Scout in Attendance: WK 7, Pennridge @ Bensalem

This is the first of a new series at Prep Redzone Pennsylvania where I will break down a game each week that I personally attend. Now with football back amidst little to no COVID restrictions, it’s time to get my boots on the ground and see prospects live in action. As opposed to traditional game reporting, I will break down this star-studded game by each side of the ball, highlighting prospects who produced or excelled in their roles. Pennridge [player_tooltip player_id="91648" first="Phil" last="Picciotti"] | 6’3, 225 | LB/TE/ATH | 2023 Stephen Reutlinger Jr. | 6’3, 275 | OL/DL | 2022 Brennan Fisher | 6’0, 180 | RB/DB | 2023 Danny Fish | 6’2, 275 | OL/DL | 2022 Nate Mossbrook | 6’0, 170 | RB/DB | 2023 Adam Mossbrook | 165 | WR/ATH | 2022 Logan McGowan | 6’1, 200 | LB | 2022 Tyler Wetzel | 5’11, 200 | RB/LB | 2023 Dylan O’Brien | 6’2, 220 | LB/DL | 2023 My shutout streak continues with this one. Last Friday night, Pennridge completely waxed Bensalem to my surprise. I’m fond of many players on the Bensalem side, so to see them get beaten this way was a shock to me. Clearly not a shock when actually watching the game and seeing just how overpowering Pennridge can be on both sides of the football. If you see the above list of prospects that caught my eye, not a one is under 5’11, as almost all are above six feet tall. This team as a whole is big and powerful. Their line plays big and powerful. Already on the mind of the opposing players is "How the hell am I going to shed this guy?". Combine this strength with a ton of pre-snap and post-snap motion behind the line of scrimmage and you have an offense that wants to physically impose its will on you. Tough to slow down. These backs have this offense down pat too. Pennridge wants to disguise their running lanes as far into the play as they can, having stud backs like Tyler Wetzel, Nate Mossbrook, and Brennan Fisher hit holes as soon as they open. If you can’t physically match up with the offensive line, you’re going to have a tough time zeroing in on the ball carrier. I loved what I saw out of Brennan Fisher, who is a relatively new name to me. This kid sees running lanes so well. I often thought a hole wasn’t there, it was, and Fisher found it. He excels in the kick return game, where that vision pays off in the open field. He doesn’t play around, hits the hole, and is looking to score. Has another gear in him once reaching the second level. Danny Fish and Stephen Reutlinger Jr. were eating up seemingly everything thrown at them on both sides of the ball. What impressed me was their constant effort play in and play out despite the score. That’s the mark of mature linemen who want to punish their opponents. Can win a lot of games with this formula. It’s also nice to have a top 25 junior in the state. [player_tooltip player_id="91648" first="Phil" last="Picciotti"] was a selling point to attend this game, would have attended either way but seeing the renowned junior live left me impressed. If you had to spot the D1 prospect based on physique alone, you could do it. Looks like a grown man in pads. Incredible build with advanced athleticism at the linebacker position. Kid was a flash on the field. He’s seemingly involved on every tackle, assisting or soloing. He’s got real sideline-to-sideline speed. His reaction time is probably his best trait. He’s so natural and fluid when moving laterally. I see exactly what top-tier D1 programs see in him. Every prospect listed above will stay on my radar throughout the season as well as next year. I’m sure I’ll be hearing more from these kids sooner rather than later. Bensalem Josiah Leonard | 5’9, 175 | DB/RB | 2022 Terrel Roane | 6’0, 300 | DL | 2022 [player_tooltip player_id="140912" first="Ashton" last="Barnes"] | 5’10, 170 | RB/DB | 2022 Allen Myers | 6’6 | WR | 2022 Ben Hall | 5’10, 180 | ATH | 2022 <img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-216948 aligncenter" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2021/10/8Ih8yH53.jpg-medium-crop-945x620-1634179432-300x197.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /> Tough to come away with a lot of good out of Bensalem from this outing. Attending games is important as two new names stood out to me despite the brutal loss. Those are Terrel Roane, a big, clogging defensive tackle, and Allen Myers, who immediately stood out to me because of his height. Roane did what he could against a stellar offensive line group. Most of what PR attacked were outside, off-tackle lanes that Roane couldn’t disrupt. He made a few good stuffs whenever PR did decide to run the ball in the interior. The passing game lacked for the Owls, so I couldn’t see Myers come up with much production besides a sweet sideline grab in the second half. He’s got a super slight/frail build. Might be a basketball player, he could help his stock rise by putting on some pounds. I like his stride as well. [player_tooltip player_id="140912" first="Ashton" last="Barnes"] and Ben Hall were relatively quiet in this game, nonetheless, the two are on my radar. I love what I saw out of Josiah Leonard throughout the entirety of this game. The team’s best player/athlete is supposed to step up in this manner. I can’t speak on what kind of leader he is in the locker room but his play and motor is exactly what you want to see out of your senior leader. No matter the time, score, Leonard was selling out in run-support to try to hold PR from scoring again. Leonard can rest easy knowing he did what he could. Kick return and punt returns added unnecessary hits, he didn’t mind. At DB, Leonard was doing what he could to delay the inevitable score whenever a run was called to his side of the field. He over-pursued on some instances, that doesn’t matter to me. What matters was maximum effort in a game like this when down 40+ points. I saw that from him. He didn’t go off for 150+ on the ground but still managed to help the Owls move the chains. In a game with [player_tooltip player_id="91648" first="Phil" last="Picciotti"] on the field, two hits made me stand up, both were out of Josiah Leonard. He’s earned a spot on our rankings before this game. Solidified it now.