Brian's Best - Prep Bowl edition - JCC v Staples-Motley

Jackson County Central and Staples-Motley combined for 56 points in a wild first half during the Class 2A state title game. The scoreboard stopped lighting up like a pinball machine in the second half, but the Huskies from JCC had put enough distance between themselves and Staples-Motley to walk out of U.S. Bank Stadium with a state championship. Here are some of the individuals who I felt stood out.    After a short catch, Dahlin made a nice move on the outside to break a tackle and pick up good yards. Then, he caught a crossing route from Grant Freking, who threw the pass as he was hit. The play didn't count because of a penalty but showed good skill on both ends. Dahlan caught a touchdown on a perfect pass, facing a blitz by Freking. Dahlin caught a pass in the flat and used his speed for 15 yards. After making a catch in the flat, he high-pointed the ball and outfought the defensive back for a 75-yard touchdown. He threw a great block on special teams to spring his punt returner for a big gain. On defense, he nearly intercepted a deep ball.     Schultz played the backup quarterback role as he had to come in during the first half. Early, Schultz showed his arm strength when he threaded the needle down the middle for a first down. On a designed quarterback draw, he picked up a first down. He showed his athletic ability with another draw – during which he made a series of cuts to pick up 30 yards. His best throw was his connection with Peyton Mithun for a 45-yard touchdown.     Malchow broke up a pass on defense, allowing teammate Isaac Hesebeck to pick off the pass, returning it to the ten. Later, he held the edge on a quarterback sweep. Then, he made an open-field tackle for a short gain. He made a great play on the ball, intercepting a deep ball and adding a fifteen-yard return. On offense, on fourth and goal, he powered in a short touchdown. Taking a pitch to the outside, he got the corner with the help of a pancake block by Jack Mix. Malchow ran between the tackles for a second touchdown behind a trap block by Mix with Weston Row and Carson Kolander with the down blocks. Malchow used his low center of gravity and nice cuts on another successful run. In Wildcat formation, he picked up ten yards - something they had success with throughout the game. This included a great cutback on a Wildcat run for a 20-yard touchdown. He picked up a tough first down up the middle on third and 8. As a punt returner, he made several cuts for a 43-yard punt return. Later, he had another punt return for 30 yards.     Dukowitz was a handful most of the game. His afternoon was highlighted by a tackle on a run to the outside for a short gain. Then, he held off a blocker and stuffed another run for no gain.     In just his second start at quarterback, Freking showed the experience and arm talent of someone with more snaps under his belt. Early, he made a strong throw to the outside. Then, he hit Carson Pohlman for a touchdown on a crossing route. Freking went deep to Ben Dahlen for a 70-yard touchdown. Later, Freking found [player_tooltip player_id='1288399' first='Carter' last='Buhl'] for 20 yards on a crossing route. He showed great poise under pressure with a touchdown pass against the blitz. Finally, he stood in the pocket and completed a crossing route as he was being hit.     Tyrrell has good vision and quick feet. His cutting ability set up most of his best runs. He made a nice cut off-tackle for ten yards. In the red zone, he broke two tackles to get inside the five-yard line. He continued to show great feet with a cut for nine yards and then by picking up a first down on a later run. Later, he found the end zone with a short touchdown run. On defense, he came off the edge with speed for a tackle for a loss.     Liepold showed good footwork and quickness. His pull block opened a hole for [player_tooltip player_id='1582495' first='Clay' last='Malchow'] on a sweep. Then, with Jack Mix, they opened a big hole near the goal line. On defense, with Carson Pohlman, he took advantage of some great coverage to get a sack. Later, he showed explosiveness off the line by immediately getting in the backfield for a tackle for loss.     Petrich combined with Sawyer Ferdon for a tackle for a short gain. Petrich then made a tackle on the edge for a short gain. Later, he immediately got off his block to stuff an inside run. His good pressure on the quarterback forced a bad throw. On offense, he threw a pair of great blocks. One sprung Benjamin Tyrrell. Then, his block allowed [player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Colbe' last='Tappe'] to find space.     Titterington got his offense back on the field when he recovered a muffed punt. He shot a gap and got into the backfield to slow down a runner for a short gain. He didn't have to rely on teammates later with a tackle for loss.     On special teams, Tappe had a long kickoff return. Then, he showed excellent footwork with some quick cuts. Then, he made a great broken-field run for twenty yards. He has excellent foot speed, highlighted by a pair of short runs where he made two good cuts at the line of scrimmage, turning short losses into a six-yard gain and then an eight-yard gain.     Hall beat a block cleanly to force a runner outside into his teammates. Later, he came up big on two running plays, making a tackle for a short gain and then a tackle for one yard. Hall got off the ball quickly and got into the backfield to make a tackle for loss. Later, he beat a block to force a runner outside into teammates. After recording a sack, he held the edge and made a tackle for a short gain.     Bjerga read a screen pass and turned it into a pick-six. The converted offensive linemen's powerful run up the middle broke two tackles. He found the end zone on a short touchdown run. On defense, he was quickly into the backfield and made a tackle for no gain. He reacted nicely to a fumble and jumped on a fumbled snap in the red zone. Later, with Riley Reese, he blew the JCC line back five yards.     Freking read a screen and made a tackle for a short gain. After he picked up a quarterback sack, he got off a block quickly to make a tackle for no gain.     Gomez beat a block on the outside to make a tackle for loss. Then, he got off a block and made another tackle for a short loss. He continued to show good hands, getting off another block to make a tackle for a short gain.     On offense, Johnson made a great open-field run with multiple cuts for 24 yards. Later, he broke two tackles to pick up five yards. [player_tooltip player_id='1255125' first='Weston' last='Rowe'] sprung him with a huge block to open the hole. On defense, Johnson came up strong on a quarterback sweep to make a tackle for a short gain.     Hesebeck picked off a pass and brought it back to the ten-yard line. On special teams, he kept his team out of a terrible situation by catching a bad snap and punting the ball down to the one-yard line.

Jackson County Central and Staples-Motley combined for 56 points in a wild first half during the Class 2A state title game. The scoreboard stopped lighting up like a pinball machine in the second half, but the Huskies from JCC had put enough distance between themselves and Staples-Motley to walk out of U.S. Bank Stadium with a state championship. Here are some of the individuals who I felt stood out.