Elkhorn South vs Lincoln Southeast Game Review

The first game of my Week 1 double-header at Seacrest Field, was the Elkhorn South Storm visiting the Lincoln Southeast Knights. The game was close in the first half with a 17-14 Elkhorn South lead going into halftime. Elkhorn South eventually pulled away behind a tremendous offensive outing from QB [player_tooltip player_id='340487' first='Carson' last='Rauner'] and 2023 WR [player_tooltip player_id='416961' first='Jackson' last='Moeller Swan'], with [player_tooltip player_id='227026' first='Cole' last='Ballard'] doing the dirty work in the rushing game. The final score showed Elkhorn South going home with a 31-20 win over the Lincoln Southeast Knights.   Here are the players from both teams that I thought had great games and stood out the most.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/>   Player of the Game: [player_tooltip player_id='416961' first='Jackson' last='Moeller Swan'] (2023- Elkhorn South) | WR/DB | 6'1" 190 lbs   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12930512/Jackson-Moeller-Swan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/Jackson_Swan_">Twitter</a>   What better way to start the season than by setting a school record for receiving yards? Jackson did just that after hauling in 6 receptions for 187 yards and scoring two touchdowns. It seemed like Swan knew exactly where and when to exploit the soft spot in the Knight's defense; add in his chemistry right off the bat with new QB1 [player_tooltip player_id='340487' first='Carson' last='Rauner'], and you have a pretty dominant performance. What I liked about Jackson was his ability to make plays at all levels of the field, whether he was going deep or picking up YAC after a quick catch on an out route, he was in attack mode. Both of his touchdowns were impressive long house calls, but his most impressive catch came on a "near" touchdown in which he outleaped the defender to catch it over the defender's head and almost broke free for the touchdown. Jackson also added 3 passes defended on defense and was constantly in his opponent's hip pocket. Moeller Swan is a great athlete with the speed to stretch the field vertically and reliable hands at the point of the catch. Jackson could be a huge steal at this point!    [player_tooltip player_id='340487' first='Carson' last='Rauner'] (2024 - Elkhorn South) | QB | 6'3" 190 lns   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12187556/Carson-Rauner" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/CarsonRauner">Twitter</a>   Talk about a varsity start debut. 2024 QB [player_tooltip player_id='340487' first='Carson' last='Rauner'] had a great opening day and gave Storm Nation a lot to be optimistic about in the future. Carson ended the day going 12/20 for 223 passing yards and he threw three touchdowns. What was most evident to me was that Carson looked comfortable, whether that be because the OL did a good job keeping him clean or just Carson being mentally prepared for the moment. Even when having to scramble out of the pocket, he kept his eyes up and downfield, looking through his reads. He has tremendous arm talent and showed that he can make some elite throws to all levels of the field. This was an offense I was expecting to be able to move the ball well but with Carson behind the wheel, this could evolve into one of the top offenses in Class A.    [player_tooltip player_id='250289' first='Owen' last='Baxter'] (2024 - Lincoln Southeast) | QB | 5'10" 175 lbs   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14923796/Owen-Baxter" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/o_baxter11" target="_blank">Twitter</a>   Despite the final outcome, I thought that Owen played very well even with having to adjust during the game. The first game of the season combined with a hot, sunny day led to several of the Southeast pass-catchers going down with cramps. Nonetheless, Owen did not bat an eye and continued to ball out to the tune of 21/29 for 267 passing yards, 3 touchdowns (1 INT), 120.9 QBR while distributing the ball to 10 different receivers. One thing that really stands out about Owen is his mobility and ability to buy time on his legs. After rewatching clips from the game, you can see several times when Owen is able to evade the pass rush, move outside of the pocket, and find a receiver downfield for a quick check-down. Baxter also showed he can launch it as well with two long touchdown passes to Henry Woods and [player_tooltip player_id='318996' first='Cash' last='Buettenback']. I'm excited to see how Owen does with the rest of the season.   [player_tooltip player_id='227026' first='Cole' last='Ballard'] (2023 - Elkhorn South) | RB/DB | 6'0" 190 lbs   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/12930516/Cole-Ballard" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/cole_ballard5" target="_blank">Twitter</a>   3-year varsity RB [player_tooltip player_id='227026' first='Cole' last='Ballard'] was back to doing [player_tooltip player_id='227026' first='Cole' last='Ballard'] things with another great rushing day. Cole finished the day with 125 rushing yards on 19 carries with a rushing touchdown. Ballard continued to look as elusive and shift as ever while exhibiting some elite field vision. This was on full display on his touchdown reception, in which he was able to juke out two defenders before plowing through two others on his way to the endzone. Even with all the speed and flash, Cole showed that he has power in his runs. On several occasions, it took second and even third contact before Ballard went down, and on some plays, he was the first to initiate the contact. From what I saw, it looks like Cole might also be seeing more targets in the passing game which would be huge for his stock and would create another layer to this offense.    [player_tooltip player_id='238886' first='Will' last='Jesske'] (2023 - Lincoln Southeast) | LB | 5'10" 200 lbs   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/13367046/Will-Jesske" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/willjesske" target="_blank">Twitter</a>   Senior LB [player_tooltip player_id='238886' first='Will' last='Jesske'] continued his tackling machine ways in the season opener with 11 tackles and a sack. Will is a tough-as-can-be downhill linebacker that excels against the run. He uses his 5'10" 200 lb frame to really drive into his opponents and leave his mark. Will also gets the job done in coverage, where he shows great read-and-react ability and has some sneaky closing speed. I went over clips I recorded from the game and saw a few plays where Will comes flying from the backside of the play all the way to the ball carrier and brings them down. Will is a linebacker with very high upside and a non-stop motor from start to finish. Swoop this guy up!   [player_tooltip player_id='318996' first='Cash' last='Buettenback'] (2025 - Lincoln Southeast) | WR/LB | 5'11' 185 lbs   <a href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/16360313/Cash-Buettenback" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hudl</a> | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/CBuettenback" target="_blank">Twitter</a>   Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='318996' first='Cash' last='Buettenback'] was getting it done on both offense and defense of the Knights. Against the Storm, Cash racked up 6 tackles, a pass defense, and caught 3 passes for 46 yards with a touchdown. Buettenback's touchdown reception was really nice in the sense that while he was improvising while trying to get open, he showed his football IQ by finding the void in the defense and getting to a spot where the QB can put it. At that point, established chemistry between Cash and Owen kicked in and led to them connecting on the touchdown. Great heads-up play by Cash. On defense, I thought he did a great job stepping up and helping against the run and covered his zones well. There is still some rawness to his game, but with 3 more years of varsity football left, I'm confident he'll be able to iron that out.    [player_tooltip player_id='416970' first='Ashton' last='Murphy'] (2024 - Elkhorn South) | DL/OL | 6'5" 225 lbs   <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.hudl.com/profile/14899852/Ashton-Murphy" target="_blank">Hudl</a> | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/AshtonMurphy24" target="_blank">Twitter</a>   I had the opportunity to check out an Elkhorn South practice earlier this summer, and one of the things I looked forward to watching the most was the Storm defensive line. The big names on the defensive line are [player_tooltip player_id='217060' first='Maverick' last='Noonan'], [player_tooltip player_id='227097' first='Noah' last='Bustard'], and [player_tooltip player_id='340486' first='Henry' last='Prochazka'] but a player that is worth keeping an eye on is junior [player_tooltip player_id='416970' first='Ashton' last='Murphy']. He played on both the offensive and defensive line, and one thing I noted was his motor was the same from start to finish. Whether finishing a block or rushing the passer, he was in go-mode the entire game and racked up 9 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. The last play in his clip, starting at the 34-second mark, is a perfect example of how explosive he is coming off the snap and how slippery he can be when rushing at the line. At the snap, he explodes off the line undeterred by the initial contact and uses his speed to get to the RB in the backfield before the pulling guard can even get to him. Overall, Ashton is a great athlete with the measurables and football smarts to develop into a top-tier prospect.    <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/>   Make sure to follow @PrepRedzoneNE on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with all your Nebraska prep recruiting news.

The first game of my Week 1 double-header at Seacrest Field, was the Elkhorn South Storm visiting the Lincoln Southeast Knights. The game was close in the first half with a 17-14 Elkhorn South lead going into halftime. Elkhorn South eventually pulled away behind a tremendous offensive outing from QB Carson Rauner Carson Rauner 6'3" | 200 lbs | QB Elkhorn South | 2024 State NE and 2023 WR Jackson Moeller Swan Jackson Moeller Swan 6'1" | 185 lbs | WR Elkhorn South | 2023 State NE , with Cole Ballard Cole Ballard 6'0" | 190 lbs | RB Elkhorn South | 2023 State NE doing the dirty work in the rushing game. The final score showed Elkhorn South going home with a 31-20 win over the Lincoln Southeast Knights.