Brian's Best - Milaca vs. Princeton

The weather was awful in Milaca on Friday night, but the game between two undefeated teams and traditional rivals - the Milaca Wolves and the Princeton Tigers – was anything but. The weather did a number on both offenses and my audio equipment, so I could only salvage my notes from the first half and parts of the second half. Missing from this and my game story are post-game interviews with Milaca running back [player_tooltip player_id='313132' first='Jack' last='Schoenborn'], Milaca head coach Craig Talberg and various other observations of mine from the second half. Still, here are some of the players who were most impressive during this <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2022/09/the-battle-for-the-paddle-a-rain-soaked-classic/">overtime thriller</a>.    Jaeger Ash, Wyatt Maurer, [player_tooltip player_id='313134' first='Colbee' last='Zens'], Jack Hanson, and [player_tooltip player_id='313127' first='Logan' last='Ash'] Milaca OL   Maurer, Zens, and Hanson opened a big hole up the middle. Zens and Mauer then combined with Jaeger Ash to spring a running back. Hanson and [player_tooltip player_id='313127' first='Logan' last='Ash'] opened a hole for nearly a twenty yard gain. Later, Jaeger Ash and Maurer showed great footwork as they picked up blocks in the open field. Hanson and [player_tooltip player_id='313127' first='Logan' last='Ash'] moved the Tigers' defensive linemen backward for another twenty yard gain. Later, moving well in the open field, Jaeger Ash and Maurer sealed the edge for a run around the corner.   Defensively, Zens played the outside run great and chased down a running back during an outside run.   [player_tooltip player_id='313132' first='Jack' last='Schoenborn'] RB Milaca   Despite the muddy conditions, Schoenborn was the player who – especially in the first half - seemed the most unaffected by the weather. He had success up the middle for five yards lowering his pad level and getting to the second level. Later, he cut to the outside for a first down. He used quick feet to make a couple of quick cuts to find space. Then, he broke a tackle and made a cut to pick up a first down. After a short touchdown run, he found paydirt again on a nine yard touchdown run. Schoenborn used his speed in the second half to get around the corner for a first down. During his most impressive run, the senior looked like he was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. He spun out of a tackle and got to the outside for thirty yards.   [player_tooltip player_id='313130' first='Dylan' last='Greninger'] QB Milaca   Greninger's biggest contribution to the victory was his ball-handling skills. The ball was on the ground a few times, but his ball handling made the offense go. The ball was on the ground early because of a low snap, but he improvised for nine yards. Most of the time, he opted to keep the ball he picked up positive yards. On defense, he cut in front of a crossing route to deflect a pass. Oh, and of course, he made a pretty big throw in the rain for an overtime touchdown.      Eli Kitzman DL Princeton   Kitzman made sure Greninger didn't always make the proper read. He played the option well and dropped Greninger for a loss. Later, he stuffed a run on the inside for no gain. Especially in the second half, Kitzman was critical in keeping the Wolves' offense off the scoreboard until overtime.   [player_tooltip player_id='313133' first='Owen' last='Vanderplaats'] WR Milaca   VanderPlaats helped keep an early touchdown drive alive with a catch in the flat. He was well short of the first down, but he broke a couple of tackles to pick up a first down. Through the driving rain storm, he hauled in a deep crossing route on fourth and long in overtime for a touchdown to set up the winning two point conversion.   [player_tooltip player_id='112183' first='Christian' last='Williams'] LB Princeton   Williams scraped down the line of scrimmage to make a tackle on the inside. Later, he stuffed an inside run.   Clay Anderson LB Milaca   Anderson made a tackle on the edge stopping a quarterback bootleg. He then stuffed a run to the outside for a short gain. His excellent play on the outside allowed him to contain the runner and make another tackle for a short gain.     Jake Baumann DB Princeton   Baumann kept contain and stopped an outside run. Later, he recovered a fumble. He gave Princeton a short-lived lead by sprinting up the middle on an inside handoff for ten yard touchdown in overtime.

The weather was awful in Milaca on Friday night, but the game between two undefeated teams and traditional rivals - the Milaca Wolves and the Princeton Tigers – was anything but. The weather did a number on both offenses and my audio equipment, so I could only salvage my notes from the first half and parts of the second half. Missing from this and my game story are post-game interviews with Milaca running back Jack Schoenborn Jack Schoenborn 5'9" | 160 lbs | RB Milaca | 2023 MN , Milaca head coach Craig Talberg and various other observations of mine from the second half. Still, here are some of the players who were most impressive during this overtime thriller.