Event Recap: Trenchlab Gauntlet Top Individual Plays
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Now that the dust has settled and I have had time to condense my notes, here are some to the things I saw from the participants attending Coach Keith Alston’s inaugural Trenchlab Gauntlet. This article features the top individual plays that caught…
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Continue ReadingNow that the dust has settled and I have had time to condense my notes, here are some to the things I saw from the participants attending Coach Keith Alston’s inaugural Trenchlab Gauntlet. This article features the top individual plays that caught everyone in attendance’s attention. I will be releasing my top performers and the ultimate champion.
Incase you missed any of our event coverage from this event, our event coverage series the Trenchlab Gauntlet is below.
In what was probably the single-most impressive play of the game, Damari Simeon Damari Simeon 6’3″ | 270 lbs | DL St. Augustine Prep | 2026 State NJ demonstrated speed, power, ferocity, and dominance all in one shot. Simeon got a great get off of movement and went to apply the long arm. However, instead of using the move to create space for him to work, as Simeon extended he actually sent his offensive matchup flying backwards with one hand. After he got airborne, his opponent only stopped moving once he was securely seated on his rear end. Yes, that’s right: Simeon, essentially, bench pressed a whole other human being to the ground with one arm.
Highlights
Clifford Dirkes Clifford Dirkes 6’1″ | 260 lbs | OL Ocean City | 2025 NJ was another Ocean City prospect who made the short trip up the Parkway. Dirkes did a great job all afternoon, but one one play he made he made as thoroughly impressed me as former offensive line coach. Dirkes was faced with one of the better competitor’s bull rush move. Like a page out of a textbook, Dirkes applied the anchor technique to perfection, arching his back inward, leaning appropriately, and digging in his feet. This application of the anchor technique was so effective that the defender completely stopped moving. It was so beautiful that it brought a tear to my eyes.
They are doing something right in education system of Warren County, because Nick Riess Nick Riess 5’9″ | 225 lbs | DL Warren Hills | 2026 NJ is certainly a student of the game. Watching rep after rep as he prepared for his, Riess scouted his next opponent and how they won their last rep. Riess brought a similar look to that offensive lineman with a plan in mind. Effectively baiting his matchup to apply the same anchor that he just witnessed, Riess felt his opponent leaning and snatch him down to the ground for victory.
A Philly product, Justin Wilson Justin Wilson 6’1″ | 260 lbs | OL Northeast | 2025 State PA was another offensive lineman who did his thing over the weekend. Once moment in particular showcased Wilson’s smarts, instincts, and ability. Wilson found himself engaged in a neutral position with a defender. With two sets of arms locked out and four hands engaged with opposite color cloth, Wilson reset his arms to the inside, came over top, and violently chopped the defender at the inside of his elbow joints, causing him to face plant and taste a mouthful of turf pellets. Adding insult to injury, Wilson made sure to finish his block by landing on him.
In another moment of purse by-the-book execution, George Branin George Branin 6’0″ | 220 lbs | DL Riverside | 2025 NJ showcased how he weaponizes his strength. After powering through opponents, consistently winning with better leverage, Branin found himself in a situation where he was fully locked out with his opponent. As he kept his feet moving and buzzing forward, walking his opponent backwards, Branin suddenly dropped his weight and shed his matchup to the side like a piece of refuse. The snatch he executed like it was clinic tape of the move.
A rising freshman with a lot of promise was St. Augustine’s Slayton D’Amico Slayton D’Amico 5’11” | 240 lbs | OL St. Augustine Prep | 2027 NJ . With a good frame and room to grow, he held his own for the most part in a competition that largely included upper classmen. In one rep D’Amico took he was working to gain the edge. In doing so, wisely used his hands to swat his opponent, although his approach was a bit different. Rather than attack the hands, D’Amico was actually able to get both hands on the offensive lineman’s hips/butt. In doing so D’Amico was able to aid himself in propelling himself into the backfield, while also knocking his matchup off balance and in the wrong direction.