EPJ Wins First ever Title, upsets Winner

My second recap on the week was probably the best game I watched this weekend in terms of competition and intensity between teams. The game started off with a defensive chess match in the First Quarter, followed by a wave of scoring in the second. EPJ with two grinding drives and Winner with a big run. Winner struck first in the second half, passing the ball, to tie the game, but EPJ answered right back with a big run to take the lead. The Huskies sealed the deal late with an interception and took home the 11B Title in dramatic fashion. Here are my standouts from the 11B Championship game:   Final score: Elk Point-Jefferson 21, Winner 14.   Elk Point-Jefferson   RB/LB- #27 Benjamin Swatek played lights out on both sides of the ball. He became a bowling ball on offense and kept the team rolling down the field on each carry. He was very physical running the ball, nothing flashy, just all business on each carry ripping off good chunks of yardage. He showed his speed burst when he broke loose and made an even bigger play. Defensively, he was everywhere. Against a double tight, double wing offense, he read he keys perfectly and kept himself in good position to make plays all game long. He shook off blocks quick quickly and still made good form tackles around the line of scrimmage.   RB- #22 [player_tooltip player_id='423286' first='Lucas' last='Hueser'] was the speedster back that kept the defense on their heels the whole game and kept the ball moving in the right direction. He was patient in letting blocks develop and then exploding through the gap that would open up. He was also a physical back that could muscle his way for a couple more yards on each carry. He had the speed and motor that could make the defense pay if they didn't bring him down.   OL/DL- #76 Chase Fornia was a menace on both sides of the ball. Offensively, he helped create run gaps that really sparked the offense and kept the ball moving in the right direction. He kept his pad level low, kept the feet turning and finished the play through the whistle. He had a lot of muscle to keep driving a big defender off the ball and the motor to do it on every play. Defensively, he cleaned up tackles quite a bit. He did a great job plugging the run gaps on his side and taking away the run game, he also ran down a lot of plays from the backside as well, really limiting the offenses momentum. He kept up the intensity the whole game.   OL/DL- #72 Ty Trometer really worked well with Fornia, those two together nearly dominated their side of the line the whole game. Trometer was another catalyst on the offensive line, pull blocking or down blocking he helped the run game move forward the whole game. His pad level was also good, that helped with his drive off the snap of the ball. He would step in on defense as well and did a great job stopping the run by plugging gaps and fighting through blocks to slow the backs down in the backfield. He also had the high motor and intensity the whole game.   RB/LB- Hunter Geary played on a different level in this game. I looked at Nate and said 'I gotta write about this kid.' Whenever a big play was needed from the defense, he seemed to be right there making it. The kid just had that football sense that can't be taught. It seemed like he always knew where the ball was going every play. He read his keys and flew right to where the play was going. He did a great job avoiding getting washed out by down blocks and getting around it to make the play. He was a great tackler as well, I didn't see him miss any tackles, when he latched on, there was no escaping him. He also showed some great speed chasing down plays from the other side of the field.   Winner   RB/DB- [player_tooltip player_id='77463' first='Riley' last='Orel'] had another solid game running the football. His long run put on his speed, vision, balance, field awareness, and strength all in one play. He showed that not even a big hit could knock him over on his way to the end zone. He showed his patience in waiting for his blocks to develop, and taking the short to medium gains. He dished out just as much contact as the defense was, then would re-accelerate quickly back to full speed if he broke through. Defensively, he was a sure-handed tackler on the perimeter and was fast enough to run with any receiver, but still could come up and fill on run support. He would bring a big hit too when he got to the ball.   LB- #28 [player_tooltip player_id='161343' first='Jack' last='Peters'] played to a high level as well. It seemed like any tackle made around the line of scrimmage was him getting up off the bottom of the pile. There was always a big pad pop to at the point of contact when he made his tackles. He was smart enough to know when to not go for the big hit and just make the tackle and end the play instead. He scraped to the run gap quickly and kept his pads square to the line and would break and sprint to the ballcarrier when he got his read. He was very technically sound on finishing his tackles.   RB/LB- #18 [player_tooltip player_id='105505' first='Aiden' last='Barfuss'] was huge in the run game, ripping off good chunks of yardage to give the offense momentum whenever they needed it. He was there bruiser back, would just lower his head and run through all tacklers. He could turn on the jets in a hurry as well when he broke through the pile into the open field and rip off a big play. Defensively, he was the kid who helped finish the tackles against those tough runners. He was always around the football, whether he was the first or last one there, he always got in on the tackle. He could lay a hit too, really attacking at the football when getting to the pile as well.   TE/DE- #88 Shawn Hammerbeck was making a bunch of plays on the line of scrimmage on the defensive side. He did a tremendous job holding his ground and did not get pushed back by the O-Line. He used his strength and size to engage his blocker, then could shed the blocker and make the play right at the line. He did a good job squeezing the run gap down and taking away that gap on the play. He did a great job keeping his outside arm free and holding contain and keeping the play inside of him, and making the play if they tried to stretch it outside.   OL/DL- #63 Noah Best seemed like one of the favorites to run behind. He was excellent driving his guy off the line of scrimmage and opening the gap wide for his backs. He was also a good puller, leading up the gap and making that big block to spring the back free. His technique was nearly perfect from his first step, hand technique, pad level, leverage and footwork each and every play. When a run would break loose, he was usually that block that sprung it.

My second recap on the week was probably the best game I watched this weekend in terms of competition and intensity between teams. The game started off with a defensive chess match in the First Quarter, followed by a wave of scoring in the second. EPJ with two grinding drives and Winner with a big run. Winner struck first in the second half, passing the ball, to tie the game, but EPJ answered right back with a big run to take the lead. The Huskies sealed the deal late with an interception and took home the 11B Title in dramatic fashion. Here are my standouts from the 11B Championship game: