Defensive standouts – Eden Prairie vs Rosemount

If you enjoy defensive football (like I do), Friday night’s showdown in Eden Prairie between two top ten 6A teams was for you. Eden Prairie and Rosemount took part in an old-school slugfest in which every first down had extra meaning. EP got the only touchdown of the game to win 13-3. As you could probably guess, there were plenty of standouts on the defensive side of the ball. [player_tooltip player_id="18455" first="Bennett" last="Larson"] <strong>Eden Prairie LB</strong> In a night of great defense, Larson might have stood out the most. Early, he made a tackle for a short gain. Then he made an open-field tackle for a short gain. He stuffed a pair of inside runs for short gains. Late in the game, he showed range as he scraped to the outside for a tackle. <strong>Cade Hutchinson Eden Prairie DB</strong> Hutchinson didn’t have to make a ton of plays during the game, but he made the biggest play. With his team-leading 3-0, Rosemount was in the middle of their best drive of the game. As the back was going into the end zone, Hutchinson met him at the goal line - forcing a fumble that his teammates jumped on in the end zone. [player_tooltip player_id="112053" first="Kade" last="Gilbertson"] <strong>Rosemount LB</strong> Gilbertson started his night with a tackle for a short gain. Later, he showed his mobility by stuffing an outside run. <strong>Adam Mertens Eden Prairie LB</strong> Early in the game, Mertens made a huge open-field tackle on a third down – keeping the Irish short of the first down. Late in the game, he beat his blocker and tracked down the quarterback for a sack. [player_tooltip player_id="49894" first="Josh" last="Liggett"] <strong>Rosemount LB</strong> Liggett was all over the Eagles’ outside running game. He made three tackles on runs to the outside – all for short gains. The final one – that I noticed – was on a third and short and forced EP to make a fourth down decision. <strong>Zack Gau Eden Prairie DT</strong> Gau was a big reason why the ordinarily solid Irish running game had so much trouble. In addition to keeping blockers of his linebackers, Gau stuffed an inside run for a short loss. In space, he made an open-field tackle for a short gain. In a goal-to-go situation, he stuffed a run near the goal line. Finally, he took any momentum away from the Irish when he sacked the quarterback one play after the Eagles’ offense turned the ball over. <strong>Ryan Roszak Rosemount DB</strong> Roszak came up strong in run support all night. He made two great open-field tackles and then stuffed another outside run. <strong>Bobby Heiberg Eden Prairie DE</strong> Heiberg did an excellent job keeping the outside running game in check. He held the corner and forced runners inside to his help. He also made his share of tackles – including an open-field tackle on an outside run. <strong>Wyatt Uttermark Rosemount LB</strong> Speaking of doing a job on the outside, Uttermark did just that – often not making the tackle but keeping the Eagles’ runners from getting loose on the outside. He showed he wasn’t just a good contain guy. No need for help from teammates when he stuffed a couple of outside runs. [player_tooltip player_id="112124" first="Will" last="Schreiber"] <strong>Eden Prairie DE</strong> Schrieber pounced on the Hutchinson forced fumble in the end zone. Later, his penetration into the backfield forced a runner wide and into his teammates. <strong>Quick hits</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="49937" first="Miles" last="Townsend"] <strong>Rosemount LB</strong> - blew up a screen forcing an incompletion <strong>Jonathan Corbett Rosemount DB</strong> - tackle for a short gain <strong>Noah Ekness Eden Prairie DB</strong> – came up strong in run support and stuffed a run for a short gain <strong>Vicar Payne Rosemount DB</strong> – made an open-field tackle while staying home on an end-around