Nate’s Big Dogs of the Game: Rush City/Mille Lacs
ISLE, MN– By now you should know what time it is when it comes to our game reports weekly, it’s time for my Big Dogs of the Game segment! We roll into Friday with this game between the Rush City Tigers (2-0) and the Mille Lacs Raiders (0-2), we found nine prospects that played at a high enough level to get recognized as the Big Dogs of the Game for this one. Find out who made our list of dogs on our trip up to Lake Mille Lacs on Friday!
Lucas McFee, RB/LB, Rush City (2022)
McFee finished with two touchdowns on the night in Friday’s game against Isle and showed a great skillset with the football in his hands. McFee showed great timing on his runs by starting inside and pressing the gas at the right time to accelerate to the outside to gain on his pursuit. McFee like the other running backs from Rush City showed longer strides than the Raiders defense could see and that is a big reason they had so much success in the ground game. McFee also shows patience when he would stay inside for his runs as he takes in what his blockers gave him.
Daniel Miller, QB/LB, Mille Lacs (2022)
Miller only got about one-half of QB reps, but when he did air it out he showed some promise. He showed solid command on the run and good touch on the football when he made throws longer than 20 yards. Unfortunately, Miller did not have sound pass protection, which altered his ability to have more success passing the football. The throws he made to the corner of the sidelines showed solid precision especially when he threw at his #1 target AJ Drift who got my nod for player of the game for the Raiders. No tape available.
Landon Mold, OL/DL, Rush City (2023)
Mold was a prospect that I swear every time he made contact with the ball carrier, he showed solid authority on the bulk of his tackles and that stuck with him for the duration of the game. When I watch his recent game tape, he shows a similar skill set as a defensive line prospect that just loves to attack the football. Mold has a lean-to him, where he’s not the biggest kid you will see on either side of the line (5’11 190) but that physical grit he plays with is going to really pump up his game in his junior season. He is also a hooper for the Tigers. Mold could be a small school prospect to watch with another solid year under his belt.
Zach Remer, ATH, Mille Lacs (2025)
Remer was the biggest surprise amongst young underclassmen I grasped from the game I watched in Isle. He has a long way to go as far as strength and size (5’5, 130) but this young man has some zip in his lower body with his speed. He ran a kickoff all the way back to the Rush City five-yard line at the end of the game and showed off a strong burst and good turns in his footwork when getting to the outside to a near Raiders touchdown. As just a freshman, he has some significant work to do in the weight room but with the speed I saw, he could turn into a nice all-purpose player over the next several seasons for the Mille Lacs Raiders.
Montgomery Palmer, DL/TE, Rush City (2022)
Palmer was a disruptor on the defensive side of the ball with multiple sacks in the game against Mille Lacs. What the Raider’s offensive line couldn’t control was this young man’s length at 6’4 as he used his significant reach to get into the backfield and wreak havoc with the ball carriers within reach. Palmer also was a key blocker at tight end for multiple big runs by Lucas McFee, Shaun Archambault, and Ty Stepp as he did a nice job getting leverage to move the smaller Mille Lacs defensive line out of the way of his running backs.
AJ Drift, WR/DB, Mille Lacs (2022)
Drift showed some solid ball skills in traffic in Friday night’s game against Rush City. He showed the ability to pull in some tough grabs while using his footwork to seal the sidelines in his two touchdown night against Rush City. When I watch his game tape from last year, he shows a sizable catch radius and soft hands when the ball is thrown his way. At defensive back, he hits just like you want out of your defensive back, tough as nails. I’m unsure if this young man is getting any looks, but I would pencil him in as one of the better athletes for this area and I think should get some looks at Division III level as well put together 6’2 190 pounder that has some potential that is still untapped, as Mille Lacs does not throw the ball as much as Onamia did last year. I think Drift can work on his explosiveness off the snap but shows some solidity getting yards on screen passes. The WIAC and MIAC schools should take a look at this young man.
Ty Stepp, RB/LB, Rush City (2022)
Stepp was another tough running back out of Rush City and one that pounded the rock for plenty of yards on Friday night in Isle. Stepp showed solid burst out the gates and on one particular play sold the run nicely enough to fool the Raiders defense and take it to the house for a 75-yard rushing touchdown. To my count, Stepp was key on multiple runs over 20 yards in this Week 3 matchup.
Shaun Archambault, RB/LB, Rush City (2023)
Archambault was the touchdown leader (3) for the Tigers on Friday night and filled up the stat sheet in multiple ways. Archambault showed a sneaky running ability when running across the inside lanes and showed some agility and excellent stamina on his 99-yard kickoff return against the Raiders in which he flipped the field to get into separation to get an end zone score. When watching his game tape from Week 1, Archambault has some great patience to gave what his offensive line gives him and is one that can turn on the jets in when he sees a rushing lane he likes. An underclassman to keep an eye on from the Rush City Tigers.
More Big Dogs of the Game:
John Bayerle, OL/DL, Mille Lacs (2022)