Highland @ Boulder Creek: Defensive Standouts

In a 35-28 Highland victory, it was a tough game for both defenses as they both went up against two explosive offenses. Despite all the total points and yards, the Highland defense was able to step up big when it mattered most. Highland stopped Boulder Creek QB [player_tooltip player_id="42622" first="Bear" last="Milacek"] on the 3 yard line on the last play of the game to give Boulder creek a heartbreaking loss and advance to the state championship. Take a look at 5 defensive standouts from the game:<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-24524" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/06/Generic-Featured-Image-5-300x187.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="187" /> Defensive MVP: [player_tooltip player_id="42755" first="Kam" last="Cullimore"], LB, Highland HS (C/O 2021) Cullimore racked up double digit tackles and was key in stopping Milacek at the 3 before reaching the goal line to win the game. Cullimore had the toughest job out of everyone, and was able to fly around all night. He has a very high football IQ and plays the run smart and well. He shows a great POA on different sizes and styles of ball carriers, bringing them down very effectively. Cullimore displayed good play recognition and reaction to put himself in position to make a tackle. He did a good job of getting a low pad level against the Boulder Creek ball carriers up the middle to limit big gains. I had mentioned this week that he would serve as a key defensive player to watch, and he 100% played extremely well in a massive role. Cullimore will look to carry this momentum against Chaparral next week. <strong>Carter Cameron, LB, Boulder Creek HS (C/O 2022)</strong> Cameron played very similar to Cullimore, as he was a fly around player and involved himself in many plays, racking up a number of tackles. He showed solid strength and he was able to wrestle down [player_tooltip player_id="42748" first="Max" last="Davis"] a couple times to prevent big plays. Cameron showed solid pursuit and chase as he was able to get to the second level to make tackles as well. He showed good range at MLB, and had a very good first half in stopping the run up the middle. He can serve as a tone setter when he turns it on, and will once again be a key component next season for the Boulder creek defense. <strong>Josh Allen, LB, Highland HS (C/O 2021)</strong> Allen played the edges very well as he was able to force Boulder Creek to run between the tackles for the most part. He showed a good initial ball get off and was able to meet ball carriers at the LOS numerous times. He was a big aid for Cullimore, as he did a good job of assisting on tackles and getting lateral toward the middle for run support. He showed good short area quickness and was able to utilize this to rack up a solid number of tackles. Allen even had a few ankle tackles that prevented Boulder Creek ball carriers from getting loose into open field. He’ll have to adjust next week, as he’ll face a pass heavy Chaparral offense in the championship.<img class="alignright size-medium wp-image-74324" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2020/11/IMG_4412-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /> [player_tooltip player_id="42621" first="Ammon" last="Allen"], ATH, Highland HS (C/O 2021) Also an offensive standout, Allen provided excellent big play support from preventing the Boulder creek offense break free in open space. They had Allen spy Cisneros in the first half, and he did a good job overall of containing Cisneros. In the second half, Allen was able to fly up and provide clutch run support several times. He shows a very good POA with a good striking ability. Allen has excellent range and is a very athletic player in the secondary. Boulder Creek didn’t test the air much, but Allen has a big ball hawk ability which I would’ve liked to see. Allen has very good play recognition skills, and was able to help Highland come out with a W to advance to the championship. <strong>Anthony Cavadini, FS, Boulder Creek HS (C/O 2021)</strong> Cavadini had a big INT right before the end of the first half in the Boulder creek endzone to prevent a Highland score. If he doesn’t snag that INT, then Boulder Creek would’ve entered the next half trailing and playing catch up. After a [player_tooltip player_id="42818" first="Gage" last="Dayley"] pass was deflected at the LOS, Cavadini showed good ball skills to jump and snag it in the back of the endzone for a pick. Cavadini overall had a solid night, as his INT in the endzone was one of the few defensive plays of the first half that stood out.