Nate's Five Live Takeaways: Fargo South/Fargo Shanley

FARGO, ND-- With last night's Prep Redzone Dakotas Game of the Week took us to Sid Cichy Stadium on the campus of Shanley High School to watch 11AA #2 ranked Fargo Shanley take on 11A #3 ranked Fargo South; we wanted to give our Prep Redzone Dakotas subscribers the five biggest takeaways from this lopsided battle that was dominated by the home squad, the Fargo Shanley Deacons as they celebrated their homecoming game with a huge win against their southside of Fargo rival. Here is what we took away from this one!   Control the Tempo on All Three Levels=High Quality Wins   This game was a game of pure tempo on all three levels from start to end for the Deacons as they rocked the Fargo South Bruins. It was St. Thomas (MN) commit [player_tooltip player_id='205383' first='Michael' last='Rostberg'] (2023)showing off his consistency and versatility in the passing game with a plethora of his wide receivers such as Joey Dukart (2023) and Sam Ovsak (2024), amongst others. The front seven was led heavily by the defensive line, as DEs Cam Ahlers (2024) and Will Mehus (2023) showed excellent physicality in the trenches to overpower the Bruin's offensive line all night long. And last but not least, in the return game, [player_tooltip player_id='365335' first='Kaden' last='Christmann'] (2024) returned two of the three Deacons' punt returns while Sam Ovsak returned the other. When you can dominate on all three levels of the field as the Deacons did, you always have a high chance to get a high-quality win on any Friday night you want.   This was an Intriguing Battle of the Specialists   We were aware that we would be watching the #2 ranked kicker in the 2023 class in [player_tooltip player_id='160929' first='Landon' last='Docken'] of Fargo South, but we also came away intrigued by the leg of Fargo Shanley 2024 kicker Matthew Berg last night at Sid Cichy Stadium. Berg made a 36-yard field goal in the second quarter that showed off good distance, and there is more growth to be seen in the coming year. Based on what I saw last night, I can see Matthew going on my 2024 rankings in the coming month based on the length and good hangtime he showed off on his kickoffs. As for Landon, he was one of the brightest spots last night from the Bruins. He showed great distance on both kickoffs and punts and doubled down by throwing some great hangtime levels in both avenues of his specialist role for the Bruins. Although the defense struggled to keep the Deacons from moving the ball, Landon's leg to flip the field to give their defense something to work with was as advertised. I wouldn't be surprised to see a local FCS offer come his way before the end of the season.   He's Going to Break One, but When?   I said that when I saw [player_tooltip player_id='365335' first='Kaden' last='Christmann'] (2024) on his first punt return of the night in the first half, as the sizeable 6'0 190 pounder showed such excellent burst and agile movement with his footwork. It took until after halftime to see it, but it was most of the skillsets I mentioned above put together, with it seeming even more added speed and twitch in his hips. You are not going to find many returners in North Dakota with speed and agility like that, and I like putting the odds together that Christmann might be the best returner in the state based on the tape I have watched and live games I have watched across North Dakota. Stay tuned for this young man on our upcoming 2024 rankings in the coming month.   The Bright Spot for the Bruins: The Defensive Line   We know that the depth of the receiving core for the Fargo Shanley Deacons has great strength, but I had to say the play of 2024 DE [player_tooltip player_id='294149' first='Cole' last='Kegbeh'] and Tyler Christianson (2023) was probably the brightest spot I could find in the 49-0 loss for the Fargo South Bruins. Tyler Christianson (2023) showed workhorse capabilities as his competitive motor worked his tail off around the inside zone and could advance with his mobility to get to the edges to make a tackle. Currently, Cole is DL2 in our Prep Redzone Dakotas 2024 rankings, so I was certainly intrigued to see him live up to some of that hype last night under the lights. He showed a long reach that could make that tackle of those guys who don't have the 6'3+ length Cole brings to the table for the Bruins. He also shows a feisty ability with his hand placements and getting off his blocks. Has some slight rawness he showed, but there certainly is something there in the 6'3 200 pounds defensive end from the Bruins. Bright future for Cole.   The Bruins Are Going to Need to Develop the Passing Game this Season   Luckily, Fargo South will only have to play one division up one more time this season (Fargo Davies) which will be another test in a city of Fargo battle; however, four of their next six opponents are ranked or receiving votes in the ND 11A Polls, so there's a tough test coming over the next several weeks for the Bruins. I thought Fargo South struggled the most last night in the passing game, with Kolby Nissen having the reigns of QB1. Kolby has some solid receivers in Jeremiah Gibson (2023) and [player_tooltip player_id='101151' first='Emanuel' last='Spiyee'] (2023), amongst others, in the wide receiver room, but they couldn't match Shanley's physicality they had with their corner's play. You can certainly tell Kolby has some potential as his touch ball got better through the night when throwing on his deeper routes; he just needs to get more chemistry and reps with his wide receiving core to develop better rhythm and possibly simply the gameplan by throwing shorter routes and then going over the top for the deep throw once the chemistry/trust is there amongst all parties. I certainly think they will build on that chemistry next week against Devils Lake, as that game will be a great test to see if they can put the pieces of the puzzle together with their offense to gel smoother.

FARGO, ND-- With last night's Prep Redzone Dakotas Game of the Week took us to Sid Cichy Stadium on the campus of Shanley High School to watch 11AA #2 ranked Fargo Shanley take on 11A #3 ranked Fargo South; we wanted to give our Prep Redzone Dakotas subscribers the five biggest takeaways from this lopsided battle that was dominated by the home squad, the Fargo Shanley Deacons as they celebrated their homecoming game with a huge win against their southside of Fargo rival. Here is what we took away from this one!