Stars Shine For The LAB In Frisco

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em><strong>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</strong></em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2025 Prep Redzone 7v7 Circuit kicked off in north Texas with the second annual Lonestar State Showdown. It was a great weekend of football in Frisco and we'll have a ton of content dropping, looking at some of the best players that stood out. In this breakdown, we're taking a look at The LAB after they made a run to the 18U championship game on Sunday. It seemed like every game they played went down to the wire and big time players continued to make big time plays. Below, we take a look at five of their players that stood out during the weekend. Keep it locked into Prep Redzone for more coverage of this weekend's Lonestar State Showdown!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hunter Rathke - 2026 Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is no doubt that The LAB is loaded with recognizable talent on both sides of the ball but 2026 wide receiver Hunter Rathke is a name to know moving forward after his performance this weekend. Rathke came into the weekend as an under the radar wide receiver but after watching this team for two straight days, we're not sure there was another player that caught more passes than Rathke did in Frisco. He consistently got behind the secondary and was an absolute nightmare when they got close to the end zone. He had an absolute knack for running along the back of the end zone and was consistently open throughout the weekend. And when he had the ball passed to him (and that was a lot) he was one of the more consistent wide receivers that we saw. Consistency was the theme with Rathke and his breakout performance in Frisco. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1609196' first='Kash' last='Schwab'] - 2027 Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's not very often that you see a running back turning heads as much as wide receivers in a 7v7 tournament environment. But that's exactly what 2027 running back [player_tooltip player_id='1609196' first='Kash' last='Schwab'] was able to do throughout the two days in Frisco. Schwab was already on our radar going into the weekend after the playoff run he had in 2024. As just a sophomore, Schwab put the rest of the state on notice that he's going to be a name to know at the position with the impactful games he had against some of the state's top programs. Now, this weekend, Schwab was just showcasing the hands and his ability to make defenders miss in the open field. Similar to Rathke, it seemed like every time Schwab had the ball thrown to him, he was going to make the catch. He has good size, moves well in the open field and now we know he's a reliable target in the pass game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='403868' first='Taelyn' last='Mayo'] - 2027 Defensive Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2027 defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='403868' first='Taelyn' last='Mayo'] was definitely on the shortlist of players we were excited to see coming into the Lonestar State Showdown. He lived up to the hype and then some during the weekend in Frisco. In one game in particular on Sunday, Mayo cemented himself as one of the more clutch defenders that we watched. The LAB was trailing by a point with around a minute to play and the other team had the ball. Things were not looking good but Mayo would jump a route and come up with an interception and that would actually give The LAB the victory and kept them marching on in bracket play. We got a chance to catch up with Mayo following the games on Saturday and he told us that he's trying to change the game as a cornerback that's 6'4. He certainly changed that particular bracket play game with a dynamic play to win it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1576312' first='Tristin' last='Gaines'] - 2028 Quarterback</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2028 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1576312' first='Tristin' last='Gaines'] is already considered one of the best quarterbacks in the state's 2028 class and he's looking to prove that he's not only the best in Texas, but he's one of the best in the nation. We got a chance to watch The LAB quite a bit between Saturday's and Sunday's games and there were a few things that really stood out about his game. First off, the ball absolutely jumps out of his hand and he can get the ball from point A to point B in a hurry. Another thing that definitely stood out, particularly on Sunday was his ability to continue throwing the ball accurately and with zip but from different arm angles. If he was on the move or throwing across his body, whatever it was, Gaines could make just about every throw there was to make this weekend. Similar to Mayo, Gaines was a player we were fired up to see and he backed up the hype. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1650046' first='Ty' last='Sexton'] - 2026 Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Back in October, our Jake Lemming wrote about 2026 wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1650046' first='Ty' last='Sexton'] being primed for joining the 2026 rankings in the next update. We concur after watching Sexton absolutely terrorize defenses throughout the two days in Frisco. Sexton recently picked up an offer from Utah and that could very well be the first of many offers for Sexton moving forward this offseason. Sexton was so reliable in the offense and has incredibly strong hands. There weren't many "50/50" balls that he wasn't going to come down with. Another thing that stood out to us was his IQ and connection with his quarterback. There were multiple times when Sexton would be running across the middle, felt a defender's momentum picking up and he would just stop on a dime, immediately get separation and come up with a catch in the open field and had space to make a bigger play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->