Nate's Big Dogs of the Game: Staples-Motley-Barnesville

ST. CLOUD-- As if my game recap didn't tell you the full story, last night was the best and most thrilling game I have ever witnessed from live scouting in all my years with Prep Redzone and not just in Minnesota, throughout the Midwest. There were several names in this 2A state quarterfinal that stood out and by the numbers, I logged 15 Big Dogs of the Game yesterday between the Cardinals and Trojans last night at St. Cloud Tech. We touch on who they are, what their skillsets are, and much more from this 46-44 barnburner (yes, I know that word has been used a lot over these two pieces of content) to send one team to US Bank Stadium.   [player_tooltip player_id='1256239' first='Major' last='Ness'], ATH, Barnesville 2026 <a href="https://x.com/ness_major">Twitter</a>   Major was key for the Trojans on both sides of the ball, but the running game is where I thought he paid his highest dividends. From what these eyes saw for most of the night, Major showed off great bases of durability in the reps I watched last night and on a few carries caused the Cardinals to gang tackle him to slow him down but he still continued to fight for even more yards after contact. Also showed off on special teams with a sizable return for the Trojans, as a 2026 prospect from up north I will continue to track.   [player_tooltip player_id='1665886' first='Parker' last='Strom'], DL, Barnesville 2027   A 2027 prospect for the Barnesville Trojans that was constantly around the ball in the second half was defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1665886' first='Parker' last='Strom']. The 6'3 175 pounder, logged a handful of tackles for a loss and although not the biggest defensive end I have ever seen, he still can add frame in the coming couple years of high school football to become more destructive into the backfield. No Twitter or tape yet, but a Trojan in the 2027 class to keep tabs on for his development.   Connor Kuhns, RB/DB, Staples-Motley 2026   Connor was not near the biggest kid on either side of the ball last night but this 5'8 160 pounder played with a spark of physicality on both ends that was hard to miss. He showed off first how good of a tackler he was and notched it further with the physicality that goes bigger than his measurables. On the offensive side of the ball, Connor showed off the open field vision that was there for the taking and from the view I had on the sidelines, his strides are longer too than what the measurables will show you. On both sides of the ball, Connor possesed the instincts as yet another Outstate prospect in the 2026 class I will continue to monitor.   Collin Morey, LB/OL, Barnesville 2025 <a href="https://x.com/CollinMorey5">Twitter</a>   Unfortunately Collin got injured towards the middle of this game but up until that point was one of my favorite linebacker last night from both squads. The 5'11 195 pounder is quite sound with his pursuit angles to lead into his tackles and man, when this kid makes contact he shows off every ounce of physicality you want out of the linebacker position. Collin also had a clutch 3rd down tackle to slow down the Cardinals offense that stuck out to me within my notepad. He showed off the chip on his shoulder mentality on the field and looks like a LB that should be playing on Saturdays next year.   [player_tooltip player_id='1602705' first='Adrian' last='Gomez'], DL/OL, Staples-Motley 2026   Another 2026 prospect that popped out for the Cardinals was 6'3 250 pound defensive linemen [player_tooltip player_id='1602705' first='Adrian' last='Gomez']. He too made a clutch play when it mattered, as he had a huge sack that I recall that shifted the momentum quickly to the Cardinals. He also flashed signs of his run-stopping ability and appeared to have great small area vision last night. The Cardinals are headed to The Bank but man, I really like their 2026 talent that already they will bring back next year.   Jacob Strand, QB, Barnesville 2028 <a href="https://x.com/jacob_strand4">Twitter</a>   I've covered a lot of games throughout the Dakotas and Minnesota this year, and have yet to have a 2028 prospect on my radar for Big Dogs of the Game, etc. but that ended last night when I got to watch QB Jacob Strand of Barnesville. The poise that this young man shows for his age looked to be above his years and what I grasped from last night, is his skillsets got better in quick amount of time. His athleticism was the first skillset that popped out last night as he utilized his legs a ton well to get a clutch first down, and in overtime showed off his vision finding the end zone for one of Barnesville's several rushing touchdowns on the evening. He also showed off what is their to develop in the coming years with his touch throws on intermediate routes which showed that he has a lot of upside to grow a ton between now and his senior year as these QB reps as just a freshmen are cruicial to his early development. He will be one our PRZ scouts will look into adding to our 2028 board for sure.   [player_tooltip player_id='1583294' first='Steven' last='Petrich'], OL/DL Staples-Motley 2025 <a href="https://x.com/StevenPetrich64">Twitter</a>   It was pretty easy to see why Steven caught college coaches attention last summer as I saw exactly what they are seeing in this young man last night in St. Cloud. The 6'1 285 pounder was one of the best offensive linemens I watched yesterday and what stood out most was his agile footwork for his size and showed off great leverage with his hands driving defensive linemen a good distance away from his quarterback. Got to watch Steven on a handful of reps, but wish I had watched him more than I did to be honest as he will be one to watch at US Bank Stadium in a couple weeks and on Saturdays.   Jack Maesse, TE, Barnesville 2025   Jack was one of two tight ends that stood out in yesterday's game as when the Trojans did utilze their passing offense, he was a key player to their offense. The 6'3 200 pounder showed off great hands and what was even more impressive was the tight windows he was able to make those catches into. Can't find this young man on Twitter as of yet, but he is one that could be a tight end at the next level based on what my eyes saw last night as the athleticism of Jack and this entire Barnesville team tells you why they are stacked every year.   Brenden Thorkildson, DE/TE, Barnesville 2025   The other sizable tight end for the Trojans that showed off his flashes last night as a pass-catcher was 6'3 190 pound Brenden Thorkildson. He showed off the great body type with his length and catch radius from what I witnessed and also on a couple occassions a defensive back that was always in close proximity of getting into the backfield for sacks or a tackle for a loss.   Benet Robinson, WR/DB, Staples Motley 2025   Benet caught my eyes for his pass-catching capability and not just once, muliple times last night. He showed off good hands from the reps I watched and I always pay close attention to wide receivers that finish their receptions while in close proximity of the secondary in high traffic areas in which Benet also passed the eye test with that. He didn't have the monster gains after the catch but watching this kid be a key factor in the Caridinals passing attack between the sticks is what caught my eyes.   Jack Bredman, DB/RB, Barnersville 2025   Jack was a defensive back with size that I wish I had gotten more watched reps out of as the reps I did focus in on showed off the skillsets I like as a defensive back. In the few that I did watch, the 6'1 170 pound ernot only showed the presence over the middle with his size but his close physical presence in those reps without being over the top to cause a penalty.   [player_tooltip player_id='1582843' first='Alex' last='Schultz'], WR, Staples-Motley 2025   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/IMG_1758-rotated-crop-481x316-1731096122.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1552934" style="width:341px;height:auto" /></figure>   If I handed out an MVP for a wide receiver MVP last night my sure vote would go to 2025 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1582843' first='Alex' last='Schultz'] of Staples-Motley. Alex showed off excellent hands in and outside of high traffic areas but those high traffic areas obviously stood out most as I wish I was able to log how many receptions Alex had last night that created splash plays for the Cardinals passing offense. The 6'3 175 pounder also showed off the size that programs at the next-level should want on Saturday's as the versatility of Alex's route tree was solid across all three levels of the field. Also is a young man that I liked the character he could add to a locker room at the next-level.   [player_tooltip player_id='1602681' first='Eli' last='Rutten'], QB, Staples-Motley 2026 <a href="https://x.com/EliRutten23">Twitter</a>   The gunslinger that fueled the Staples-Motley Cardinals passing offense was 2026 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1602681' first='Eli' last='Rutten']. You could gauge quite quickly the chemistry Eli has with his receiving core and how well he trusts his accuracy too fitting the ball with his wide receivers into several tight windows that I saw last night in St. Cloud. Eli comes with a quick release but yet has the poise to advance the ball with his arm outside of the pocket as well. He had a remarkable passing touchdown to answer the Trojans call which to me, was a crucial point as to why the Cardinals finished in the winning column of that barn-burner and are headed to US Bank Stadium. The 6'2 165 pounder is a Outstate 2026 quarterback that too, I really like his upside at the next-level.   Cameron Halverson, RB, Barnesville 2026 <a href="https://x.com/CamHalverson43">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/Halverson-crop-339x223-1731096247.jpg?w=338" alt="" class="wp-image-1552937" /></figure>   It surely was a outstanding night for the 2026 class last night in St. Cloud, The heart and soul of the Trojans offense last night was lead by Barnesville running back Cameron Halverson, who easily was my overall MVP from last night from the Trojans, logging a whooping four rushing touchdowns (3 in the first half) as I would love to know how many yards Cameron ended with in last night's game. The 5'10 190 pounder, showed off so many excellent skillsets that as evaluators we want to see at the running back position. He started off his night showing off the finish he has with the ball in his hands as his first touchdown of the day was an 81-yard rushing touchdown and witnessing his pullway speed with that massive sized run showed off that finish quickly. Cameron also possesses plenty of instincts and great vision in the open field that caught my eyes several times last night in this 2A state Quarterfinal. I wanted to see his change of direction and durability too and on numerous occassions he on time showed off exactly what I wanted to see. There is not a doubt in my mind with the ideal RB size, and the skillsets I mentioned that Cameron is a surefire scholarship level prospect out of this 2026 class in Minnesota.   [player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Colbe' last='Tappe'], RB, Staples-Motley 2026 <a href="https://x.com/colbe_tappe2">Twitter</a>   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepredzone.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/IMG_1757-rotated-crop-481x316-1731095969.jpg?w=480" alt="" class="wp-image-1552926" style="width:337px;height:auto" /></figure>   I've been scouting high school football in Minnesota for over five years for Prep Redzone, and I do not think I have seen more of a workhorse-like of a performance ever like I saw last night out of Staples-Motley 2026 running [player_tooltip player_id='1552404' first='Colbe' last='Tappe']. I have seen plenty of athletes over the years log five touchdowns in a game but never have I scouted a game where that great output leads to a thrilling victory in double overtime like I saw last night in St. Cloud. Colbe showed that he appears to be the heart and soul of this Cardinals offense as the suddenness of his burst, agile change of direction, and durability were constantly noted on basically every rep I watched and worked all in his favor and my favorite skillset Colbe has even more? The excellent grit this young man plays on every carry and with his teammates as a motivator. The 5'8 175 pounder from the Cardinals I will say put together one of the coolest game performances I have ever witnessed and that's from watching 100s of games throughout Minnesota, Dakotas, and Wisconsin. Without a doubt I would go to bat for this kid to play at the next-level as he is super intriguing to watch.

ST. CLOUD-- As if my game recap didn't tell you the full story, last night was the best and most thrilling game I have ever witnessed from live scouting in all my years with Prep Redzone and not just in Minnesota, throughout the Midwest. There were several names in this 2A state quarterfinal that stood out and by the numbers, I logged 15 Big Dogs of the Game yesterday between the Cardinals and Trojans last night at St. Cloud Tech. We touch on who they are, what their skillsets are, and much more from this 46-44 barnburner (yes, I know that word has been used a lot over these two pieces of content) to send one team to US Bank Stadium.