Stand Out Players of the 1st Round: Stratford vs Heights
What’s better than the first week of the football season? The first week of playoffs! Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is that time of the year again. The time to put everything on the line. The time that will separate the…
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Continue ReadingWhat’s better than the first week of the football season? The first week of playoffs! Yes, ladies and gentlemen it is that time of the year again.
The time to put everything on the line. The time that will separate the contenders from the pretenders. The time to once and for all (well for this 22′, 23′ season anyways) determine who the best school in its District is! Boy this is going to be fun! And man…did I pick the right game to start off with! This game went down to the wire! Stratford led the entire game. Heights made one final 99-yard drive to score with 5 seconds remaining! I am glad I witness it. Here are the Stand Out Players of the Heights vs Stratford Game.
Jordan Clavelle
Jordan Clavelle
Clavelle made several close plays. Meaning he would penetrate the backfield, but miss the ball carrier, or get great pressure on the QB, but come up short to make the sack. Luckily his teammates flowed to the ball. He slowed down the ball carrier enough for the cavlery to make a play. It was a tad frustrating to watch, until I found out he was only a SOPHOMORE! What started out as annoyance, quickly grew into optimism! He left a couple plays in the backfield, but with another year on varsity and gaining confidence, I believe he will finish those plays! Clavelle was powerful, with sneaky quick hands. He got out of his stance in a hurry. Heights mainly rushed 3 with an occasional blitzer, but the sophomore was effective all on his own. I’ll be checking back on him for sure! He left a lot of plays in the backfield, but the potential is enormous for this kid and he was still disruptive.
Jared Sutton
Jared Sutton
Defense. Wins. Championships! I will forever say that and I will die on that hill! There was no better defender on that field Saturday afternoon than Jared Sutton! This kid single handedly kept his team in the game, and I am not overexaggerating. The senior blocked a kick that would have put Stratford further in the lead (the score was 20-13 at the time, and the Heightsoffense was struggling to make meaningful plays). THEN he intercepted a pass on a very decent drive by the Stratford offense, and ran the ball inside the 20 yard line. And on the final 99 yard drive, in order for Heights to get the ball back, Stratford went for it on 4th down. It was a pass. Do you want to guess who was in coverage on the play???? Not to mention he was good covering over the top of the receivers and came up to make tackles, adding a tackle for lost to the stat sheet. The game ball will probably go to one of the receivers on this list, or the QB, but I would give it to Sutton. The kid played out of his mind on Saturday!
Nick Brown
Nick Brown
One of the more underappreciated receivers for Heights was Brown. The Junior did not light up the stat sheet, but he was very dependable, especially during scramble drill. Brown’s routes were sharp and he looked like a natural hands catcher. He did not look like a blazer, but he had deceptive speed, if he got a step on you he would out run you to the endzone. He would have had a 60+ yard touchdown but it was called back due to an illegal formation penalty. I like Brown’s potential. I’m excited to see what else the young man adds to his game moving forward.
Kevon Misher
Kevon Misher
Misher was a nice sized receiver. He could out run you, out muscle you, and out jump you! Easily the QB’s go to receiver, Misher made the most of each catch. His route were nice, getting open was not too difficult for him. He had really good hands and only truly caught the ball with his chest when the pass was on the money. Misher was on the receiving end of the touchdown pass that put Heights in the lead in the last 5 seconds of the game! The senior finished the game with 10 catches for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. Congratulations on advancing to Round gentlemen!
Man! Games will only get better from here! I love this time of year. Stratford had some great players, and it’s always tough to accept that the seniors will not play for their high school team anymore. I wish the best of luck to the Stratford program, and a congratulations to the Heights program. Good luck the rest of the way!