Underclassmen of the Week

At this point in the season, nearly every team still playing has their established leaders and key players. However, to make a run for a ring, it will take some young guns to step up and play lights out. In this past quarterfinals week of playoffs, there were numerous underclassmen who exceeded expectations and were able to have big games to help their teams advance to the semis, with 4 of them being young QB’s. Take a look at 5 underclassmen standouts from last week: <img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-24525" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/06/Generic-Featured-Image-4-300x187.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="187" /> <strong>Aki Pulu, ATH, Cactus HS (C/O 2022)</strong> Pulu’s performance on Friday night was extremely impressive on both sides of the ball. He ran for 70 yards and 2 TD’s on just 6 attempts, and showed to be a mean, downhill runner with good physicality. Pulu also showcased his blocking ability for other ball carriers as he was consistently bullying around the Coconino defense as a lead blocker. On defense, he totaled 12 tackles, 3 TFL’s, and 2 INT’s which included a pick six. He showed to be a very effective pass rusher and was also able to sit and drop in zone coverage as an OLB. Pulu did an exceptional job of reading the Coconino QB and recognizing crossing concepts, as Coconino runs a tight wing-T, and was forced to move to shotgun based off of the brutal Cactus defense. Pulu showed excellent strength and power as he frequently ran through Coconino blockers to then utilize his great striking ability to stuff the run game. Pulu is a tone setter with his big hit ability, and was able to stun the Coconino offense as he held standout RB [player_tooltip player_id="42722" first="Zachary" last="Bennett"] to under 50 yards in a 41-7 Cactus win. <strong>Richard Stallworth, QB, Yuma Catholic HS (C/O 2023</strong>) Stallworth went 27-40 for 423 yards and 3 TD's, while adding another on the ground. There is nothing new with this kid, as he has continued to show up and play lights out every week this season. He shows great arm strength, good velocity on tight window throws, and goes through progression very well. Stallworth is a talented sophomore and reads defenses exceptionally well. He is a level above every other QB in 3A, and is a level above most sophomores in the state. He does a good job of using touch on the deep ball which gives his receivers a chance to run underneath balls for easy catches. Stallworth is lethal in the pocket and shows excellent poise and mechanics, and will continue to play lights out to help Yuma Catholic get to the championship. [player_tooltip player_id="42818" first="Gage" last="Dayley"], QB, Highland HS (C/O 2022) Dayley played almost perfect as he went 16-19 for 245 yards and 4 TD’s to beat Casteel. Dayley showed a great pre-snap read which helped him make quick and easy decisions as he proved to be a solid game manager. He did a great job of getting the ball out quick and accurate to his receivers to get them the ball in open space and let his play makers get loose. One of his TD’s came on a corner route in which he rolled right and threw a perfect ball in between two defenders for the score. Daley also did a great job of selling play action to standout RB [player_tooltip player_id="42748" first="Max" last="Davis"] to bait the defense up and open up the field for the Highland receivers to work in space. Dayley has been a clutch player all year and shows good maturity for a 2022 kid, and will have to step up this upcoming week as he will go on the road at #1 seed Boulder Creek.<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-46064" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/08/B80AD962-2F86-4C72-B417-99AD3C874B43-300x184.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="184" /> [player_tooltip player_id="42845" first="Logan" last="Hubler"], QB, American Leadership Academy-Queen Creek (C/O 2022) Hubler slung for 349 yards and 3 TD’s, and added another TD on the ground giving him 4 total TD’s to beat St. Mary’s. Hubler was able to showcase his gunslinger ability, as ALA-QC unleashed his arm with the deep ball all night. He showed an excellent trajectory with good arm strength, and was able to connect with his receivers on deep balls numerous times. His most impressive throw of the night was a designed rollout to the right (field side), and was able to throw a dart in between 2 defenders in a tight window to a receiver running an out-and-up. Hubler did a good job of being patient for plays to develop, and then getting out of the pocket to find receivers downfield when the pocket started to collapse. Hubler will get a chance this upcoming week to boost his stock, as he’ll go toe-to-toe with Mesquite QB and Oregon commit [player_tooltip player_id="42581" first="Ty" last="Thompson"]. [player_tooltip player_id="42811" first="Angel" last="Flores"], QB, Casa Grande HS (C/O 2022) Flores threw for 216 yards and  TD, while adding another 110 yards and 1 TD on the ground to beat Peoria. Flores showed a good football IQ, mainly a good QB IQ, as he did an exceptional job of distinguishing whether to put the ball on a rope or use touch on certain routes and coverages to his receivers. When he decides to zip it, he has excellent velocity and was able to hit a couple intermediate routes for solid gains. He showcased his play maker ability as he was able to get outside the pocket and find receivers downfield for big gains. As a ball carrier, he has a good eye for the hole and does a good job of bouncing his runs to open field. Flores had an impressive run for about 8 yards in which he was able to break about three tackles, then cutback to open space to move the chains. Flores will have a tough matchup this week vs Cactus, and will have to have a huge game to beat a tough Cactus team.