St. Dominic vs West Plains: To Prospects & Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday the West Plains Zizzers traveled North to O'Fallon to play the St. Dominic Crusaders in the Class 4 semifinal game to see who would advance to the state championship game this coming weekend. It was beautiful weather at kickoff, and it looked like it might be a high scoring affair, but turned into a one-sided score as the Crusaders game out on top 42-14 over the Zizzers. Here are my observations and analysis of some of the top prospects and performers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ST. DOMINIC</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='300321' first='Jackson' last='Overton'] | 5'7" 155 | RB/SLOT | 2023 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528792,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-148.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528792"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jackson's is a great story. He missed most of the season due to a pre-season injury but returned for the state quarterfinal game and scored a TD. In this game Overton carried the ball 13 times for 108 yards and two touchdowns. During the summer Jackson picked up several D1 offers and was becoming more heavily recruited after showcasing his 4.4 speed at several camps. He looks like his speed has returned post-injury and will be able to contribute in the state championship game. The speedy back/receiver has offers from Murray State, Dayton, St. Thomas, Butler, Drake and Valpo. He is hearing from Austin Peay and some others.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='101708' first='Sam' last='Cross'] | 5'9" 185 | RB/DB | 2023 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528800,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-146.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528800"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cross has done a great job with Overton being out the majority of the season for the Crusaders as their leading rusher with 1,377 yards and 18 touchdowns, and second leading receiver on the team with 217 yards. On Saturday he ran for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also recording 9 tackles form his defensive position. Cross is a tough runner with good speed, and a physical defender with a nose for the ball. His play is a big reason for the Crusaders run in the playoffs and making it to the championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172153' first='Thomas' last='Pulliam'] | 5'11" 175 | RB/S | 2024 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528805,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-145.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528805"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pulliam is another player who made his mark in 2022 and impressed me with his play against the Zizzers. Another talented Crusader who sees double duty on both offense and defense. Thomas carried the ball only 5 times but for 50 yards and a touchdown. He showed really good quickness and burst when he found the opened hole in the defense. He also displayed good speed and ball skills from his safety position and recovered nicely to break-up a pass that likely would have gone for a Zizzer score and contributed 6 tackles as well. He look to be the future at RB for the Crusaders after rushing for 939 yards and 10 scores along with being their leading receiver in 2022. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Connor Beerman | 6'0" 180 | DB | 2024 |</strong><br>Beerman had a nice game in helping shut down the Zizzer offense and helping hold them to only 14 points with his 8 tackles on the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jackson Nikodym | 6'1" 175 | DB | 2024 |</strong><br>Nickodym's 80 yard recovery and return of a field goal attempt blocked by senior DE Vinny Pescarino helped his Crusaders take the lead they would never relinquish, and took a lot of air out of the Zizzers early after a big start. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Crusaders Offensive Line</strong><br>Did a great job collectively of opening holes and being physical against West Plains. The sustained blocks and drove Zizzer defenders backwards in helping their backs rush for 361 yards in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>WEST PLAINS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='172411' first='Heston' last='Miller'] | 6'1" 205 | WR/DB | 2023 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528830,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-137.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528830"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The speedy Miller scored on a 10-yard touchdown run off a jet sweep and had a few nice catches on the day against a stingy Crusaders defense. Miller also made some nice plays from his defensive back position. The Missouri State commit is among the top overall athletes in the state in the 2023 class. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Briggs Hughston | 6'6" 205 | WR | 2024 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528861,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-131.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528861"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The junior receiver Hughston impressed me with his overall athleticism, ability to run and get open and hands. On the season for the Zizzers he had 34 catches for 664 yards and 5 touchdowns. He has some really good potential and looks like a future college player if he continues to work and progress in the off-season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Carter McKracken | 5'11" 208 | RB | 2023 |</strong><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":528877,"sizeSlug":"full","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/redzone/uploads/2022/11/St.-Dominic-vs-West-Plains-142.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-528877"/></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McKracken got West Plains off to a great start with a 56-yard touchdown run on the opening series, and it looked like the Zizzers offense was going to be running on all cylinders. Carter is a tough, physical runner who did what he could the rest of the game. He ran hard and faced a swarming Crusader defense most of the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ryan Kenslow | 6'2" 177 | CB | 2024 |</strong><br>The junior defensive back looked to be in on a lot of tackles as the Crusaders primarily ran the ball and got into the secondary with frequency. Kinslow did a nice job running well to the ball, showing good speed, and good ability to hit and tackle. He'll be back next year and looks like he will be one of their top defenders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='284041' first='Jaxon' last='Hunter'] | 6'2" 220 | DE | 2026 |</strong><br>A bright spot for the future for West Plains looks to be the freshman defensive end Hunter. He played well on special teams and did a nice job when he was in there at DE where he had a couple tackles and battled. He has good strength and quickness.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->