Brian’s Best: Simley vs. Rocori

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a hard-hitting, defensive battle Thursday night during a battle of Spartans in one of the Class AAAAA semi-finals. In a game that would come down to the final minutes, the Spartans from Simley outlasted the Spartans from Rocori – moving to the Prep Bowl with a 17-16 victory. Not surprisingly, the players who stood out to me were mainly on the defensive side of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["19029"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Not surprisingly – with the understanding that both are committed to wrestle for Minnesota next year – Nelson looks a lot like a poor man's [player_tooltip player_id='19002' first='Max' last='McEnelly']. Nelson has quick feet through the hole, but he is more likely to look for contact than avoid it. He used his power and a spin move to pick up a first down early. Then, Nelson showed more power, driving through tackles for a big gain. Defensively, he made life difficult when Rocori tried to run between the tackles, getting off blocks and filling holes. In the passing game, he came on a blitz late in the game – coming up with a big quarterback sack.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"Tay'vion McCoy","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"2410","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"Simley","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_1_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_1_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"On offense, the opposite of Nelson was McCoy. Quickness and great footwork keyed his offensive success. He used his speed around the corner to pick up a first down. Then, he caught a short pass and made several moves in the open field for ten yards. Later, he made a great series of cuts to gain 40 yards. His speed was key down the sidelines catching a 69 yard bomb. He later made two quick cuts to pick up ten yards when it looked like Rocori's defense had boxed him in. A defensive back on the other side of the field, he was part of a secondary that did a great job against the pass all game. He also made an open-field tackle, preventing a big gain.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"Jackson Primus","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"Rocori","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_2_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_2_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Primus was one of the keys for Rocori keeping the Simley running game contained. He did a great job stuffing the run – most notably when he stuffed a run on fourth and two short of the first down. Fellow linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='392565' first='Blake' last='Tylutki'] and Primus did a great job forcing Nelson to bounce runs to the outside, where he was not as effective.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["313271"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Renslow wasn't a huge part of the game plan, but he made the most of his opportunities and showed a little bit of everything as a quarterback. He only threw the ball eleven times but completed eight of those throws for over 100 yards. He showed patience as a runner - able to find space – on designed runs. He has enough speed to get to the corner. Renslow has nice touch on his passes in the flat. He also throws well on the move – including being right on target on the move for a 69 yard touchdown pass.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["392565"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Tylutki was the second half of the two-man wrecking crew disrupting the Simley running game. He made an early tackle for a short gain and did a great job stuffing inside runs and forcing Nelson to bounce to the outside.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_5_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"David Gogins","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"Simley","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_5_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_5_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"Defensively, Gogins read a reverse and got a tackle for loss. Then, he fought off a block, held the edge, and allowed teammate Derrik Dohman to make a tackle for a short gain. On offense, Gogins made a spinning catch in the flat for a first down.","_player_evaluations_5_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_6_player":["313236"],"_player_evaluations_6_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_6_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_6_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"I would guess even Johnson would admit he got lucky but still had to make the play when he caught a deflected ball for the team's first touchdown. Later, he made a quick cut and picked up eleven yards when he should have only had two yards.","_player_evaluations_6_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_7_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"Hunter Collins","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"2023","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"6'6u0022","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"Simley","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_7_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_7_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"Collins stood out during a strong game for the entire defensive line. He scrapped outside for a tackle for a short gain. Then, he got off a block to make a tackle on the inside for a short gain. Collins and Danny Martin then combined to drop a runner for a big loss.","_player_evaluations_7_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_8_player":"","_player_evaluations_8_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_8_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_8_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_8_evaluation":"Tylutki played the pass well, but his more significant contribution came in the running game. First, he showed solid technique making an open-field tackle, preventing a long gain. 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