Kasson-Mantorville vs. Fridley – Offensive standouts

It took about a quarter for the Kasson-Mantorville offense to get rolling, but the KoMets took control of their Class AAAA state quarterfinal game against Fridley when it did. They rolled to 36 unanswered points in a <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/11/defense-and-old-school-option-football-key-komets-victory/">42-7 victory</a> setting up a date in the semi-finals with the top-ranked Becker Bulldogs. [player_tooltip player_id="49912" first="Matthew" last="Donovan"] <strong>Kasson-Mantorville QB</strong> Donovan did a little bit of everything for the KoMet offense – most notably was his decision-making running the option. After an early run up the middle, he made multiple guys miss on a punt return. With his arm, he hit a fade pattern for a touchdown. Then, on his second of three touchdown passes, Donovan hit his receiver down the sidelines on a third and long. Previously, he used his quick feet to cut up an option play for fifteen yards. After a touchdown pass down the middle, he kept the ball on the option for thirty yards. His two best runs came late in the game. He made two tacklers miss when keeping the ball on the option and later used a stiff arm to turn a loss into a short gain. [player_tooltip player_id="116253" first="Anthony" last="Moe-Tucker"] <strong>Kasson-Mantorville RB</strong> Tucker was one of the main benefactors of Donovan’s decisions on the option. Early on, it was Moe-Tucker’s blocking that made an impact. An excellent seal block sprung Brooks Buchanan around the corner. With his running ability, he bounced off tacklers and then drug tacklers for five yards. Later, he took an option pitch and cut it up for a touchdown for the first of his three touchdowns. He showed his power again when he was hit at the line of scrimmage and powered his way to five yards. His speed to the corner got him eight yards, and his feet helped him get his final touchdown with a slick cutback run. <strong>Reese Tripp, Owen Bradford, Brock Swanson, Kellen Wilke, Benjamin Nelson Kasson-Mantorville OL</strong> Once the offense committed to run the option, the offensive line pushed around the Tigers’ front seven despite the wet conditions. Especially on the edges, the front five and the tight ends sealed the edges allowing Moe-Tucker and Donovan plenty of room to run. The KoMets didn’t pass much, but when they did, Donovan could have been sitting in a lawn chair and picked out his receivers most times. <strong>Myson Newton Fridley QB</strong> Newton was the Tigers’ most consistent threat on offense. He showed speed on three runs around the corner, either picking up first downs or getting good yardage. His second-half 65-yard touchdown run was the individual highlight of the night. He started running to the right, weaved in and out of tacklers cutting across the field. The run covered about 100 actual yards as he crossed the goal line near the left pylon. Late in the game, he made more tacklers miss on a broken play that picked up a first down. <strong>Brooks Buchanan Kasson-Mantorville RB</strong> While Buchanan’s biggest contribution was his blocking, he showed his speed early in the game with a run around the corner. Once the running game got going, he was instrumental in sealing the corner more than once with the option game. <strong>Gavin Giesler Kasson-Mantorville TE</strong> Giesler’s block sprung an option run on the corner. He got involved in the running game, taking a pitch for 15 yards. He made two huge catches – the first was a fade on 4th down for a 30-yard touchdown. Then, he caught a tipped ball on a crossing route and turned it upfield for a touchdown. [player_tooltip player_id="49934" first="Devin" last="Williams"] <strong>Fridley WR</strong> Williams showed his speed to get around the corner on a pair of end-a-rounds. Then, he showed excellent concentration on a short pass that was almost picked off. <strong>Easton Suess Kasson-Mantorville TE</strong> Like Giesler, his seal blocks helped the outside running game. He got involved in the passing game, too – with a touchdown catch on a play-action pass with just seconds to play in the first half.