Season On The Sidelines (Part 1)
I’m back Prep Redzone! I took this season off because I accepted the role of Defensive Coordinator of the Pipestone Area Arrows! Now that our season came to a sooner end than I had hoped, I can spend this offseason…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingI’m back Prep Redzone! I took this season off because I accepted the role of Defensive Coordinator of the Pipestone Area Arrows! Now that our season came to a sooner end than I had hoped, I can spend this offseason spreading the love of football back out to the SW Minnesota area and the Dakotas, starting this new segment of stories! I’m going to spend these next few days highlighting our season opponents and their key players. I’ll start off with our first three games of the season, here they are below!
Week One: LeSueur- Henderson Giants (1-8)
Don’t let that record fool you, this was a really good football team. We were basically the same team scheme-wise, ran the same offensive and defensive sets. There was a lot of unknowns going into this game because it was the season opener for both of us, along with the all-day rain we had prior to the game. Other than the field being under water, it was a perfect night for football, a lot of positives came out for both teams.
Giants Highlighted:
’22 QB/LB- Nathan Gregersen was a kid that impressed me with his athleticism, probably more as a WR type athlete, but he stepped up to the plate and filled in nicely as the Giants signal caller. He was elusive and loved to throw on the run, throwing a nice, crisp spiral. Also good on the speed options, breaking off nice chunks of yardage when he kept them. Defensively, he played his LB/DE position well, containing our jet sweeps and being a sure tackler, never afraid to stick his nose into the middle of a play. He was also their punter and was good at flipping the field.
’23 OL/LB- Justin Terwedo impressed me with his quick feet off the snap of the ball. He did a great job getting himself in the best position to make a block a quick as possible once the ball was snapped. He also did a great job staying engaged in his block until the play was over. He did not give up many tackles for loss. Lined up as a blitzer on most plays, did a good job adding some extra pressure on both passing and running downs.
’22 RB/LB- Mason Reinhardt had a good amount of agility, but knew when to be the bruiser in the run game as well. He did well selling the jab step on the counters then letting the blocks develop in front of him and springing a run for a nice gain. Defensively, looked like the LB who would read the offense, was the guy to help in both run-support and pass defense. He scraped well and flowed to the ball quickly.
’23 OL/DL- Beau Becker was a great pull blocker, really laid a lick on the defensive linemen on counters and traps. He was also very ferocious once he latched on to his blocks and played until the whistle. Defensively, he was a handful for the offensive linemen for the same reasons. He was quick off the ball, got off his blocks well and would hit the ballcarrier hard when given the chance.
’23 FB/DE- Benjamin Miller shined defensively, he held down his perimeter and kept his contain the whole game. He did an excellent job engaging his blocker to keep his outside arm free and ultimately, making a tackle. He kept great form in his tackles, delivering a big blow with his shoulder pad. Offensively, he was the lead blocker in their offense, lead up the gap to help break off chunks of yardage. A very physical football player on both sides of the ball.
Week Two: Worthington Trojans (1-8)
This was another talented team that did not get favored by their schedule. Over half their opponents had a .500 record or better. This was a team where it was hard to prep for, they had so many weapons at their disposal. Finding weaknesses was tough, we had to make sure our guys were locked in and ready to play, as the Trojans had all kinds of size and speed, but they were also a young team, playing two freshmen, who both made this report.
Trojans Highlighted:
’22 QB/DB- Jake Brandner was the kid we knew we had to stop. He was excellent at extending plays with his legs and could rip off huge gains when given the opportunity. He was also good at the read option, knowing when to keep and rip off another big chunk. He could also zip a good dart to his WR from time to time. Defensively he was excellent in breaking down and making open-field tackles, you could not rip off many yards against him one-on-one.
’25 RB/DB- Jacari Swinea Jacari Swinea 6'1" | 180 lbs | ATH Worthington | 2025 State MN was a nightmare in the backfield. He loved contacted and would not go down with one guy, you needed to gang tackle this guy. He was also very agile, had a great burst of speed and had good vision for the open field. He was a good target out of the backfield, especially on screens when he had blockers and a full head of steam on him, he was hard to stop. Defensively, he was good in pass coverage on our slot receivers, could keep up with them and contested every target.
’22 FB/LB- Levi Kuhl was another good LB, he did a good job timing snap counts and making life difficult on offense. He put in a lot of added pressure on each down he blitzed. He had a good pass drop too when he would sit in coverage. He packed a good punch when he made tackles, a good handful were for loss. He was the run-first LB in the defense.
’23 FB/LB- Nasim Zeidi was their ground and pound back, the one they would go to on the short yardage situation, or when they needed a good chunk of yardage. He had lots of power and a sneaky amount of speed and agility. He was also their lead blocker out of the backfield, widening gaps for his back behind him. Defensively, was the read-first LB, was good at getting reads and supporting both run and pass. Filled gaps well and made tackles, good pass drops and pass coverage as well.
’23 OL/DL- Anthony Linder shined more-so as a D-Lineman, was in the backfield constantly and disrupting a lot of plays. He shot gaps well and was quick off the snap. He took us out of our comfort zone with doing things we didn’t want to offensively, making us have to scheme around him. Offensively, he received handoffs out of the Wishbone and showed us his speed and power as a ballcarrier. Showed he’s a versatile player on both sides of the ball.
Week Three: Sibley East Wolverines (1-8)
The Sibley East Wolverines was a real wildcard team, it was our first ever meeting between each other in school history. Traditionally, they have always been a strong, well-disciplined team so this game was one of the pivotal points in the season for both of us. Their record did also not show their talent, they also were given a tough schedule, and were plagued with injuries. They were missing one or two key players against us if I remember right.
Wolverines Highlighted
’22 QB/DB- Zachary Pazdernik another do-it-all ATH, played QB, Safety and kicked for the Wolverines and excelled in all three facets. He was another read-option QB we knew we needed to contain if we wanted to have a good night. He was fast and agile, but liked to run through guys if he could. Defensively, he was their Free Safety and just sat back and read the QB, did that well also not letting anything behind him. He probably could get some looks at kicker as well, each kickoff was a touchback and he drilled a 35 yard FG, that would’ve been good from at least 45. What stood out to me was his grit, he was taking a beating all game, but he just kept popping right back up.
’22 FB/LB- Hunter Stearns was a offensive pain, he played at LB but was sent off the edge on almost every play, really putting pressure on the QB. He has a good frame and knows how to use it, takes on blocks well and finishes through the tackle. On offense, he was a wing back that was almost always the lead blocker. He would either pull block and trap our D-line or he would seal the edge, and did well at both jobs. He was also a reliable target out of the backfield for his QB.
’22 RB/LB- Tucker Hendrycks was the main RB, he had a bulk of the carries in the first half and earned every single yard he gained. Nothing flashy, just straight ahead smash-mouth football. He almost took a mob of our defense to take him down every play. Defensively, he looked like a field general, he was the LB who would read his keys, quickly, then do his job either in the run or pass game. He was a great technique tackler with a lot of pop in his shoulder pads. He has great recovery speed in his pass drops and covers a lot of ground.
’24 WR/DB- Joseph Ballalatak was the press coverage corner. He did an excellent job jamming the receivers at the line and recovering to stick with them. He has great footwork in his back-pedal to flip his hips and run with his receiver. He almost never got burnt on a vertical route. Offensively, he ran good routes, given that their offense looked like an RPO based offense he was smart when he knew to run a route or block. Again having great footwork to hold his blocks on the perimeter. He seemed to have a good ball sense on both sides of the ball just by the way he played each down.
’24 OL/DL- Omar Martinez seemed like a key part in the blocking schemes. He’d move around on the line when they would go unbalanced, and they would run behind him. He did a good job driving his feet to widen the C-gap, and also did a great job washing down on down blocks. Defensively, he really controlled the A-gaps and made it hard to go up the middle. He really stayed low and drove off the snap on each down on both sides of the ball.