Saturday Scope: Western Wildcats

I stopped by <strong>St. Thomas Aquinas</strong> to watch the <strong>Western Wildcats</strong> take on the Raiders Friday night. The Wildcats fell 31-21 in what turned out to be a long game due to a lighting delay. Five turnovers ultimately hurt Western against Aquinas. Honestly, I thought a few of their mistakes were more self-inflicted than others. St. Thomas Aquinas is too good to multiply on miscues. The loss drops the Wildcats to 2-2. Despite the loss, Western had some impressive players. Here are my observations. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50197" first="Jullian" last="Lewis"]</strong> - <em>Wide receiver</em> 2022 Julian Lewis caught two of Western’s three touchdowns in defeat. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Lewis caught his first on an inside slant with 4:29 left in the half. The 3-star prospect caught his second on a deep pass down the sideline from quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="128318" first="Collin" last="Hurst"] with 1:40 remaining. Lewis went up and used his big frame as a shield for the score. It was almost like a box-out as he kept his defender away from making a play on the ball. Lewis was very impressive all night as he finished with 10 catches for 134 yards. He caught passes on all levels using his size and speed. Coming into the night, Lewis<span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> had 20 receptions for 287 yards and three touchdowns. He holds offers from </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Georgia Tech</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Appalachian State</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Arkansas</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Boston College</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Charlotte</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Coastal Carolina</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Indiana</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Pittsburgh</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">UT</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">-</span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Martin</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Southern Miss</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">, </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Rhode Island</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"> and </span><strong style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">Syracuse</strong><span style="font-size: 1rem; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;">.</span> <strong>Tyreik Thorpe</strong> - Wide receiver <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Thorpe-crop-820x539-1632544628.jpeg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-206833" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/09/Thorpe-crop-820x539-1632544628-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> 2022 Tyreik Thorpe was shifty and quick in the open field all night. You might think you have a hand on him until you don’t. The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Thorpe came into the game averaging 15.6 yards per reception. Thorpe was elusive horizontally on a couple of catches against the Raiders. He would stop on a dime and dart around guys to pick up extra yards. Opponents are going to have their hands full with Lewis and Thorpe on the outside. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128318" first="Collin" last="Hurst"]</strong> - <em>Quarterback </em> 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="128318" first="Collin" last="Hurst"]  looked mobile in and out of the pocket for Western. I thought the 5-foot-11, 160-pound quarterback made some plays with his feet by design or on his own. Hurst does have two rushing scores on the season. His connection with Lewis was a huge part of their offensive success. Hurst came into the evening completing 70 percent of his passes for 862 yards and eight touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="128782" first="Jordan" last="Jean"]</strong> - <em>Defensive back</em> 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="128782" first="Jordan" last="Jean"] looked good in the defensive backfield for Western. I thought Jean had a couple pass breakups and made his presence felt in the secondary. Jean played physical at the point of contact. The 5-foot-9, 155-pound prospect picked off a pass against <strong>Coral Glades</strong>. Keep an eye on this kid the rest of the season. <em><strong>For any South Florida Prep Redzone news or information...please contact Michael Costeines @Steins_23 on Instagram or follow him on Twitter @Mungertown_Mike23.</strong></em> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;