Week 1: Regis Jesuit Raiders vs Valor Eagles

Week 1 had Regis Jesuit traveling to Valor to face off at Valor Stadium. I had the privilege of attending this game live, and got to see some fantastic plays. Through the first half of the game, it was a defensive stand off. With interceptions being thrown, blocked kicks, fumbles, you name it, and it was there. The Valor Eagles ended up beating the Regis Jesuit Raiders: 17-0. Now, let us dive into some of the players who made an impact on this game!    Freeman was a heat seeking missile on the field for the Eagles. Throughout the game, he had 7 total tackles (2 solo, 5 assisted), 3 TFL, 2.0 sacks. He even got some action in the run game scoring a touchdown for the offense. Freeman has very good athletic ability due to very good speed and acceleration. Freeman was consistently all over the field, either assisting his teammates or making the tackle out in open space. He has very good mental processing, by identifying which gaps to rush leading to a TFL or a sack. Freeman would also watch the QB's eyes leading him to making a play. He was eating up the run game, and had an excellent performance. Very good in zone coverage too. Freeman is the complete package at linebacker, whether it's stopping the run, rushing the QB, or locking down a zone, he is your guy.     I was hearing Kai's name called all throughout the night. Even though Regis lost, Shelton made his presence felt and was a bright spot. Shelton had 16 total tackles (12 solo, 4 assisted), 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 blocked punt. Monster performance by the linebacker. Shelton was eating up the run game. He was consistently eating up blocks and stopping the run. He showcased good mental processing by putting himself in position to continuously get tackles. Shelton has good athletic ability and was flying all over the field, I mean just look at his stats. He is a name to know going forward.     Herbek is a recent transfer from Lutheran, and he showcased his skills on the big stage. He had 3 receptions for 51 yards and 1 touchdown. Herbek beat the corner for a massive 45-yard gain. One thing that stood out to me, was his strong hands. He was able to hold onto the ball with contact through the catch. Herbek has very good athletic ability due to very good speed, acceleration, and jumping. He's a great compliment to [player_tooltip player_id='491969' first='Cash' last='Spence'], creating mismatches for his QB to exploit.     Spence has been getting a lot of love from Prep Redzone recently, and it is well deserved. We have gone over his evaluations in previous posts; however, I couldn't leave his performance off this list. At one point in the game, the entire offense was getting run through Cash. He was under center passing it, or rushing it. He came down with 5 receptions for 85 yards. Keep your eyes on Cash.     Hanosh was the leading rusher of the game, he accounted for 20 carries for 86 yards. Hanosh was consistently getting the tough yards for Valor. First thing that stood out to me, was his tenacity. He hits the hole hard, and has an angry run style about him. He has very good acceleration, change of direction, and good speed. He would use dynamic cuts at the line of scrimmage to create space between himself and the defender. Used his good mental processing to ID which holes to run through, or cut to a different one. He's a mixture of an elusive and power back, giving the best of both to his team. Looking forward to seeing Hanosh grow more in the Valor offense.     Fillman is another stellar linebacker for the Raiders' defense. He had a great performance, racking up 10 total tackles (8 solo, 2 assisted), 2 TFL, and 2 QB hurries. Filleman showcased his very good athletic ability by using his very good acceleration, change of direction, and good speed to impact the defense. He was consistently rushing the gaps, and stuffing the run. Filleman has a good bend around the edge, mixed with a low pad level and powerful bull rush to knock the OL around. I'm very excited to see more of what Filleman has in store this upcoming season.     Reece is a physical running back who is effective in punishing the defense with his running style. Reece had a nice game for the Raiders showing his dual threat capability. He ran the ball 7 times for 27 yards, and had 4 receptions for 39 yards. Reece has good athletic ability due to good speed, acceleration, and change of direction. Reece has good catching skills out of the backfield. He'd pluck the ball out of the air, or be an easy target for his QB. Reece still made his mark against a stout Valor defense.     Pron had a smaller sized game for the Raiders; however, he showcased his skills in that small sample size. The sophomore had 8 carries for 27 yards, and 1 reception for 13 yards. Pron has very good balance. He started to stumble, and regained composure for a big gain. He kept breaking multiple tackles in the middle of the field for another big gain. What really impressed me was when Pron got hit behind the line of scrimmage, and still manage to turn it into a 5-yard gain. He has very good competitive toughness, and was giving his team his all.

Week 1 had Regis Jesuit traveling to Valor to face off at Valor Stadium. I had the privilege of attending this game live, and got to see some fantastic plays. Through the first half of the game, it was a defensive stand off. With interceptions being thrown, blocked kicks, fumbles, you name it, and it was there. The Valor Eagles ended up beating the Regis Jesuit Raiders: 17-0. Now, let us dive into some of the players who made an impact on this game!