2022 Turnaround Teams: Elkton- Lake Benton

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Elkton- Lake Benton Elks was the one of the first teams I ever covered for Prep Redzone Dakotas. They played against an extremely tough team that year and the score was not in their favor. Looking at their roster at the time, they only had two Seniors on the team. This year all those Sophomores that were on the field in that game were Seniors and those two seasons of experience showed up for the Elks this season. I covered their opening game again this year and they were in sync from the opening kickoff till the clock hit zero. They clinched the #2 seed in the playoffs after an undefeated regular season, carrying the season to the semifinals before bowing out to another tough Parkston team. What makes this team more intriguing for the future is the amount of underclassmen they had playing and were still able to put together such a good season. Head Coach Ethan Pearson was named 9AA Coach of the Year. Here are the standouts from the Elks this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2023</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB/DB- #15 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='101184' first='Ryan' last='Krog']</strong> did a really good job leading the offense this year, finding himself with a lot of multi-touchdown games. He had really nice touch on his deep ball and led his receivers down the field almost every play. He was really patient in letting the routes develop and hit the best option to make a play. He also had a lot of poise even when he was under pressure, he nearly completed at 25 yard bomb while wrapped up and going down to the ground, perfect placement on the ball. He was very elusive as well, he broke contain many times and made big plays with his legs. He was really good with the read option on when to give and when to pull, both would result in long runs. He had a really good motor, kept the wheels turning through contact and usually broke through for more yards, maybe a touchdown. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13423133/636890b7bd6b0009b42a2135">Senior Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2024</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RB/DB- #22 <strong>Riddick Westley</strong> gave the offense a good power run option when they needed to get the run game going. He was very physical running the ball through the gaps, but then made a quick one cut and turned on the jets to make a big play. He had a lot of speed too once he broke loose, losing all of the defenders within 15 yards. He could also get to the perimeter in a hurry and get around the edge and take the ball the distance. He kept a good pitch relation in the speed option with the QB. He was also a good safety valve option out of the backfield in the pass game, could turn a short pass to a long gain, maybe points. Defensively, he did a great job on run support coming up and making tackles around the line scrimmage. Once he got the read he came flying in and broke down to make a tackle before the ballcarrier could get a head of steam.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jc09G"><a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/14814394/6355a8a21600420420eec8f8">Junior Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TE/DL- #11 <strong>Carson Griffith </strong>emerged as a good target when the offense needed a play this year. He caught a huge 52 yard bomb in a walk-off winner this year. He showed his speed on a lot of his plays after the catch, he accelerated quickly and got up to top speed to leave the defenders behind. He ran routes with precision, he got to his landmarks quickly and turned to find the ball. His tall, big frame made him an easy target to throw at as a QB and his hands made it easy to want to throw to him when a play was needed. He also had the strength and balance to keep his feet after a hit and get back to top speed in a hurry. Defensively, he was quick out of his three-point stance from his DE position and put a lot of pressure on the QB every play. He avoided the block off the edge and was in a full sprint at the QB. He also had the awareness to pick up on screens and make the play in the backfield as well. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/17804340/63443e81b5362c0d34fce423"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/17804340/63443e81b5362c0d34fce423">Junior Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR/DB- #17 <strong>Quinten Poindexter</strong> was an excellent open-field tackler. On the perimeter, he played his position perfectly, always taking the outside-in angle and making sure the ballcarrier stayed to the inside. He broke down, lowered his pad level and used his long arms to wrap up the ballcarrier around the legs and held on until he went down. He was also good in pass defense, using his speed to run with any receiver and using good technique to attack the football in the air. He made good breaks on the ball and jumped routes perfectly. Offensively, he took pride in his blocking downfield and helped his teammates go the distance. He moved his feet well and got into the best position to make the block downfield and give his ballcarrier the best angle to the end zone. He was a good deep threat for the offense as well, he had the speed to get open on the deep routes and reeled in the deep passes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jd0gD"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/14814397/6358075b2347f908a47c185c">Junior Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2025</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>WR/DB- #3 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='210630' first='Tanner' last='Stein']</strong> emerged as a a favorite target this season for the Elks. First game of the year was 'go deep and catch this pass.' That he did, three TD's over 30 yards on three catches. His speed got him just enough separation from the defender to make the catch easier. His athleticism made him very dependable, as he caught a lot of passes in congestion. He had to high-point a lot of those passes and wrestle them away from the defender. He also had the speed and vision to find the open field and make the big run after catch. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jd9Bd"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2Jd9Bd">Sophomore Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>RB/LB- #25 <strong>Blake DeVries</strong> showed how good of a tackler he was this season. He showed good range moving sideline-to-sideline when in pursuit of plays. He covered a lot of ground in a hurry and was stopping runs plays behind the line of scrimmage consistently. He stuck his nose right into the pile and drove through the ballcarrier to drive him back each and every play. Once he wrapped up, there was no escaping his grasp. Offensively, he was the back that would get the offense good chunks of yardage on each carry. Nothing flashy, just took the handoff and ran straight ahead, through any tacklers that tried slowing him down. He kept his wheels turning through contact until the whistle blew resulting in some extra yards on each carry. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JXb4q"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/16057632/634ca9183dec0e05203974ee">Sophomore Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2026</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TE/DL- #4 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='409549' first='Quintin' last='Westley']</strong> got the nod to start at DE in his freshman season. He proved that he belonged there just by his instincts. He did his job on every play and made big plays for the defense. His lateral movement helped him make plays on the shifty back, as well as being very difficult to run the read option at. His tackling was good as well, wrapping up the legs to stop the ballcarriers momentum and bringing him down in the backfield. He didn't fly up field and took on the pullers flying at him, being very physical and squeezing the run gaps down and making plays in the backfield after avoiding those pullers. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JQnCN"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JQnCN">Freshman Season </a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>QB/DB- #5 <strong>Colt Beck</strong> showed to be a good 'next man up' in his position at QB for the Elks in the future. Receiving a lot of garbage time snaps, he made the most of all of them. He ran the offense almost just as fluent as the starters. He reads the defense well in the read option and makes good decisions on whether to give or pull and run. He showed a good deal of speed when pulling and attacking the gap into the open field. He also filled in at WR and made plays blocking downfield as well as making a couple short route catches to move the chains. Defensively, he played well filling on run support and making tackles. He flew around the field well and got himself to the ball before the play was over. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p id="http://www.hudl.com/v/2JhdmJ"><a href="http://www.hudl.com/video/3/15863747/63615e49a018e306b089b199">Freshman Season</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->