Minneapolis North vs. Fridley - Football can be a simple game

Sometimes, football can be a simple game. When you strip away all the fancy offensive schemes and the exotic defenses, football usually comes down to what happens within two or three yards of where the ball is placed before every snap. Whoever controls the line of scrimmage usually controls the game. When one team dominates the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, you get a game like I saw Wednesday night. After watching Minneapolis North lace it up with Fridley, when it comes to the skill position players, the Polars and the Tigers are similar. When it comes to the line of scrimmage – putting it mildly – they are not. North's offensive and defensive lines dominated, and so did the Polars' team, winning going away 42-0.   I know Fridley was down a starter or two on the line of scrimmage. They would have their hands full regardless, but the dominance of the North men in the trenches was impressive. [player_tooltip player_id='1201991' first='Anaise' last='Dotson'], [player_tooltip player_id='105385' first='Azrie' last='Yeager'], Donnell Ellis, Lamarcus Osborne, and Malachi Tolliver moved people all night long and easily protected the quarterback.   After forcing a punt on the Tigers' first possession, the Polars' offensive line went to work. Runs behind Dotson and Yeager got the drive started, and then they pulled across the formation to spring the running back to the opposite side of the formation. Polars' quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1056365' first='Kai'an' last='Darden'] threw a nice ball to the sidelines to move the sticks and then tucked the ball away and sprinted around the corner to set up first and goal. Two plays later, Kahil Brown barreled into the end zone from a yard out.   Even more impressive than the offensive line was North's defensive line.   Tommie Gilkey stuffed a run and then – along with Jaylun Hurd and Stephan Jackson – met at the quarterback for a sack. One play later, Gilkey and Dotson came off the edges and took down the quarterback for another sack – forcing a punt.   The Polars have a nice one, two-punch in the backfield. Brown is a solid between-the-tackles runner with better speed and quickness than he first appears. Maleek Powell is more of the speed back. They complemented each other well on touchdown drive number two. Brown scored his second touchdown right up the middle behind Yeager, Ellis, and Osborne, who consistently moved the Tigers' defensive line backward.   Fridley moved the ball well on their third possession – including a leaping, one-handed catch by Fridley's Tykeilan Hy Shaw-Moore. Pre-snap penalties were a big problem for the Tigers in the first half – sabotaging any momentum they would get. With the offense behind the sticks, North's Gilkey came off the ball like he was shot out of a cannon to get a sack, and on the next play, he showed good discipline to stay at home and make a tackle on the edge. Defending a third and long, North's Craig Merritt picked off a pass down the sidelines.   Brown put on a show after the interception. He picked up yards in chunks to move across the fifty. Then, the senior made his best run of the night. He broke a tackle and bounced off two more until he was in the clear. His speed took him the rest of the way. Forty-two yards later, the Polars had their third touchdown of the first half.   Yeager set the tone for the defense on the next Fridley drive. He set the edge and made a tackle for a loss, eventually leading to a punt. Back on offense, Powell used his speed – and great blocks by Dotson and Yeager – to pick up big yardage around the corner. Darden then used his legs again to get inside the five-yard line. Powell finished the drive scoring – untouched – from a yard out.   North's defense came out of the halftime locker room and promptly got the ball back to their offense. The Polars did what they had during the first half and ate up big chunks of yardage on the ground. Darden then rolled out to pass. His receiver was well covered, so he tucked the ball and sprinted to the goal line. He met Hy Shaw-Moore at the goal line, and after a massive collision, Darden was in the end zone again.   The victory in hand since the second quarter – primarily due to the athletes North has at the line of scrimmage – North started to take their foot off the gas and, early in the fourth quarter, had punched in one more touchdown before beginning to sit their starters.   North finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, and Fridley finished at 5-3.

Sometimes, football can be a simple game. When you strip away all the fancy offensive schemes and the exotic defenses, football usually comes down to what happens within two or three yards of where the ball is placed before every snap. Whoever controls the line of scrimmage usually controls the game. When one team dominates the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, you get a game like I saw Wednesday night. After watching Minneapolis North lace it up with Fridley, when it comes to the skill position players, the Polars and the Tigers are similar. When it comes to the line of scrimmage – putting it mildly – they are not. North's offensive and defensive lines dominated, and so did the Polars' team, winning going away 42-0.