Program Analysis: Harrisburg Tigers

Harrisburg completed the other half of the "Suburb Bowl" State Championship game. Finishing the year at 7-4, nearly avenging every loss they had on the year in playoffs (O’Gorman and SF Roosevelt) before falling to Brandon Valley in the Championship, but by a narrower margin. Just by looking at their scores, you can tell the vast improvements they made over the course of the year. Offensively, they could put up points in a hurry out of their shotgun-spread offense, just loved chucking the ball around the yard. Defensively, in the second go-round with the teams that had beaten them, you could see the game plan had shifted based on the scores they held down in the second game compared to the first. The reason they get put in the ’In the Hunt’ category is the impressive talent they will return for the 2021 season, mostly all their skill players, and a majority of their offensive and defensive lines. Players Lost: <strong>OL [player_tooltip player_id="56248" first="Ethan" last="Headlee"] (SDSU), DB [player_tooltip player_id="56244" first="Lincoln" last="Boetel"] (Augustana), WR [player_tooltip player_id="56275" first="Ethyn" last="Rollinger"] (Augustana).</strong> Players Returning: QB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56447" first="Jacob" last="Knuth"]</strong> has great vision, pocket presence, and patience to be the best passer in the State. He has good arm strength and just as good touch on the ball to his talented receivers. LB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56487" first="Ayden" last="Viox"]</strong> loves contact, just looking to hit something, whether it’s the ball carrier, blocker, or the QB carrying out a fake. He has good feet, breaks down, wraps up and finishes with his feet driving through the ball carrier. WR/DB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56494" first="Carter" last="Bahrenfuss"]</strong> has good speed, strength, and hands. On offense, he is a good vertical threat, able to outrun most defenders and make the catch for a big play. Defensively, he’s good at reading the QB and flowing to where the ball is going to be thrown, and above all, plays the ball. WR-<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="56449" first="Andrew" last="Walter"]</strong> is the other threat in the spread, also has the speed and the hands, but also has height and route running ability. Has potential to burn you deep, or go for possession and extend drives. LB- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56536" first="Cade" last="Larson"]</strong> has a good frame, great awareness, vision and tackling. He scrapes well and takes away cutback lanes, delivers hits when meeting the ball carrier and wraps up. Also very quick shooting his gaps on blitzes, reads pass/run well. OL- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56475" first="Mason" last="Jacobson"]</strong> has excellent footwork in both pass and run blocking, positions himself well to make a good block. When he is in position, he uses his hands well and buries the defender. OL/DL- <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="56528" first="Jordan" last="Larsen"]</strong> keeps a good center of gravity, takes care of his gap responsibility and keeps his man in front of him. Defensively, has a quick first step, shoots gaps and draws double-teams to give room for his teammates to get through and make plays. &nbsp;