KYMSFA Battle of the Regions: Top Performers Region 3 c/o 2029

The Kentucky Middle School Football Association held its annual Battle of the Regions event on March 29-30, with many of the states brightest middle school stars on display. Below is a look at some of the 2029 prospects that stood out, from Region 3.    Region 3 was anchored up front by Right Tackle, [player_tooltip player_id='1311215' first='JP' last='Brandenburg'] who is up a reported two inches and 10 pounds since last June--though he does much look significantly thicker than that. On the middle school level the biggest kid(s) on the roster are often put at Tackle, even if they don't project to that position. That is certainly not the case with Bradenburg who has the classic Tackle frame with longer limbs and good agility for a young man his size.     When Region 3 needed a first down, a big play or simply wanted to run the ball, it was Kelsey time. I watched R3 in the consolation game on Sunday very closely and I came away extremely impressed with him. The Johnson Central dual-sport athlete was truly a workhorse, and despite not scoring a touchdown in the game, he was the unquestioned offensive standout. He's a taller, leaner kid who lined up as both a Wing Back and as a Running Back, depending on the playcall. His excellent speed allowed him to be used in a variety of sweeps, jets and other outside plays that put him in space.     While [player_tooltip player_id='1650792' first='Rylan' last='Kelsey'] was using speed and long strides to pick up yards at a high clip, Running Back [player_tooltip player_id='1650811' first='Tylen' last='Smith'] was pounding the rock up the gut all weekend. Smith was one of the kids who stood out to me right away during warmups with a rocked up, muscular frame. He has an ideal Linebacker build at this point, so when he lined up in the backfield, my body already hurt for the opposing defenses that had to bring him down. In the consolation game on Sunday, I don't think he picked up more than 5-7 yards on any given run, but he was used as the thunder to compliment the lightning of Kelsey.     While the 0-2 record and just three total touchdowns may make it appear differently from the outside, I came away from the weekend very impressed by how [player_tooltip player_id='1650817' first='Pacey' last='Howard'] guided this Region 3 offense. The word "Gamer" comes to mind when I think of Howard's weekend went, as I look through my notes. He showed off dual-threat ability throughout the weekend, keeping chains moving with a mixture of runs and passes. The biggest takeaway I have from Howard was how sharp he looked rolling out and throwing on the run--it was very advanced. He did a nice job.     Ironically enough, [player_tooltip player_id='1650952' first='Patrick' last='Jackson'] is another kid that passed the eye test right away and is also from Elkhorn. The muscled up Safety looked like he was born to play the deep third of the field and showed ability to defend against the run and the pass. During the consolation game, he had a number of impressive plays where he came down hill and made stops against the run. Additionally, he played very well in pass defense. By either bracketing Wide Receivers or covering them on his own, he ensured several Region 2 passes did not connect. In arguably the most impressive play that I saw him make, he intercepted a pass as time ticked off the clock at the end of the first half and returned it to midfield while attempting to bring it to the house.     With his golden mane flowing out the bottom of his helmet a la six-time Pro Bowler Clay Matthews, Middle Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1650978' first='Gabriel' last='Traugott'] was very active throughout the weekend. The Ashland prospect didn't initially pique my interest, but after being in on five tackles on the first two drives, he forced me to take notice. He was in the right place at the right time throughout the consolation game against Region 2, notching double digit tackles and three tackles for loss in the contest.     Doing my initial observations of Region 3 during warmups, despite being on the smaller side, DeShields caught my eye with his build. Being a shorter, muscular kid he looks more like a Running Back than an Outside Linebacker (after watching his regular season film, he's certainly more of an RB) but he made several nice plays on the defensive side of the ball. The quickness and vision he uses as a RB translated well to his play as an OLB by taking good angles towards the sidelines to make stops on outside runs. Additionally he was able to clean up the mess when the opposing WRs made a catch and started to run up field.     Another eye-test passer from the moment I was down on the field watching warm-ups was Georgetown's [player_tooltip player_id='1651428' first='Brenton' last='Arms']. He was lined up as a Defensive End for Region 3 but had the height, weight and muscle to easily play inside. Impressive explosion off the snap and often advanced two steps before the opposing Offensive Tackle even had a chance at getting a hand on him. Throughout the weekend he played with heavy hands and showed off an aggressive stab and swipe move.     In Region 3's consolation game, Johnson Central Defensive Tackle [player_tooltip player_id='1651448' first='Zane' last='Mullins'] had a strong game up front. In baseball, the Closer comes in to shut down the opposing offense and lock up the victory; While unfortunately R3 couldn't lock up a victory, Mullins established himself as the closer of Region 2's drives. On the first play of the second quarter, a fourth down play, Mullins sacked the opposing QB and caused a turnover on downs. A few minutes later in the same quarter, Mullins again caused a turnover on downs with a hit that echoed up to the press box. For good measure, the big man showed he's more than a big body and recovered an onside kick attempt.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">More Region 3 Standouts</h2>   Foley Middle School's Bentley Bussell did some positive things along the defensive front for Region 3. Serving as the other Defensive Tackle alongside [player_tooltip player_id='1651448' first='Zane' last='Mullins'], Bussell made a few nice stops in the consolation game for R3. The duo did everything they could to shut down a talented Region 2 running game.   Yards through the air were tough to come by this weekend for Region 3, but when they were able to get a pass off, the clear go-to target was [player_tooltip player_id='1651536' first='Claude' last='Lewis Jr.'] Playing on his future high school field at Bryan Station High School during the consolation game, Lewis Jr. failed to record a reception but was open a handful of times deep. Long strider, with a frame that passes the eye-test.   Starting at Left Tackle, Opposite the clear Region 3 big dog [player_tooltip player_id='1311215' first='JP' last='Brandenburg'], was Johnson Central's [player_tooltip player_id='1651545' first='Jonah' last='Endicott']. It's not secret that a Left Tackle is the best friend of any Quarterback on a successful offense. Nobody had an easy day up front for R3 in the consolation game against the sheer size of Region 2, but Endicott more than held his own.   Outside Linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1651547' first='Kyle' last='Phelps'] caught my eye, as he buzzed around the field for Region 3. The Clark-Moores Middle School prospect appeared to be on the shorter side but had more than adequate muscle mass for his size/the position. He closed quickly and did everything he could to flush the Region 2 RBs to the sideline on outside runs.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Scout's Eye</h2>   The guys below caught my eye during warmups and/or in game play. However, without the luxury of being able to watch the games back again, having replays or recording official stats, missing plays is inevitable. Nonetheless, these guys certainly looked the part and I hope to get another look at them in the coming months.   [player_tooltip player_id='1791527' first='Caleb' last='Bush'] | Running Back/Defensive Back | Bryan Station   Ryker Yates | Tight End | Johnson Central Middle School   Tate Mills | Raceland-Worthington Middle School   Kailand Hall | Linebacker | Bryan Station   Braydon Jacek | Bryan Station   Channing Kitts | Defensive Back | Louisa

The Kentucky Middle School Football Association held its annual Battle of the Regions event on March 29-30, with many of the states brightest middle school stars on display. Below is a look at some of the 2029 prospects that stood out, from Region 3.