pass TD to Haskell. He is a big body at 6’4" 230lbs and it is tough to ask a linebacker to man up on him. He runs solid routes and has good hands. Faison was fearless across the middle, and the Desert Mountain defense wanted no part of trying to tackle him one on one. He is a big target for Haskell, and will have a big role in he upcoming week. [player_tooltip player_id="42763" first="Rogan" last="Freeburg"], WR/CB, Desert Mountain HS (C/O 2021) Freeburg didn’t have a super busy night on offense, but he was able to haul in a 10 yard TD on a corner. He is a quick and speedy receiver and can be dangerous in open space. He has big play ability and has shown to catch shallower routes and take them for big gains. Freeburg had another reception on a hitch with around 40 seconds left, and was able to bob and weave his way for a big gain, flashing solid big play ability. He has been a reliable target all year for Desert Mountain, and should get a shot at the next level.