Week 10 Review: Chaparral Wolverines vs Pine Creek Eagles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Review</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into this matchup, most expected the 10th ranked Pine Creek Eagles to dismantle the Chaparral Wolverines who would have to pull off the upset on the road to get their 2nd win of the season. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Pine Creek essentially controlled this game from start to finish. This contest was never really close, as the Eagles were able to quickly jump out to a 14-3 lead in the 1st quarter, with the score only getting worse from there as Pine Creek held a 24-3 lead at the half. The 2nd half was no different, with the Eagles holding a decisive 45-3 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. Chaparral was able to get on the board in the 4th quarter, albeit with the game well out of reach, to make the final score 45-10. With the game being as lopsided as it was, the three best performances came from the winning side and these are the three who I felt had the best performances.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jonathan Coar, Pine Creek Eagles (RB)(So.)(21) - Coar was, in my mind at least, the Eagles biggest contributor on the offensive side of the ball. The Wolverines defense had no answers for Coar on the ground, as the sophomore tailback accounted for an impressive 122 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns on just 10 carries (12.2 YPC). Turning on the tape of Coar's night against the Chaparral defense, you can see that Coar is about as well-rounded of a tailback you could hope for, displaying both strength and elusiveness when running with the ball. Displays outstanding balance and power at the point-of-attack when making contact with the defender thanks to a combination of his tall and stocky, frame for his position (5'11, 185 lbs) and his strong core and lower body. Shows a downhill running style between the tackles on inside carries, consistently breaking through arm tackles and pushing the pile. Highly explosive runner that quickly hits the running lane and finds daylight if given enough space. Great top end foot speed allows him to pull away from most 2nd and 3rd level defenders in the open field. Shows reliability as a receiver out of the backfield, with consistent hands allowing him to remain a safe check-down option for the QB. Coar isn't currently ranked on any recruiting boards for the class of 2025, which is fairly surprising considering he has more than enough talent, production, and size to be a premier tailback in the class of 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='22783' first='Brett' last='Alvey'], Pine Creek Eagles (LB)(Sr.)(34) – Alvey was easily one of the biggest contributors defensively for the Eagles against the Chaparral offense, with the box score reflecting it. Turning to Alvey's numbers from his night against the Wolverines offense, he accounted for for a remarkable 8 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, and a pass deflection. When you put on the film of Alvey's performance, you can see he displays an extremely high motor that shows the most when pursuing the ball carrier or working to shed a block. Very physical tackler that brings a ton of pop/power to the point-of-contact with the ball carrier. Displays outstanding form when tackling, consistently getting his head across their core, wrapping up, and driving through contact. Downhill runner that fills his run fits hard and fast, often getting into the backfield off of first step explosiveness before the OL have time to react. Smart, quick-thinking backer than quickly read-and-diagnose the development of the play and react accordingly filling the run or dropping into coverage. Disciplined LB that doesn't often bite on play action and doesn't over-pursue the ball carrier/QB while consistently taking good angles in pursuit. Alvey is currently rated the number 5 LB and number 41 player overall in Colorado for the class of 2023. He'll look to finish his senior season with a state championship before heading off somewhere in 2023 to play collegiately.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='251217' first='Mason' last='Miller'], Pine Creek Eagles (RB/LB)(Jr.)(13) – Miller might not have been the strongest individual player on either offense or defense for the Eagles, but it would be foolish to ignore his all around performance on both sides of the ball against the Wolverines. Diving into the numbers from Miller's night against Chaparral, he accounted for 113 yards rushing on 195carries (7.5 YPC) while also adding 2 tackles, a pass deflection, and an interception on the defensive side of the ball. While Miller had strong showings in all phases, for the sake of this article we'll just focus on his traits from the offensive side. Watching Miller's performance against the Wolverines defense on film, the first thing that leaps off the film is his size (6'2, 225 lbs), easily being the biggest player physically at the skill positions for the Eagles. His size compounding how incredibly physical he is as a ball carrier. Strong, powerful RB that often takes multiple defenders to bring him down, routinely pushing the pile for extra yards and being near impossible to tackle in 1-on-1 situations when he has a full head of steam. Strong lower body, core, upper body, and an ability to drive his legs through the run allow him to maintain force/momentum through the point-of-attack when making contact with the defender. Tough, downhill runner with a good, low pad level that gets the gotta-have-it plays in short yardage and goal line situations. Tenacious, high motor ball carrier that always seems to be falling forward after contact, showing outstanding balance and an ability to drive his legs to finish runs. Outstanding blocker out of the backfield in both pass and run blocking situations, consistently being able to anchor against blitzing LBs when protecting the QB and moving defenders off the ball when serving as a lead blocker in the run game. Displays adequate top end foot speed that allows him to outrun slower 2nd and 3rd level defenders. While Miller isn't currently ranked on any recruiting services, he has more than enough size, talent, and production to be a ranked by the time next year roles around, especially if he can finish his junior season off with a state title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->