Friday Night Lights Showdown: Mountain Vista vs. Cherokee Trail

This past Friday, I had the privilege to watch the Mountain Vista Eagles take on the Cherokee Trail Cougars at Legacy Stadium live. The Eagles ended up winning 42-0, however the Cougars showed grit and kept fighting till the very end. Today, I will be diving into some of the top performances of this game.    Leading this list is [player_tooltip player_id='232153' first='Austyn' last='Modrzewski']. The senior measures in at 6'5 198 pounds, and is currently touted as the best QB in Colorado. He certainly lived up to the expectations throwing for 252 yards on 14/27 with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. He showcased his elite ball placement throughout the game. Leading his wide receiver to the ball, putting it right on the money, or throwing it in stride for his WR for a big gain. He has a cannon on an arm, paired with a very good zippy release. Very good accuracy at all 3 levels. Modrzewski has elite pocket presence by staying consistently poised against the blitz. He'd go through his reads and find the open man or if no one was there, just check it down. One play that really stood out to me was when he was rolling out left, re-adjusted with 3 defenders in his face and threw a bomb for a 40-yard touchdown. The play unfortunately got called back, however it showed who Austyn is as a player. Phenomenal prospect deserving of that top spot in Colorado.     Jamison continued showing everyone why he's one of the most underrated corners in Colorado. The 6'1 DB/WR was making plays on both sides of the field. He had 1 big catch for 36 yards on the offense, and was creating plays on defense. Jamison has very good athletic ability due to elite acceleration, very good speed, change of direction, and jumping with a very good back pedal too. He used that speed to keep up with [player_tooltip player_id='232161' first='Jakhai' last='Mack'], leading to a pass deflection. Jamison uses his physicality and speed to jam the wide receiver at the line of scrimmage. Jamison has very fluid hips to stick with the wide receiver. Good man coverage, as he was glued to his receiver. It was exciting seeing him face up against Mountain Vista's electric trio of wideouts. Jamison deserves more eyes on him, and I believe due to his play he will get some offers.     Mountain Vista has a trio of #1 WRs. On Friday, [player_tooltip player_id='232161' first='Jakhai' last='Mack'] stepped into that role. The 5'9 senior had 3 receptions for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. Mack has very good athletic ability due to elite speed, change of direction, very good acceleration, and balance. Jakhai has burners, and is consistently using his speed to be a deep threat for the offense. He has a very good release against off coverage and press jam. He used the 1,2-shake to create space between him and the DB. Mack has very good separation quickness, he uses his athletic ability to out-maneuver the DB, or identifies a hole in the zone to exploit. He has very good ball tracking and catching skills. One aspect that stood out to me was his ability to create YAC. He uses his home run speed to blaze past everyone into the endzone. Or he will use his elite COD to juke out defenders. An underrated aspect of his game is his strength. He dragged 2 defenders for 5 extra yards. Impressive. Even in a crowded WR with talent, Mack made a name for himself against Cherokee Trail.     Noah Collins was a bright spot for the CT team on a gloomy night. The 5'8 190 pound running back had a total of 67 yards through the ground and the kick off. Collins has good athletic ability due to good speed, acceleration, and change of direction. He has good vision, diagnosing which holes to run through. What really stood out to me about Noah was his ability to cut and accelerate at the line of scrimmage. He used that ability to make defensive linemen miss and gain yardage. Collins is an angry type of runner. Running with grit and power through the defense. I'm looking forward to seeing what Collins does throughout the rest of this season.     The 5'10 179 running back was the leading rusher for CT. He carried the ball 14 times for 83 yards with an average of 5.9 yards per carry. Tucker was getting the tough yards against the Mountain Vista defense. When the CT offense needed some yards, he was their guy. He has good athletic ability due to very good change of direction, good speed, and acceleration. Tucker has good vision to identify the holes at the line of scrimmage. He used dynamic cuts to juke out defenders at the LOS, or pivot into another hole. He put his shoulder pads down to create contact first, then used his good strength to run over the defender. He's got a good stiff arm as well. Tucker and Collins led the offense, and I'm excited to see more of that duo as the season goes on.     Blais had a slower start to the night, however once he got in his groove, the defense couldn't stop him. The 5'7 155 pound running back had 7 carries for 55 yards and 1 touchdown paired with 2 receptions for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns. Blais has very good athletic ability due to elite acceleration, very good speed, change of direction, and good balance. Blais showed good vision to identify which holes to run through. He hit the holes with ferocity, making the defense pay with each snap. A play that stood out to me was he turned a negative yardage play into a TD. He uses his home run speed to blaze past the defenders into the 2nd level. Blais has powerful legs to drive through the defense. Deserves more eyes on him on this stacked Mountain Vista team.

This past Friday, I had the privilege to watch the Mountain Vista Eagles take on the Cherokee Trail Cougars at Legacy Stadium live. The Eagles ended up winning 42-0, however the Cougars showed grit and kept fighting till the very end. Today, I will be diving into some of the top performances of this game.