SD Week 1: Big Dogs of the Week & Bests

DAKOTAS-- Week 1 is in the books here in South Dakota. We are happy to announce that the "Big Dogs of the Week" will be returning in our 2nd season as Prep Redzone Dakotas as we continue to try and learn about new prospects and existing PRZ prospects that showed off big weeks in South Dakota high school football. Disclosure: Although we try to see as much film and stats on every kid possible that had a big game in the Dakotas, unfortunately, we can’t tap everybody to get us the information on every kid that performed well. That’s why every week we encourage you to tag us on Twitter (@PrepRedzoneDAK), DM us, email me (Nate@PrepRedzone.com) so we find as many "dogs of the week" as possible from all over the state! I hope you enjoy Week 1’s edition here at Prep Redzone Dakotas! South Dakota Big Dogs of the Week: Carson Kirwan | Running Back | Castlewood (SD) | 2023 Stat Line: 15 carries, 274 yards, 5 touchdowns. I just got my hands on Kirwan’s tape vs. North Central about an hour ago and as I broke it down, I had to give a shoutout to the Warriors offensive line, as they opened some massive holes for Kirwan to make easy work of the North Central Thunder. He did a solid job of identifying those massive holes and attacking the outside lanes. When I watched his tape, it wasn’t his burst that stood out it was also his patience level as he let the play come to him which showed solid discipline. He also showed a well-put-together lower body that was difficult to tackle all day for the Thunder defense. I believe Kirwan can be put in my "bully back" category in this one, as he looked significantly bigger than the defense he was going up against and use that to his advantage with his yards after contact. Kirwan is unranked at the moment, but if he can keep this momentum could be a ranked prospect by our October rankings come out. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FfHF1">Tape vs. North Central</a> [player_tooltip player_id="89279" first="Luke" last="Fraser"] | Running Back | Hamlin (SD) | 2024 Stat Line: 108 all-purpose yards, 5 total touchdowns. Fraser filled up his stat line in multiple ways in Hamlin’s massive win over Britton-Hecla. Fraser showed a strong burst especially when he attacked the outside lanes as that is when you see all that speed take over. Fraser also showed off an all-purpose back that showed solid balance as a pass-catcher for one of those five touchdowns as he took in a well-contested ball in the corner of the end zone and turned it into 6. He also showed his hip turning ability when switching directions, as he flipped the field on one particular play and made a solid run in the opposite direction from where he stated. We listed Fraser recently as one of the Dakota’s top 2024 prospects in the class, and it’s easy to see why he’s in that spot after Week 1 for him and the Chargers. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fdtcp">Tape vs. B-H</a> [player_tooltip player_id="56458" first="Chase" last="Kelly"] | Defensive Tackle | Florence-Henry (SD) | 2022 Stat Line: 7 Tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles. Kelly’s attacking of the backfield against Deubrook on Friday night was a fun tape to watch in their 40-6 win over Deubrook Area. I do not think in the over a minute of game tape I saw from him any play going over 2 yards for the Dolphins. The biggest skill set that went Chase’s way on Friday was how solid his leverage levels were against the Deubrook offensive line. He held the strong advantage in his 270+ pound frame against the weaker line. Unfortunately, the Dolphins let him go untouched into their backfield multiple times and Kelly unloaded three sacks on their quarterback due to that. Kelly is a top 20 prospect in 2022 that in my eyes is falling under the radar and is due for some stronger college football opportunities with this Fall season. [player_tooltip player_id="56549" first="Brenden" last="Begeman"] | Running Back | Herreid-Selby (SD) | 2023 Stat Line: 3 carries, 100 yards (33.3 yards per carry), 2 total touchdowns, 2 INTS. The Wolverines got the best of both sides of the ball with [player_tooltip player_id="56549" first="Brenden" last="Begeman"] on Friday night in their 76-16 win over Newell. Begeman filled up the stat sheet in multiple ways but what I was most impressed with was his defensive play, in which he recorded two interceptions but really sealed sold strong field position on both returns he had. On the first one, he showed solid vision and strong ball instincts to react to the tipped ball and scooted thru traffic inside to seal a Wolverines touchdown. On INT #2 he played as a deep safety and was in perfect position with no one around to jump and grab his second interception of the night in which he flipped the field back to the opponent’s side with the terrific footwork he has in his arsenal. He also after a really short punt by Newell, used his speed and juking abilities to seal his second touchdown of the night for the Wolverines. Not to mention, Begeman averaged over three first downs per carry and still logged a 100-yard rushing game. This young man’s ability to cash in in multiple ways is why he’s one of the Dakota Big Dogs of the Week. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fe41U">Tape vs. Newell</a> [player_tooltip player_id="161342" first="Landon" last="Iverson"] | Running Back | Hot Springs (SD) | 2023 Stat Line: 9 rushes, 201 all-purpose yards (168 rush, 33 receiving). Did all of that in one half for the Bison. Iverson was add on to our most recent Class of 2023 rankings and after Week 1, we are sure glad we bought stock in this young man after 200 all-purpose yards in one half during their 54-0 win over Hill City. This young man won’t blow you away when it comes to measurables but you can tell based on his running ability, he’s hit the weight room hard this offseason and it’s paying dividends now. Again, I will hand out another ribbon to the Bison offensive line, as when I was reading Iverson’s tape from Hill City, I saw some massive holes being opened up and the blocking as far as timing goes was on point to give Landon plenty of space to run thru last Friday night. I was impressed with his vision and how well he ran between the tackles with adding a strong will of patience to staying where his blockers were leading him. He offensively was excellent, but another key to Iverson was him at safety as on particular play he used that excellent vision again, and read the ball carrier in the backfield well, and used his burst and physical play to launch a solid tackle for a loss to the Hill City offense. A very exciting week 1 for [player_tooltip player_id="161342" first="Landon" last="Iverson"] of the Hot Springs Bison. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fe7U2">Tape vs. Hill City </a> Mitchell Larson | Safety | Clark-Willow Lake (SD) | 2023 Stat Line: 12 total tackles (7 solo, 5 assisted) 1 interception, 2 pass breakups. Larson was the last man to beat on multiple plays for the Cyclones and that turned in to be a deciding factor in their 10-8 close win over Groton. Even though he was the last man to beat on some plays, do not think for a second this young man was lacking physicality as a deep safety, as on multiple occasions on tape he showed a strong tackling ability you would expect out of the safety position. Larson has a gobbler mentality when the ball comes his way to make a play on it. With the football came his way from the air, there was a lot to like about this young man’s positioning and read steps as he placed himself in a strong position to get his interception and multiple pass breakups in Week 1 against Groton. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Femva">Tape vs. Groton</a> More Dakota Dogs With a Big Week 1 These prospects were referred by their coaches as their top performers from Week 1 in South Dakota. [player_tooltip player_id="149447" first="Ashton" last="Hanson"] | Running Back | Florence-Henry | 2022 Stat Line: 10 carries, 169 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fe358">Tape vs. Deubrook</a> [player_tooltip player_id="56550" first="Tray" last="Hettick"] | Quarterback | Herreid-Selby | 2023 Stat Line: 3 passing touchdowns, nearly 80% completion percentage. [player_tooltip player_id="56470" first="Parker" last="Puetz"] | Quarterback | Sioux Valley | 2022 <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11439437/5fb682f019a68006143409f2">Jr Tape</a> Andrew Brennan | RB/DB | Aberdeen Roncalli | 2023 Stat Line: 5 carries, 62 rushing yards, 2 TDs. 1 interception (pick 6) <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FeEcj">Tape vs. Rapid City STM</a> [player_tooltip player_id="56480" first="Sam" last="Grantham"] | RB/DB | Hamlin | 2022 Stat Line: 9 rushes, 130 rushing yards, 1 touchdown. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fe6K4">Tape vs. B-H</a> [player_tooltip player_id="101173" first="Charlie" last="Prien"] | Offensive Line | 2023 Prien unleashed some of the best offensive line film I saw this week in South Dakota as he could have renamed Rapid City, the Pancake City after their win over Christian. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fec2J">Tape vs. Rapid City Christian</a> Ben Swatek | Running Back | Elk Point-Jefferson | 2022 Stat Line: 12 carries, 108 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FeaDw">Tape vs. Miller-Highmore-Harrold</a> Trey Huber | Running Back | Clark-Willow Lake | 2023 Stat Line: 21 carries, 118 rushing yards. [player_tooltip player_id="56571" first="Maddox" last="May"] | Running Back | Aberdeen Roncalli | 2023 Stat Line: 3 carries, 65 yards, 1 touchdown. Nearly 22 yards per carry in a game had he not pulled his hamstring would have been over 100 rushing yards with multiple touchdowns. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Fe8w0">Tape vs. Rapid City STM</a> [player_tooltip player_id="93563" first="Corbin" last="Wirkus"] | Offensive Line | Baltic | 2022 Stat Line: 10+ Pancakes. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FeYKF">Tape vs. Parker</a> Bests of the Week: Best Unit: Elk Point-Jefferson Offensive Line. The Huskies’ offensive line plowed the way for 358 rushing yards by seven different backs in which they got two in Ben Swatek and Gavin Jacobs for over 100 rushing yards each between five total touchdowns. Also saw significant reps from 2023 RB prospect [player_tooltip player_id="101174" first="Devon" last="Schmitz"] who had seven carries for 55 yards. Schmitz is a top 100 prospect in our 2023 class. Best Defense: Mount Vernon-Plankinton Titans. Anytime you allow a total of 38 total yards for an entire game and win 50-0 you are doing something extremely right on defense. Players such as Brady Fox, Cole Pranger, Daniel Laufman, [player_tooltip player_id="101172" first="Reed" last="Rus"], and others were key in their first win of the season over Rapid City Christian. Best Upset: Gayville-Volin upsets #1 Dell Rapids St. Marys, 42-8. It was a well-fought game by the Raiders who really got strong games out of [player_tooltip player_id="93108" first="Kyle" last="Hirsch"], Ben Rumsey, Nate Quatier, and plenty of others for the Raiders. They will battle Alcester-Hudson next week at home. <a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2FeWUY">Game Tape vs. Dell Rapids St. Marys</a> Best Story of the Week: Garretson defeating Viborg-Hurley 43-42. In probably the most talked-about story across South Dakota high school football this week, we learned about 2023 kicker Jenna VanHolland for the Blue Dragons. Against one of the top teams in 9AA last season in Viborg-Hurley, VanHolland showed solid distance thru the uprights as she made the game-winning extra point against the Cougars to give Garretson their first win of the season in 9AA. VanHolland’s story is a great one, with the Blue Dragons struggling to field a kicker this season, it was VanHolland that won the football tryout from the girl’s soccer team to now rise under pressure to kick one of the most memorable extra points we will likely see in the Dakotas or in the Midwest this year. Jenna is the first female we have ever talked about on Prep Redzone Dakotas, and I really hope to tell her story more throughout the year as we hope to see her empower more women to give field goal kicking a shot throughout the high school football ranks in the Dakotas.