Week 2 Minnesota Matchups to Watch: 1-on-1 Battles

Happy Friday, everybody! Before we get another weekend started with some Friday Night Lights I wanted to take a different approach to breaking down some of this week’s top games and matchups and focus on some 1-on-1 positional battles within each game that I think our lovely subscribers should be aware of. Using the always awesome MNFootballHub weekly rankings that are voted on by the Associated Press I found some interesting ranked-on-ranked games across all seven classes of MN high school football that include some big-time rivalries and competitive contests and went in-depth to find the battles within the games between some of each sides best players. Whether it’s a WR vs. DB, QB vs. QB, or DL vs. OL, you’ll want to be aware of these clashes going on tonight. Good luck to everyone in advance, and thanks for reading! Friday Night Lights Matchups: Elk River (5A #3) vs. Andover (5A #4) Based only 30 minutes apart, the Elks and the Huskies are poised for a hard-fought, exciting 5A heavyweight game tonight that is sure to not disappoint. Jim Paulsen from the StarTribune told me that Elk River Coach Steve Hamilton said that this team is as deep as they’ve ever been, and when you look at the stats from their 40-14 win over a good Cambridge-Isanti team last week it’s hard not to agree with Mr. Hamilton, as ER rushed 44 times for 364 yards and 6 TDs with 11 different players earning a carry. Meanwhile, Andover showed a balance offensive attack in their 49-14 defeat of Brainerd, throwing for 159 yards and rushing for 123 yards. They also made some plays on defense and recorded 2 sacks and an interception, so I think this has the potential to be either very high scoring or a defensive, low scoring game. Within this, I’m pretty intrigued by the 1-on-1 matchup of Elk River 2022 6’1, 300 lb. OC/OG [player_tooltip player_id="49826" first="Luke" last="Gintz"] and Andover 2022 6’2, 245 lb. NG Dylan Owens. Those two will be first in line at the point of attack and will be knocking heads all game long, so I think a lot of the success on either side will be predicated on these two winning a lot of individual reps throughout the night. Owens - in his first game tape against Brainerd - looked strong in his initial punch and was hard to move out of his gap whether in a 1-on-1 or double-team scenario, while Gintz gets off the ball quickly for his size and absolutely envelops defenders with his massive frame and good use of leverage. The RBs of Elk River and the LBs of Andover will also have big roles tonight. Chaska (5A #8) vs. Chanhassen In a big-time heated rivalry the Hawks take on the Storm and both teams sit at 1-0 after they beat Bloomington Jefferson and Hastings, respectively. Chaska was led by the impressive personal performance from RB Jack Boyle, who rushed 23 times for 251 yards and 4 TDs behind an OL led by 2022 South Dakota commit [player_tooltip player_id="49838" first="Colton" last="Rada"], 2023 [player_tooltip player_id="120007" first="Kaleb" last="Rector"], and 2022 6’3, 260 lber. Celso Almaraz Ibarra. On the other hand, Chanhassen threw for 195 yards and rushed for 151 yards, while picking off two passes on defense. Between the two teams I really think Chanhassen’s WR corps and Chaska’s DL are the two big strengths of either side, and a 1-on-1 battle within the game to keep an eye out for is Storm stud 2023 WR and Southern Mississippi baseball commit [player_tooltip player_id="112048" first="Josh" last="Och"] and Chaska 2022 FS Trevor Oetter. The former is a legitimate deep threat who can take the top off the defense without a moments notice, and at the end of the day it’s going to be on Oetter is try and stop him. With his 6’1, 185 lb. frame, Oetter does his best work in run support, so it’s going to be critical for him to keep everything in front of him to try and limit explosive plays by the Chan offense and allow his disruptive DL to beat the man in front of him and get to the QB. Och - in his Week 1 tape against Hastings - looked fast and slippery and was respected by the Hastings DBs a little too much, as they gave him a big pre-snap cushion that he ate up with deep curls all night long. He also made some nice moves on a WR screen, and scored on a wide open endzone fade, and looks like he got faster since last season. It’s going to be a good one tonight at Chaska High School. Prior Lake (6A #9) vs. Shakopee (6A #6) We got an intriguing big-school matchup here as the Lakers will travel the short 15 minutes up 35W to meet the Sabers in a battle of two Top-10 6A schools. What I like a lot about both rosters is the amount of 2023 talent each side possesses, and a lot of them will need big games tonight in order to come out with a W for their teams. Both squads are coming off of lopsided victories last week as PL beat Hopkins up and Shako dismantled Anoka, so I think there will be a ton of excitement and energy in the air tonight for this rivalry game. Both sides were very run-heavy in Week 1, with the Lakers running for 340 yards as a team and Shakopee posting 367, so I think some key positional battles will come from within the box, but that will be as more of a collective 7 man front as opposed to one key 1-on-1 matchup. Where that big clash will come from I think will be more on the outside, as 2023 6’, 180 lb. Saber CB Garrison Monroe will be locked onto the Lakers electric 2023 WR/RB playmaker [player_tooltip player_id="112055" first="Joey" last="Krouse"]. The former led his defense in tackles last week with 7 and also recorded a TFL, while the latter went for 4 catches for 101 yards and 2 TDs. I got to see Monroe this summer live, and he’s got long arms and big strides, while Krouse has burst for days and is very elusive in the open-field, so I think Monroe matching up 1-on-1 with Krouse all night has the potential to be very competitive and very important to the outcome of the game. We shall see later tonight! Lakeville South (6A #2) vs. Lakeville North (6A #8) There’s not much that needs to be said about the rivalry game in Lakeville, as the Cougars and Panthers are year in and year out one of the most fierce and talent-rich contests the state has to offer. While history has seen Lakeville North generally come out on top of this game, the tide has turned the past few years and Lakeville South has seemed to become top dog in the city of Lakeville, earning some preseason #1 rankings from both PrepRedzone and the StarTribune. The Panthers will definitely have something to say about me saying that South has become "top dog" and the thought of their crosstown rival ending up #1, and all over the field tonight we will surely see hard hits and maximum effort from both sides. Both teams stand at 1-0 and primarily run the rock, as they both posted over 400 yards of rushing in their Week 1 wins, as North beat Eastview and South beat Park. Where I would focus on if I was at the game would probably be the 1-on-1 dogfight that will be Panther 2022 Minnesota-Duluth LB [player_tooltip player_id="49831" first="Tommy" last="Niggeling"] trying to contain the talent of Cougar 2023 RB stud [player_tooltip player_id="112043" first="Carson" last="Hansen"], and boy, will these two be seeing a lot of each other tonight. The former posted a team-high 9 tackles last week, while the latter led the team in rushing with 213 yards, and with the sideline-to-sideline speed of both players I would love to see some of the run ins these two will have tonight. Niggeling is a LB/SS hybrid who plays with instincts and is always around the football and a great tackler once he gets to the ball carrier, while Hansen is a long-striding and explosive RB who can slip through tackle attempts and has the speed to beat angles and pull away when he hits daylight. I am a big fan of both prospects, and will stand on the table for Hansen as I think he’s a P5 RB prospect and will tell anyone who will listen. Gonna be a good one in Lakeville tonight. Hutchinson (4A #1) vs. Willmar (4A #9) My preseason PrepRedzoneMN pick for 4A state champ in the Hutchinson Tigers face their first real test of the season tonight as they take on fellow 4A ranked Willmar, who is coming off of a crazy 19-18 win over a good St. Cloud Apollo team last week. Hutch has a pretty loaded roster and ran the ball for 378 yards from the efforts of 7 different ball carriers in a win against Alexandria last week, and I’m assuming their game plan is going to be a lot of the same thing in tonight’s contest. The Cardinals are going to need a lot of points if they want to beat Hutch tonight, and that means that Preseason All-State 4A Second Team ATH Alex Schramm will need to have a big night from his QB position and will need some help from fellow Preseason All-State Second Team pick at the OL Ethan Schwab. It’s really going to come down to the elusiveness of Schramm however, and for him to get to the endzone I think his biggest challenge will be getting away from hard-hitting Hutchinson 2022 LB [player_tooltip player_id="49825" first="Aaron" last="Elliott"]. I’m surprised Mr. Elliott is still so underrecruited, as he has a great frame that will flourish in a college S&C program, sideline-to-sideline speed, and is a thumper at the point of contact. He’s going to be all over the field and will anchor the Hutch defense, so he’ll be #1 in charge of containing Schramm. Mountain Lake Area (9Man #1) vs. Renville County West (9man #7) Gotta love a big 9man matchup, and we have a doozy tonight as the top ranked Mountain Lake Area heads an hour and a half North up to Renville for a Western MN showdown tonight. Mountain Lake Area doesn’t have any stats uploaded to MNFootballHub and don’t have a lot updated on their Hudl, but I’m a fan of their senior 6’1, 205 lb. MLB Kade Wassman, and I think he’ll be butting heads with Preseason All-State Second Team OL from Renville County West 2023 Noah Gullickson a lot throughout the night. In his game highlights last week from Westbrook-Walnut Grove, in which RCW won 26-8, Gullickson was got to the second level very well and was all over WWG’s backers and DBs, effectively rendering them useless for much of the night, and he plays violently and through the whistle, meaning he’ll be handful for Mr. Wassman to deal with tonight, but he will be aided by how explosive he is out of his stance and how well he shoots gaps. The 200+ lber. plays with a lot of speed from his LB position, so he’ll have to lean on that to get away from the strong hands of Gullickson. Both like to hit and do not shy away from contact either, so I think we’ll see some big hits between the two in tonight’s game. Good luck, fellas! Kasson-Mantorville (4A #3) vs. Winona (4A #4) An important 4A clash occurs near the Wisconsin border in Southeast MN as Kasson-Mantorville travels to the Winona Winhawks for a #3 vs. #4 showdown with big 4A implications. This one is a little harder to think of a specific 1-on-1 matchup, as both sides kind of have a similar need to contain a certain player on each side’s offense, so I’m going to cheat a little here and list out two for you. For the Komets offense, can QB/ATH/playmaker/stud Matt Donovan go to work on Winona’s defense? If so, he’ll have to get by their leader in 2023 LB [player_tooltip player_id="19008" first="Bryan" last="Cassellius"], who does a little bit of everything on defense and special teams and is always in the right position to help out in both run and pass support. For the Winhawks, can RB [player_tooltip player_id="19019" first="Dominic" last="Davis"] - who rushed for 133 yards off 18 attempts in a win against Red Wing last week - stay away from the do-it-all talents of ATH [player_tooltip player_id="116253" first="Anthony" last="Moe-Tucker"], who is a 5’11, 235 lb. ball of athleticism who can line up just about anywhere on defense or offense and get the job done. I think each side’s defender will have to have a big night to contain their opponent’s offense, and I believe these four players will play a big part in their squad’s attempt to gain a victory tonight. Fridley (4A #8) vs. Minneapolis North (2A #2) Last but not least, 2A title contender Minneapolis North hosts the Fridley Tigers of Class 4A, who are coming off a heartbreaking 15-12 loss to SMB in Week 1. First off, props to the Polars for playing against competition of a much higher class, and after losing so much talent in their 2021 class it seems like they want to run the ball this season as they put up 250 rushing yards against St. Paul Johnson to only 98 yards of passing last week. Tartan transfer RB Jaylon Washington looks to be the workhorse back for North and ran for 130 yards on just 12 attempts in Week 1, and with Fridley also losing a ton of talent in their 2021 class - specifically defensively - I think the Polars will look to run the ball again tonight to earn a W. If the Tigers want to stop them, it looks like 2024 DB Tykeilan Moore will need to have another effort like he did against SMB, where he totaled 6 tackles and 4 TFLs in a quality start for the sophomore. If he can live in the backfield like he did against some of the massive SMB offensive lineman than North is going to have a harder time throwing the ball than they are used to. This will be a fun one to keep an eye on tonight. Other Games to Watch? Eden Prairie (6A #1) vs. Farmington (6A #10) Can 2023 monster DE for Eden Prairie [player_tooltip player_id="112086" first="Chiddi" last="Obiazor"] get to Farmington QB [player_tooltip player_id="116452" first="Connor" last="Weed"] enough to shut down the Tigers offense? Academy of Holy Angels (4A #6) vs. Orono Can anyone stop [player_tooltip player_id="18427" first="Emmett" last="Johnson"]? Glencoe-Silver Lake vs Annandale (3A #3) Can anyone tackle [player_tooltip player_id="49832" first="Mitchel" last="Jaskowiak"] for four quarters? Grand Rapids vs. Hermantown Can Hermantown contain Grand Rapids monster defender and NDSU commit [player_tooltip player_id="49834" first="Andy" last="Thomsen"]?