Raiders vs. Eagles – Offensive standouts

There was not much offense – especially in the first half when Apple Valley visited Hastings on Thursday night. <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/09/defense-dominates-in-hastings-raiders-pitch-a-shutout/">The Hastings Raiders pitched a shutout to get a 20-0 victory,</a> but a handful of players made their presence known on the offensive side of the ball. <strong>Payton Burow Hastings RB</strong> Burrow used his speed to get the corner on an early run. He showed his speed again to the corner for a 20-yard run behind offensive linemen <strong>Owen Glade</strong> and<strong> Jacob Landoll-Bleed</strong>. Burrow – who is only listed at 5’7" and 166 pounds – added a tough inside run for a short gain, using good feet to find the hole. The junior showed those feet again on a cutback run for five. Despite his diminutive size, Burow exploded up the middle for twenty yards. On the next play, he showed his balance as he bounced outside for a nice run. Burow would finish the game with 21 carries and 101 yards. <strong>Axel Arnold Hastings QB</strong> Arnold beat the Eagles with both his arm and legs. Early on, he was efficient in the short passing game. Then, on a quarterback draw, he picked up 20 yards. The first time Arnold threw deep, it was perfect. He hit a post to wide receiver <strong>Jonathon Bezdicek</strong> for a touchdown.  The post was his favorite route as he hit another skinny post for 25 yards. Later, Arnold got around the corner for 25 yards. He totaled two touchdown passes, his second coming on a short crossing route. On an RPO, he tucked the ball for a twenty-yard gain. The senior finished with a sixty percent completion rate with two touchdowns through the air with another 85 yards on the ground. <strong>Stephen Reifenberger Hastings WR</strong> Reifenberger was the recipient of Arnold’s second touchdown pass and was also responsible for most of his quarterback’s early success. He caught a pair of early five-yard outs. On the second catch, he broke a tackle to pick up a first down. He grabbed another short out route for eight yards. They didn’t go to Reifenberger for any deep throws, but the senior captain is a sure-handed receiver who finished with four grabs for 33 yards and a touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="49858" first="Conner" last="Elliott"] <strong>Apple Valley RB</strong> The Eagles didn’t have much to write home about on the offensive side of the ball, but their best overall player was Elliot. He is a tough inside runner with an effective stiff arm. That stiff arm got him five yards on a run where he should not have gotten any. He also ran some Wildcat quarterback. A contributor in all three phases of the game, he booted a 48-yard punt. <strong>Quick hits</strong> <strong>Jonathan Bezbicek Hastings WR</strong> - got behind the defense on a post pattern for a 39-yard touchdown <strong>Rico Cooper Hastings WR</strong> – caught a post pattern for 25 yards <strong>Tom Kennedy Hastings RB</strong> – opened the game with a long kickoff return