Week 9 Scouting Report: Beal City vs. Ithaca

Both of these teams are on different timetables. Beal City is in a state championship window, looking to defend their state title from 2024. Ithaca is young, rebuilding, and trying to get comfortable with new roles. It showed on Friday night, when Beal City was able to flex their muscle a bit and physically dominate. Below are some of the biggest standouts!    It was a coming out party for Drew Gross. After multiple seasons playing along the offensive line, Drew stepped in for some injured running backs and blew everyone away. He was sprinting through arm tackles, lowering his shoulder and running straight over defenders, and dragging guys for 5+ yards on nearly every play. It was as impressive of a performance as I have seen all season long. I fully expect him to continue running the ball, and won't be surprised if he is able to carry this team back to Ford Field once again!     I was really impressed with Zuker right off the bat. When carrying the ball, he was able to run through some arm tackles, rumble into the open field and was even able to punch one in to extend the Beal City lead. What impressed me even more by the end of the game was his ability to be an effective lead blocker. Multiple times he came up with the key block to spring the ball carrier for a big run. He had no issue finding a defender and laying an absolute shot on them, rendering them unable to make the play. He was high motor and high physicality all night long and it ended up making a huge difference to the success of the offense.     Drake was one of the biggest standouts in my state finals article from last season. Some of the same traits I noted then showed up once again in this one, but even better! He was once again the dirty work guy, cleaning up tackles and taking on some lead blockers. He had no issue slipping blocks and creating havoc in the backfield. He took great pursuit angles and was extremely physical when coming up to make the stop. Another great game by him, and I will be hoping to see him work again on Thanksgiving weekend!     Smith was a 2-way star for the Jackets on Friday night. Defensively, he was all over. He played well in the box, coming up and making some tough hits when the play came his way, or taking good angles to chase down a play from the backside. Offensively, he ran really solid routes, broke them off abruptly and was able to create some separation. I came away really impressed with his speed and agility, which served him well all night as he was a huge bright spot for his squad. He flashed some great hands and was an available target for his QB who had some struggles. He was even the one who came away with their lone score in this one. Looks like he is part of the Legacy 7V7 just down the road from me, so I will absolutely be checking him out more this offseason!     Carsen was a rock for this defense. Plugging up the middle, he was able to maintain his gap and force Beal City to bounce it outside a few times when they didn't want to. I absolutely loved his use of hands and the way he fired off hard and low. He displayed some leg strength as he anchored down and didn't budge. I think he has plenty of development left, and will continue being a problem inside for teams. Hopefully Ithaca can go on a run in the postseason and Carsen can continue getting reps and honing his skills!

Both of these teams are on different timetables. Beal City is in a state championship window, looking to defend their state title from 2024. Ithaca is young, rebuilding, and trying to get comfortable with new roles. It showed on Friday night, when Beal City was able to flex their muscle a bit and physically dominate. Below are some of the biggest standouts!