7A Playoffs: 2nd Round Offensive Standout Performances

The second round of the playoffs brought some high scoring games and amazing performances. Parkview (8-3) put on an offensive showcase, hanging 41 points on East Coweta (10-2). Norcross (12-0) had an impressive offensive showing against Roswell (8-3), winning 40 to 20. Performances like these came as a result of the great play from many offensive players last week. Today, we are looking at 5 offensive players whose performances in the second round stood out the most. <hr /> <strong><em><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jacurri-brown/">[player_tooltip player_id="33889" first="Jacurri" last="Brown"]</a>, QB, Class of 2022, Lowndes</em></strong> Brown came up big for Lowndes against North Cobb, scoring a 4th quarter touchdown to take the lead, 14-13. Lowndes would go on to win 21-13, and Brown was a key player in guiding Lowndes to victory. He completed 7 out of 12 passes for 43 yards and carried the ball 24 times for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. Shined as a runner, showed the ability to make defenders miss and change directions. He had a nice run where he took off towards the right sidelines, stopped, was able to change directions, and picked up a nice gain running towards the left sidelines. Has the ability to sell the read option well. On multiple occasions he got defenders to choose the running back instead of him, allowing him to gain some quick yards. While he can avoid defenders, he also showed that he can be a physical runner at the quarterback position. I would want him to add weight to maintain this ability at the next level. Overall, he was great against North Cobb, and I expect him to continue receiving offers throughout next year. <strong><em><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/jared-brown/">[player_tooltip player_id="33840" first="Jared" last="Brown"]</a>, WR, Class of 2021,</em> Parkview</strong> Parkview put on an offensive clinic against East Coweta, and a big factor was Brown’s performance. Brown definitely put up one of the top performances from the second round, totaling 8 receptions for 104 yards and 3 touchdowns. He and <a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/colin-houck/">[player_tooltip player_id="34066" first="Colin" last="Houck"]</a> were a deadly combination in this game, spoiler alert, expect to see [player_tooltip player_id="34066" first="Colin" last="Houck"]’s name again. Brown showed off his ability to find the open space in zone coverage, he did a good job on a curl route sitting in front of the safety. This gave him time to complete the catch and quickly turn away from the safety into the endzone. Has good ball skills and did a good job tracking the ball in the air on his to corner route touchdowns. He was the standout receiver for Parkview, being the only pass catcher with more than 2 catches. The performance he had has to make Coastal Carolina happy he committed there. <strong><em>Jahni Clarke, RB, Class of 2021, Norcross</em></strong> Clarke had a dominant performance against Roswell; he finished with 201 yards and 3 touchdowns on 27 carries. He answered the bell for his team as rain from the previous day left the field in poor conditions, favoring running the ball over passing it. His high carries showed his ability to be a workhorse and an every-down back. Many of his carriers were in between the tackles, which he excelled at. He did a great job absorbing hits and running through contact. One aspect of his game that helped him stand out against Roswell was his patience as a runner. He displayed a great ability to wait for the hole to form then hit it with great speed. I’m surprised he only has an offer from Florida Atlantic University; he has the potential to be a good back at the low DI or DII level. <strong><em><a href="https://prepredzone.com/player/colin-houck/">[player_tooltip player_id="34066" first="Colin" last="Houck"]</a>, QB, Class of 2023, Parkview</em></strong> Another Parkview player put out a standout performance, and that would be their sophomore quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id="34066" first="Colin" last="Houck"]. Houck had himself a day against East Coweta, tossing 4 touchdowns. He had 15 completions on 19 attempts for 175 yards. Great decision making, quickly found the open man and pulled the trigger. He showed good touch on his passes, no wildly erred throws. He was able to drop the ball into his receiver’s hands-on medium throws. Seeing him hit corner and out routes with consistency was very reassuring. He truly took over the game for Parkview. He displayed great poise in the pocket, he did not attempt to leave the pocket too early. In addition, he still threw accurate passes with pressure in his face. While he still needs to fill out his body, he is definitely a player to keep an eye on this offseason and next season. If he continues having 4 touchdown games, I expect him to start seeing many offers. <strong><em>Jordan McDonald, RB, Class of 2022, Milton</em></strong> Milton needed offensive players to step it up in the absence of starting quarterback, [player_tooltip player_id="33991" first="Devin" last="Farrell"]. Luckily for Milton, McDonald did just that. He went for 132 yards and 1 touchdown on 26 carries. He did a great job running in between the tackles and hitting the hole strong. His vision as a runner helped him find the hole quickly, allowing him to get easy yards play after play. While his longest run was only 21 yards, he averaged 5.1 yards per carry. Factor in his size, and you can see why he ran through Archer’s defense. He imposed his will and put on a great performance. There did not appear to be much drop off in his energy from the 1st quarter to the 4th quarter. After his performance against Archer, it is not surprising he has offers from schools like Florida State and Georgia Tech.