2022 Turnaround Teams: Deuel Cardinals
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This wave of stories will include teams that had a breakout year in the 2022 season. First up will be one of my favorite teams to cover, the Deuel Cardinals. This is Deuel’s second year in 11B and after a…
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Continue ReadingThis wave of stories will include teams that had a breakout year in the 2022 season. First up will be one of my favorite teams to cover, the Deuel Cardinals. This is Deuel’s second year in 11B and after a .500 season in 2021, and making the playoffs as a 15 seed, the Cardinals looked to add on and make a bigger push in the 2022 season. Returning 11B Coach of the Year in 11B, Dusty Hourigan had a lot of athletes returning with experience after getting bitten by the injury bug in 2021. He had a crew of 10 Seniors with a great amount of playing time, and sprinkled in a lot of underclassmen to get them some experience this season as well. I first encountered this team in 2020 in the inaugural year of Prep Redzone Dakotas by speaking with former RB/LB and now current Dakota Wesleyan LB Layton Eide who was extremely grateful for the coverage. I also spoke with former RB/DB Carter Hoffman that same year and he showed the same gratitude even though he did not play college ball. That was the good thing about this team, each kid is just grateful for coverage, which makes it super easy as a scout to endorse each kid on this team, which is exactly what this article will do. I will mention each Cardinal I can see playing college ball next season if given the chance. Starting with the Senior class and followed by the underclassmen.
2023
RB/DB- #13 Owen Quail Owen Quail RB Deuel | 2023 State had a breakout Senior year after missing most of his Junior year to injury. Watching him live in the game I covered this year, I could see his will of leaving everything out on the field each and every game. He showed a lot of durability throughout the season, not missing many snaps on either side of the ball. On offense, he received a lot of carries and made the most of every touch with them. He showed a lot of strength to muscle through tackles and keep his wheels turning through contact, many times breaking through tackles and gaining a few more yards after getting bottled up. He was patient waiting for his blockers to make their blocks then exploding through the gap for a good chunk of yards. While he was very physical, he has a lot of speed and agility. Once he gets to the perimeter, he is hard to keep up with. Defensively, he was a good coverage safety, but could also come up and fill the box in run support as well. He used his physicality to take on blocks and make tackles on RB’s around the line of scrimmage. He covered the flats really well too, he would come flying up and makes plays on the pass as well, picking it off or making the tackle.
Senior Season
TE/LB- #1 Gavin Benck Gavin Benck 6'2" | 195 lbs | TE Deuel | 2023 State had a good year on both sides of the ball this season. Offensively, he stepped up and a blocker for the run game really opening the gap to the backs out of the backfield. He also did a good job climbing levels and making blocks downfield to spring the backs free downfield for a big play. He also did a good job releasing off the snap and running a good route to get himself open to be a good target for his QB. On the defensive side, he did a good job keeping contain from the LB position. He engaged blockers well on run support, but still had the speed to get off the block and keep the ballcarrier inside the perimeter. He broke down and could move well laterally to keep the RB in front of him and made the tackle. He was also really good at forcing fumbles, he made the initial hit and got his hands on the ball and ripped at it constantly. He got his pass read and dropped back in the flats and did a great job covering the space. He also kept the scrambling QB in check and kept him from getting loose with his legs, a good tackler on the perimeter.
Senior Season
TE/DE/K- #3 Josh Mussi Josh Mussi 6'4" | K Deuel | 2023 State stepped up in each facet of the game this season. On the offensive side, he was another good run blocker, almost added another lineman to the formation. He has a big frame and strength to drive a defender off the ball and spark the run game. He also has a very smooth running form with the football, he just seems to float when he runs and covers a lot of ground quickly. He has great balance to fight through tackles and keep moving forward. He was a good target off the line of scrimmage as well, he went up and high-pointed the ball and was very sure handed when making the catch. On the defensive side, his strength played big when engaging his blocker, holding contain and squeezing the run gap down. His speed also made him a big threat in the pass rush game, as well as running plays away from him down from behind. His wildcard factor was special teams. He was the Cardinals’ kicker and punter, he did both really well. He had plenty of distance and hang-time on kickoffs to give his team good coverage and field position. He was a very accurate punter when he was aiming for the sidelines. He also had the hang-time and distance to really flip the field and give his defense room. His athleticism also made it easy to run fakes out of punt formation.
Week 1-7
FB/LB- #25 Dominic Constant was a key piece on both sides of the ball. His big factor in my opinion is his awareness. Offensively, he was a good lead blocker out of the FB position. He found the first wrong colored jersey and put him on the ground. He had the speed to stay in front of his RB behind him and fly upfield to keep leading the way through the levels and open up the run game. He could also take some carries and use his quick feet to get himself into open space and run through tacklers as well. Defensively, he played his position and did his job on his side of the field on each play. He played very physical and created a lot of pile ups. He read his keys really quick and filled his run gap, laying a big hit when he got there. He was able to avoid blocks with his quickness and get by to make the play. He stayed low and was able to break down and make tackles anywhere on the field. Whenever there was a gap opening up, he seemed to find his way there quick and make a tackle.
WR/DB- #12 Braydon Simon had a few big games for the Cardinals. He stepped in to play QB in Week 1 after an injury, then went back to his position at WR. He has good speed and agility to make moves in the open field and gain a few more yards on each play. He is good at the short game and making one move to get him into the open field. He has good hands to be a reliable target and runs good enough routes to get open as well. He has some strength to drag defenders on some of his runs. Defensively, he defended his side of the field perfectly on each play. I saw him at team camp in drills and he has a good back pedal and can switch directions quickly and come up and make plays. He keeps himself in good position to make plays on the pass around many WR’s. He makes good breaks on the ball and makes plays on passes, high-pointing and jumping routes. He can run with just about any receiver and keep them in check the whole game. He is a good open field tackler as well to keep perimeter plays in check as well.
Webster Area Highlights
RB/DB- #2 Carver Nothem had a good season as a change of pace RB for the offense. He found space when gaps open up and hit them with a lot of speed. He was also a physical runner as well, looking to run through defenders as much as run past them. He could also be a reliable target out of the backfield and create plays that way. He has a good set of hands to go along with route running from the backfield to get himself open and make big plays. Those same attributes made him a dangerous threat at returning kicks as well. On the defensive side, he played CB well as another run supporting DE, but could also pass cover. He filled on the edge when he read run and broke down to make a good tackle on the perimeter. He could also run with receivers and blanket them when the ball is in the air. He has good pass defense technique, breaking up passes and not getting flagged.
Sisseton Highlights
FB/LB/OL- #21 Ty Lovre Ty Lovre DL Deuel | 2023 State was a swiss army knife for the Cardinal team on both sides of the ball. Starting off the season on the Offensive Line, then switching to FB late in the year but he had impact in both places. He has a good frame and strength to move just about anyone across from him. He added good technique in both his hands and footwork to make clean blocks on each play. Defensively, he played at one of the LB positions and was a gap plugger there. Power run teams struggled to run up the middle because he was so quick to fill and take out lead blocker and make the ballcarrier struggle to find an open gap. He had good technique when breaking down and making tackles, wrapping up around the legs and hanging on until the play was over.
Armour/Tripp-Delmont Highlights
OL/DL- #66 Ronald Begalka was huge on the Defensive Line at his DE position. He was quick off the snap and got his hands on the blocker first so he was in control. He kept good leverage so he could shed the block quickly and still keep outside contain. He had the speed to run down any play going outside on his side, RB or QB. He also used his speed to put pressure on the QB, resulting in a lot of sacks and tackles for loss for him. He did a good job wrapping up and bringing the ballcarrier down each and every time he caught them. On the offensive side, he used those same tools to be an effective blocker. He helped spark a run game and open up gaps with his quick first step, and good hand technique. He showed a lot of strength driving his guy off that ball as well.
Senior Highlights
LB/DL- #79 Tate Kenyon added another run-stopping LB in the middle of the formation. Using his speed to shoot through gaps after he read run and getting to the ballcarrier in the backfield. He also had the strength to stick a blocker or ballcarrier in the gap and stop the play before it began.He does a good job finding the football, pass or run he finds his way to the tackle and cleans up at the pile. He uses his pads well to engage blocks and make tackles. He plays his zone well in pass coverage and still stays in position to take the QB if he decides to run the ball.
Dakota Hills Co-op Highlights
2024
QB/DB- #5 Trey Maaland Trey Maaland QB Deuel | 2024 State SD made some big strides in his Junior season under center running the Cardinal offense. He did a good job making some big throws outside the hashes and giving the offense a good option to pass when they wanted to. He did a good job making quick decisions and getting the ball out of his hand and getting the ball to his receivers. He put good touch on the pass when he arched the ball to his receivers but could also zip it into some tight windows. He was good throwing on the run when he was under pressure or booting out. He was also a threat to gouge the defense running the ball as well. He had the speed to make a big play running the ball, if it was designed or improvised. He was also physical when running the ball, a lot of collisions he forced on short yardage that he got the best of most of the time. He got a few defensive snaps on passing downs and made some bigs plays manning his guy up and making a play on the ball. He was also a good tackler on the perimeter as well.
Junior Season
OL/DL- #67 Robert Begalka Robert Begalka 6'0" | 235 lbs | OL Deuel | 2024 State SD was the man to run behind for majority of the game. The game I went to, that was the case. He fired off the ball every play and used his brute strength and quick feet to drive his guy off the line of scrimmage and make the gap huge. He was also good with his hand technique to square his guy up and drive him off the ball to avoid penalties as well. He did well in pass protection, moving his feet to get into the best position to protect the QB and give him time to throw. Defensively, he did an excellent job plugging the run gaps and taking away any interior run play for the offense. He stuck the blocker in on the line of scrimmage and stayed tight to the line to string the play out and make the tackle. On passing downs, he was quick off the ball and shot the gap without getting touched most of the time, putting a lot of pressure on the QB and sacking him most of the time.
Junior Year Defense
Junior Year Offense
OL/DL- #63 Aidan Baer received quite a few snaps with the starters when one needed a rest. He filled those positions perfectly, doing his job each play he was out there. He uses his strength to hold his contain after engaging his blocker. He is also a good drive blocker off of the snap on offense as well.
K- #20 Brandon Fieber has good height and distance on his PAT’s. He will more than likely fill that void next season after graduation.
2025
RB/WR/DB- #4 Gabe Sather stepped into a big role on both sides of the ball. Primarily at Safety, he did a good job floating around deep and making plays in the pass game. He read the flow of the offense and put himself in position to make plays both pass or run. He was a good tackler filling in run support, and would high point the ball on pass plays. Offensively, he split out at WR most plays and was a good target out of the slot. He had good hands and was very reliable for the QB. Also did a good job helping the QB while he was scrambling and put himself in position for the QB to get him the ball.
Clark/Willow Lake Highlights