Nate's Friday Prep Bowl Standouts: 1A

We spend the rest of our state championship coverage at last week's Prep Bowl as we took in all four games on Friday morning thru night at US Bank Stadium. We get it started with who were my noted standouts in the 1A state championship game, in which we saw 1A powerhouse Minneota get antoher state title in what is one the largest offensive lines I have seen covering in Minnesota certainly in recent years.    Riley was the strike to the Cowboys offense especially in the first half showing off a quick release with his intermediate routes to get Breckenridge downfield and quickly. He showed off too in my eyes some good ball placement especially in that first half with solid chemistiry with his WR core knowing exactly where he needed to place the ball where only they can get it. He has upside to grow with another year under his belt with his footwork and getting more balance inside the pocket. He'll be one to track in the 1A ranks next year for sure as a senior.     David surely showed that he was the bellcow at running back behind this Breckenridge offense. The 5'10 210 pounder, logged 24 carries for 123 rushing yards, and I can assure you every yard David got was a hard-earned as he was one of the more gritty north-south running backs I saw on the afternoon as a second teamer at running back on our All-Prep Bowl Team. He doesnt' wait for contact, he ate up contact on his carries and surely should be a great NSIC fit with a handful of offers thus far.     One of the most intriguing new names that caught my radar during this group of games was Breckenridge XL 2026 wide receiver Cooper Roberts. He logged 5 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown. It was evident, that you could not miss on watching this young man from a length perspective, as he had a few catches that I watched that he got out of nowhere. He is another one that is I am sure under the radar that could help a WR room next year playing on Saturdays as I felt watching Cooper that his best football is ahead of him in the coming years.     The best quarterback I saw in the 1A state championship game was Tristen Sussner of Minneota. What made Tristen intriguing was just how effective he was with his legs, logging four Vikings touchdowns on the early afternoon at US Bank Stadium. The 6'1 160 pounder also was more poised especially on intemediate routes than what I had noted last year, which saw Minneota being more run heavy. Tristen is one of a few that I expect to get the Vikings back for another state championship in 1A in 2026, as the 1A powerhouse just keeps reloading athletes.     No doubt about it, the Minneota Vikings were absoulutely massive on both sides of the trenches and one of the new names that struck a chord with me in the live eval was 2026 trench monster [player_tooltip player_id='591738' first='Hunter' last='Carstensen']. The 6'5 215 pounder had a constantly quick first step and his overwhelming length caused its fair share of issues for Breckenridge's front to handle. I was impressed with how agile he was to the point of attack and one that appeared poised on the eye-test in pass protection too. He is a sleeper that I would be looking at to play on Saturdays in this 2026 class.     Its now been back to back years at US Bank Stadium where Thomas DeSmet has caught my attention in Minneota's offensive trenches. It's odd to think that he was one of the more undersized offensive linemen for the Vikings, yet this kid could pack a punch at the point of attack quickly. He also was persistently well-versed from a leverage perspective as the 6'0 255 pounder also displayed good pad-level. Normally when I can't find tape on a OL prospect, its hard to evaluate, but its man have I liked what I have seen out of Thomas these last couple state championship games as he makes our 2nd team for offensive linemen in the Prep Bowl.     An honorable mention running back from the Prep Bowl for Minneota, was senior Kellen Bradley. He rushed 16 times for 89 yards and two touchdowns and man, did I love watching how fluid Kellen was with the ball in his hands from start to finish. He also displayed good patience and vision in all the reps I watched on Friday at US Bank Stadium. He had some massive holes to work with with that stout offensive line, but make no mistake this young man recorded a good chunk of splash runs for the Vikings offense giving them yet another state title in 1A     The Augustana football commit was a major enforcer on both sides of Minneota's trenches, especially on the defensive line. He logged a couple sacks and his tackling ability whenever he made contact with the ball carrier was with persistent authority. In the reps I watched Kyson on their offensive line, he was a people mover into the second level which watching him at camps all summer, it was no surprise to me how damaging he was on that side of the ball. He also impressed me with his angle-blocking on the offensive side of the ball. Surely is going to be a Viking to watch in Coach Scholten's defensive line room at Augustana.

We spend the rest of our state championship coverage at last week's Prep Bowl as we took in all four games on Friday morning thru night at US Bank Stadium. We get it started with who were my noted standouts in the 1A state championship game, in which we saw 1A powerhouse Minneota get antoher state title in what is one the largest offensive lines I have seen covering in Minnesota certainly in recent years.