Greendale vs Greenfield: Game Recap and Players of the Game

Week three took me to Greendale, WI for the Greendale vs Greenfield matchup. I had high hopes for a back and forth game between these two schools that are only separated by about three miles of road. I was also very excited for the matchup because there are several college level athletes on both teams. It ended up being perfect weather for the 7 pm kickoff as the rain held off until after the game and we were even able to see the sun poke through the clouds at kickoff. In today’s article I will give you a quick recap of how the game played out from start to finish and then go into the Players of the Game. There are kids on both teams that earned shout outs as Players of the Game for their performances last night. Thank you for reading! Let’s get started! Greenfield won the coin flip and elected to defer to the second half leaving Greendale to receive the opening kickoff. On their first drive, Greendale came out with a run heavy offense that also utilized some timely passes from QB [player_tooltip player_id="30805" first="Will" last="Brust"]. Between Brust and RB Sam Sommerfeld, Greendale was able to eat up well over half of the opening quarter as they slowly and methodically drove down the field. They capped the drive off with Brust finding WR Will Vaile for the three yard TD completion and the 7-0 lead with 4:50 remaining in the first quarter. The rest of the first quarter was pretty uneventful. Greenfield couldn’t find their groove on their opening drive and when Greendale got the ball back they committed back to back to back penalties that killed the drive before it could get going. That is where the first quarter came to an end. The second quarter started with the Greendale defense making a big play as DL Evan Taft was able to disengage with his blocker and then bring down Greenfield’s [player_tooltip player_id="31326" first="Jackson" last="Compton"] for the sack on first down. Greenfield wasn’t able to overcome the lost yardage and punted back to Greendale. Greenfield’s defense got in on the big plays on that next drive as OLB [player_tooltip player_id="104559" first="Tommie" last="King"] was able to chase down Greendale’s [player_tooltip player_id="30805" first="Will" last="Brust"] for the sack on third down forcing a punt by Greendale. This is where some big fireworks went off. Greendale forced another Greenfield punt and on that punt Greenfield touched the ball, but didn’t down it. So, Greendale’s RB, and overall big play maker, Sam Sommerfeld scooped the ball up and sprinted down the sideline for the score and 14-0 lead with 6:55 remaining in the half. It ended up being a very eventful 6:55 too. Greenfield came out on their next drive and quickly found their groove. QB [player_tooltip player_id="31326" first="Jackson" last="Compton"] quickly dumped off the ball to LB/RB Skyler Gill- Howard. He then turned up field, broke through several tackle attempts with some very tough running and then ran down the sideline for the 61 yard gain to the Greendale 2. ATH [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"] finished off the drive with a 2 yard run up the middle to bring the score to 14-7 with 4:48 remaining. Greendale wasn’t going to let the momentum stay with Greenfield for long. They were able to get a big return on the kickoff that set up the offense at the Greenfield 32. Thanks to a run heavy attack, Greendale was both able to milk the clock and eventually punch it into the endzone from 6 yards out on a Sam Sommerfeld carry giving the a 21-7 lead going into hafltime. The third quarter started with a quick Greenfield three and out. They began their first drive of the second half with excellent field position at their own 48. Sam Sommerfeld continued his dominant night on this drive. First, he was able to find a cutback lane, burst through it, and then pick up 40+ yards to get down inside the Greenfield 10. Then a couple plays later he took the handoff and found the endzone from 2 yards out. After the missed XP we were left with a 27-7 Greendale lead with 8:02 remaining in the third quarter. From here through the rest of the game the [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"] show started for Greenfield. On their next drive, Greenfield faced a 4th down. They elected to run a fake punt with punter and all around ATH [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"]. He was able to make a couple defenders miss and then lower his shoulder as he plowed his way to the first down. Greenfield was able to use that momentum to make a nice drive down to the Greendale 5. Unfortunately, right as the quarter ended Greendale’s LB Danny Hanlon was able to get the sack. The 4th quarter started with Greenfield facing 4th down, but this time there was no hiding the fact that they were going for it. [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"] again stepped up in a huge way as he took the delayed handoff, found a seam to get the first, and then lowered his shoulder to bust his way into the endzone for the score. With 11:52 to go in the game we sat at Greendale 27 Greenfield 14. Greenfield continued their momentum onto the defensive side. They were able to force a three and out that was highlighted by a DL [player_tooltip player_id="30739" first="Jalonnie" last="Williams"] doing a great job of setting the edge against the jet sweep and bringing down the ball carrier to force the 4th down punt. On their next drive, Greenfield came out and used their size and strength advantage to pound the rock with [player_tooltip player_id="31197" first="Matthew" last="Fischer"] and [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"]. Both players were able to pick up consistent chunks as they moved down the field including a really nice screen play to Fischer from Compton. The Greenfield offense was able to work down to the Greendale 1 yard line before tragedy struck. As Boyko dove into the endzone he was hit right at the goal line and fumbled the ball into the endzone. Greendale recovered the ball for the touchback. This all but sealed the game for Greendale. Instead of a one score game with 4 minutes left it was Greendale’s ball and a 2 score difference. To make sure that the game was out of reach Greendale QB [player_tooltip player_id="30805" first="Will" last="Brust"] came out and put the game away with his legs and arm. He started the drive on a big pickup on the ground after he faked the option pitch and found daylight down the sideline. Then a few plays later he was able to find WR Will Vaile for a 30 yard TD. Vaile did a great job to stay in down the sideline as he made his way past several defenders to get in for the score and the 34-14 lead with 2:40 remaining in the game. Greendale finished the game by forcing a turnover on downs and then running out the clock. Players of the Game Sam Sommerfeld, 2021 RB- Greendale Stat Line: 22 Carries, 104 Yds, 2 Rushing TDs, 1 Punt Return TD I was not aware of Sam coming into this game, but he made sure I knew his name by the time the game was over. He made big play after big play on offense and even made a big impact as a punt returner. The 6’ 180 lbs RB possesses some nice ball carrier vision. Over and over he would find the lane whether it was on the play side or the cutback. Then he would let the acceleration show as he burst through the lanes and picked up nice chunks. It was very clear that Greendale had no issue giving him a the big workload and he had no issue handling it. Sam is definitely a kid to check out for any D3 level team looking for an RB. Haven’t been able to confirm if he is still uncommitted, but he is well worth checking in on. Will Vaile, 2022 TE/LB- Greendale Stat Line: 3 Receptions, 41 Receiving Yds, 2 Receiving TDs Vaile is a name to know for the Class of 2022 as a TE. He has good size already for the position at 6’2" 240 lbs and has the speed to be a receiving threat at the next level. He also has a well rounded game thanks to his strength in the run game. If you check his highlights from this week you see the strength after the catch and body control as a receiver along the sideline, and then you see him flatten a very talented DE in the run game. Make sure you get this kid on your radar for 2022. He is securely on mine. [player_tooltip player_id="30805" first="Will" last="Brust"], 2021 QB- Greendale Stat Line: 10/11, 95 Passing Yds, 2 Passing TDs, 6 Carries, 52 Rushing Yds UW- Oshkosh is getting a really nice player in Brust. The 6’4" 195 lbs QB did a great job of leading his offense and doing everything they needed him to do. He didn’t put up crazy numbers, but he stepped up exactly when he was needed. Take a look at his completion vs his attempts and you will see that there wasn’t much for mistakes. Will also adds a dangerous element as a dual threat QB. He didn’t take off a ton, but when he did he made the most of it just like he did with his arm. I’m excited to see what he can do at the next level. I’ll be following along. Danny Hanlon, 2022 LB- Greendale Stat Line: 2 Sacks, several tackles Hanlon first caught my eyes during the pregame as I was watching warm-ups. He has a really well put together 6’2" 190 lbs frame and good athleticism for that size. During the game he continued to catch my eye as he was able to step up and get after the QB in several key situations. The correct stat might be 1.5 sacks because one he got there the same time as another defender, but either way he was around the QB often. This game was full of kids that caught my eye for the first time, and Danny was one of them. There are going to be a lot of kids adding to the rankings when we do our next update. Greendale Offensive Line Stat Line: Nearly 200 yards rushing on over 5 yards per carry, minimal pressure allowed in pass protection Drake Schneider, [player_tooltip player_id="30756" first="Zach" last="Hamilton"], Jacob Martin, Evan Taft, Matt Dymond. I was very impressed with this group of kids. Overall, they were much smaller than Greenfield’s defensive line, yet they were able to consistently generate lateral movement that opened up not only running lanes on the play side but also cutback lanes that generated just as much yardage. Now this group does have pieces with good size. Taft is a senior listed at 6’2" 255 lbs that played well both ways. He also got a sack on defense. Hamilton has great size at 6’5" 270 lbs and is committed to Upper Iowa. None of the other three linemen are over 225 lbs. To have the success they had they had to work as one unit, and that’s exactly what they did. It was an impressive showing of teamwork and effort. [player_tooltip player_id="30791" first="Alex" last="Boyko"], ATH 2021- Greenfield Stat Line: 19 Carries, 89 Rushing Yds, 2 Rushing TDs, 3 Rec. 24 Receiving Yds Alex had the best overall game for Greenfield in my eyes. He played both ways all game as well as handling punting duties. He seemed to make an impact in every aspect. He converted a 4th down on a fake punt, he scored a couple TDs from the RB position, and made some nice catches at WR. Alex was used in a ton of different ways and he excelled at all of them. He made most of his impact at RB this game. Alex runs angry when he gets the handoff. He did a great job of running downhill and bouncing off defenders as they came up to try and bring him down. His contact balance shined on every touch of the football. I don’t remember a play where he didn’t break at least the first tackle attempt. The 6’1" 190 lbs senior ATH is definitely a next level player. I don’t see anything on his Twitter about a commitment either. D2 programs should check him out quickly if he is available. [player_tooltip player_id="30844" first="Skylar" last="Gill-Howard"], LB/RB 2021- Greenfield Stat Line: Several tackles on defense, 1 Rec. 61 Receiving Yds Skyler had the grittiest performance of the day. In the first half of the game he made his impact on defense. The Upper Iowa commit was flying around all over the box making tackles against the run game. He also had a big 61 yard reception late in the second quarter that set up Greenfield’s first score of the game. That was an impressive play. He lowered his shoulder and bulldozed right over several defenders on his way down the field. Right before the half Skyler injured what looked to be his ankle. He spent the halftime break and the first half of the third on the sideline trying to get it loose to a point where he could get back in. I didn’t think he was going to be able to, but late in the third he made his return and made some nice blocks on offense that helped move the offense down the field throughout the rest of the game. It was a gritty effort by Skyler. [player_tooltip player_id="31197" first="Matthew" last="Fischer"], LB/RB 2021- Greenfield Stat Line: Several tackles on defense, 7 Carries, 11 Rushing Yds, 2 Rec. 38 Receiving Yds Fischer was one of the kids that I had labeled as a player I wanted to keep an eye on this week. The Concordia University of Wisconsin commit looked solid on both sides of the ball. He didn’t get a ton of work on offense as they were rotating through a couple backs, and Boyko was having a really productive day at the spot but Fischer still was able to produce a big play. It was late in the game as Greenfield was driving in hopes to bring it to a one score game. Matthew took a screen pass, turned up field, and utilized his downfield blockers to perfection as he weaved his way to a 30+ yard gain. It was a solid performance overall for Fischer.