West Salt Lake City vs. Mater Dei Preview: Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top 6A football teams in Utah is headed to Southern California to play one of the top two teams in the nation in Mater Dei.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Very few teams from California agree to play Mater Dei in nonleague games, so it's admirable for West to make the trip and see how they match up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West has 16 returning starters from last year's team that won the Region 2 championship before losing to Farmington in the playoffs. The team has six players ranked in the top 100 of the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/utah/rankings/2023-rankings/">Prep Redzone Utah rankings</a>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff00b76ed07","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["406876"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"6-foot-5, 225-pound defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='406876' first='Talitui' last='Pututau'] is the highest-touted player with offers from Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Utah State and Weber State.rnrnHe is an excellent run defender who can eat up double teams and maintain gap integrity.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff01276ed08","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["406880"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Vailhali rushed for over 8 yards per carry in 2021 and had six touchdowns.rnrnHe has offers from Nevada and Utah State and is the No. 2 running back in the state according to Prep Redzone.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff04c76ed09","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["406935"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Falatea is a smaller but very solid interior offensive lineman. He has a good motor and is athletic enough to get down the field on screens.rnrnHe recently got is first offer from Idaho State.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West is really solid on the defensive line and at linebacker. It's hard to move the ball steadily on them and they may force Mater Dei to throw more than it wants to early in the game. [player_tooltip player_id='406888' first='Faimafilli' last='Snuka'] is a solid linebacker and [player_tooltip player_id='406900' first='Kymani' last='Lautaimi'] are also big contributors in the front seven for West.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff05fb6ed0a","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["147708"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Brown is 17-0 as the starting quarterback for Mater Dei. He is calm in the pocket and accurate to all three levels of the field.rnrnHe completed 74 percent of his passes for 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions.rnrnAlabama, Georgia, Michigan, Ole Miss, USC and others have offered Brown.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff09046ed0b","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["25447"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Sua is one of the best linebackers in the state and was the MVP of the linebackers at the Under Armour Next All-American camp.rnrnHe can stop the run and covers a ton of the field with his lateral quickness. Arizona, Stanford and Washington are his final three schools right now.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"id":"block_62ff0a196ed0c","name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["147719"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Mater Dei has one of the best offensive lines in the nation and it's led by left tackle [player_tooltip player_id='147719' first='DeAndre' last='Carter'] who has started since his freshman year.rnrnCarter is an elite pass rusher who moves very well for someone close to 350 pounds. Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas Au0026amp;M and USC have all offered him.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"align":"","mode":"preview"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mater Dei's junior class is its strongest in awhile. [player_tooltip player_id='147715' first='Zabien' last='Brown'] is the leader of the secondary. [player_tooltip player_id='115462' first='Ajon' last='Bryant'] is the versatile starting running back and [player_tooltip player_id='115472' first='Jack' last='Ressler'] is the receiver with upside. [player_tooltip player_id='147730' first='Brandon' last='Baker'] is the right tackle with multiple Power 5 offers and [player_tooltip player_id='115434' first='Aydin' last='Breland'] is the best defensive lineman on the squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>BOTTOM LINE</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West has the strength up front to make Mater Dei uncomfortable at times. I don't think they have the depth at the skill positions to stop Mater Dei's passing offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='147708' first='Elijah' last='Brown'] is the best quarterback West has seen in years and he can beat them underneath or on deep balls. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West has a handful of players with Division 1 offers. Every starter on Mater Dei has at least one Division 1 offer. Kudos to West for making the trip to play Mater Dei, but this should be a blowout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->