Week 4 Standout Players from Western New York

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This week, I was only able to attend 1 game but it was a stud filled contest that came down to the wire. It featured several high profile athletes, a couple whose stock is on the rise and some up-and-comers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Canisius Crusaders @ St. Joe's Marauders</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This was the 101st game between these two storied programs and while Canisius has dominated this annual matchup in recent years, it would not be so easy in 2024. St. Joe's made it a very competitive game with several defensive plays and a blocked field goal but Canisius' dominate OL/DL and their explosive rushing attack was just too much as the Crusaders took this one 24-17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["778700"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66f91b167bbef"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The game plan was simple; stop [player_tooltip player_id='778700' first='Elijah' last='Kimble']. While there were times it seemed St. Joe's was able to contain him, he could not be stopped completely as he ran for 194 yards on 23 carries and 3 touchdowns, while adding a two-point conversion. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although Kimble was the star, he couldn't have done it without his massive OL led by Division I commits, [player_tooltip player_id='806578' first='Patrick' last='Enright'] and [player_tooltip player_id='505525' first='Mason' last='Alnutt'] - both players also added several tackles on defense as well as a sack each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Canisius' Unsung Hero</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1345135"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66f91b167bc4f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">In the preseason, [player_tooltip player_id='1345135' first='Amir' last='Hernandez'] was a LB prospect but in this game vs the Marauders, he showed to be a complimentary back to Kimble. There were times in the game Elijah seemed to be dealing with an injury and/or fatigue. But when that happened, Canisius called Amir to run the ball and he did to the tune of 84 yards on 13 carries.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kimble &amp; Hernandez dominated the ground game combining for 278 yards but St. Joe's had several seniors make an impact and even a couple players with breakout games</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SJCI Offensive Player of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1511981,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Nolan Klein","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2409","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"St. Joe's","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66f91b167bceb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nolan Klein did not put up earth shattering numbers in this game but he protected the football and came up big on 2 TDs. One to George Kunz, who was a Connolly Cup Player of the Week nominee two weeks ago and the other was a 19 yarder to class of '27 breakout player [player_tooltip player_id='1257837' first='Owen' last='Kicinski'] - It was Kicinski's first in his varsity career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Although St. Joe's struggled to stop the run, they did have players on the defensive side of the ball that stood out. LB [player_tooltip player_id='1293300' first='David' last='Amuka'] and DL [player_tooltip player_id='1283649' first='Jeremiah' last='Guerrero'] combined for 16 tackles (5 for loss) and a forced fumble but 2 other players had big games as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SJCI Defensive Player of the Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":1511984,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1561926' first='Gavin' last='Schmitt']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"179","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2496","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"St. Joe's","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66f921e4c72a6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1561926' first='Gavin' last='Schmitt'] was all over the field leading the team in tackles with 12 (1 for loss) and forced 2 fumbles. Schmitt also led the way with some key redzone stops. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Breakout Player Alert</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='1514902' first='Damone' last='Harden']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"199","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"2406","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"St. Joe's","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66f921e4c7336"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1514902' first='Damone' last='Harden'] made his varsity debut in week 1 and showed a lot of potential but has been quiet from a statistical standpoint. This game against Canisius was Harden's coming out party registering 10 tackles (3 for loss) and an INT. Damone is a sophomore so he is just getting started. This will be a player to follow as we hit the mid point of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->