Dynamic offensive duos in Class 2A at midway point of spring

At the midway point of the season, some of the offenses in the 2021 spring football season have put up some impressive numbers. In Class 2A, there are a few teams that have two players putting up good numbers in a particular offensive category, helping them get off to fast starts and in position to compete for a league title and playoff bid. Here is a look at some of the more productive duos in the classification so far. <h3><strong>Passing: Caleb Allen &amp; Nate Gentzel, Manitou Springs</strong></h3> Allen has been a steady presence for Manitou Springs this season. In two games, he has flashed great accuracy, completing 14 of his 25 pass attempts and throwing six touchdowns to just one interception. Another reason for his success is that he spreads the wealth with five different receivers catching passes this season. The man behind him who has been sprung into action this spring is Nate Gentzel, a freshman who played in the first game of the season versus Buena Vista. He was similar to Allen in showing a good ability to take care of the football and spreading the ball to different receivers, and he finished completing nine of his 20 pass attempts and threw one touchdown and no interceptions. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Rushing: [player_tooltip player_id="22756" first="Jacob" last="Phelps"] &amp; Branden Cartell, Buena Vista</span></strong> The No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A have been hitting on all cylinders running the football. The offensive has been explosive, averaging 278 rushing yards and 131 passing yards per game to help them get off to a 3-0 start. The backfield appears to be a strength as Buena Vista has four players with more than 100 rushing yards so far. Leading the group is the duo of [player_tooltip player_id="22756" first="Jacob" last="Phelps"] and Branden Cattell. Phelps, just a sophomore, is an experienced back already having rushed for 548 yards in 2019 as a freshman. He shows great speed and the ability to get into a second gear in the open field, and he is a back who can easily break arm tackles for extra yardage. The speed he shows makes him dangerous to get to the outside on jet sweeps and other outside runs in the offense for big yardage. Though he excels getting to the outside, he is also a smart runner in between the tackles, doing a good job making one cut and getting upfield right away. This season, he has 227 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Eerily similar to Phelps is Cattell, who is listed at the same size as Phelps at 5-foot-9 and 170 yards. He is used in a similar fashion in the offense as well, working to get to the outside on jet sweeps and outside runs but will also make a cut and run between the tackles for tough yardage. Cattell has rushed for 216 yards and leads the team with four touchdowns. The similarities in this duo makes them one of the top running back pairs in the classification so far. <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Receiving: JD McCown &amp; Braden Moore, Estes Park</span></strong> You would expect to see some big passing numbers from the Estes Park offense. Averaging 49 pass attempts per game, they have put the trust in quarterback Collin Reetz to lead the way. Helping him are two solid receiver prospects in JD McCown and Braden Moore, both of whom sit at the top of the receiving leaderboard in the classification. McCown saw time at quarterback early in his career but moved to wide receiver and has flourished. The 6-foot, 170-pound senior had 28 receptions in 2019, but he has already surpassed that this spring with 38 receptions for 735 yards and six touchdowns. He has shown solid hands that routinely make the catch with ease and is good running after the catch for extra yards in the open field. Estes Park has done a good job hitting deep shots against man coverage with him for explosive plays. The other receiving with double-digit receptions for the Bobcats is Braden Moore. Playing in the slot, he too can beat man-to-man coverage crossing the field and on double moves for the team. Where he has shined so far is against zone coverage as he does a good job finding the opening and making a nice target for Reetz to throw to. His ability to work over the middle of the field has helped him record 18 receptions for 93 yards and a score through three games.