Sectional Round Game Balls: 5A

There were several players that stood out in last week’s section round of the playoffs in class 5A.  These player helped advance their team to the final four where they will have an opportunity to advance to the state championship following a victory on Friday Night.  Here are some of the players who played really well last week. <strong>Mill Valley Defense</strong> The entire defense of the Mill Valley Jaguars are worthy of a game ball due to the fact that they held the explosive offense of De Soto to just 13 points in a 16-13 victory of Friday night.  Going into the game, De Soto averaged 42.2 points per game on offense in 2020.  The only time this season where they scored less than 34 points was against Mill Valley in week 2.  In 2020, Mill Valley has given up just 15 points a game and have only given up 7.4 points per game in the last 5 games which were all victories for Mill Valley.  On Friday Night, they will play Aquinas who have looked impressive on offense averaging 40 points in their two playoff victories. [player_tooltip player_id="35347" first="Tank" last="Young"] RB Aquinas The 5’8 Senior RB has an awesome game against Blue Valley Southwest as he rushed for 220 yards on 13 carries and scored 3 touchdowns in a 32-7 victory.  In 2020, he rushed for 1,323 yards and scored 16 TD while catching 4 passes for 16 yards.  He had 7 100+ rush yard games this season with 3 games of 200+ yards and 5 multiple touchdown games.  When looking at the film, he has very good vision as he finds the open hole showing very good burst as he accelerates to top speed quickly through the hole.  He displays excellent contact balance as he rarely gets tackled on first contact.  Uses his play strength and leverage to break tackles from LB and DB with ease.  In rare instances where he is asked to contribute in the passing game, he runs swing routes out of the backfield and shows good hands as he is able to make on target catches with his hands easily. [player_tooltip player_id="35355" first="Caden" last="Reeves"] DL Aquinas The 6’3 255 lb Senior played a huge role in the victory over Blue Valley Southwest.  he had 5 tackles with 3 sacks.  In 2020, he had 45 tackles with 3 TFL and 5.5 sacks.  Plays as a #T and shows very good burst off the power displaying very good play strength to bullrush the OG back into the QB but also possesses very good quickness and agility as he shows the ability to beat the OG with an inside release.  Once he penetrates the line of scrimmage, he uses his play speed and motor in pursuit of the QB and brings him down with force.  Against the run, he uses his instincts to take the correct angle in pursuit while using his play strength, leverage and very good form tackling ability to make the tackle. [player_tooltip player_id="35356" first="Julius" last="Bolden"] RB Wichita Northwest The 5’11 190 Senior played very well in a 26-14 victory over Kapuan Mt. Carmel.  In the game, he rushed for 189 yards on 27 carries.  In 2020, he rushed for 1,183 yards on 116 carries and scored 19 TD.  He rushed for over 100 yards 8 times in 2020.  He also caught 5 passes for 114 yards an a touchdown.  He displays good burst through the hole and accelerates quickly into the secondary using his play speed and athletic ability to elude LB and DB.  Shows good competitive toughness as he shows the ability to come up big in the red zone. [player_tooltip player_id="35364" first="Jacob" last="Younkman"] LB Wichita Northwest The 6’0 205 Senior OLB played great against Kapuan Mt. Carmel.  In the game, he made 5 tackles with 3.5 TFL and had a sack.  In 2020, he made 28 tackles with 18.5 TFL, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and a pass deflection.  He displays very good play strength and physical toughness coming off the ball as he wins battles against TE with ease.  After he defeats the reach block by the TE, he uses his instincts and athletic ability in pursuit of the ball carrier and brings down the RB with ease.  A good pass rusher as he is uses his play strength as well as his good play speed to penetrate the line of scrimmage and displays a very good motor in pursuit of the QB as he brings him down for a sack.