Playoff Preview RD2: Valor vs Erie

Boy! Am I excited for this 5A matchup. Valor Christian and Erie are two teams that have been on fire throughout the season. The Valor Eagles are 8-2 and earned themselves a first round bye. Erie is 7-4 and had a dominating win against Regis Jesuit, winning 20-3 in round 1.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Erie</h2>   The Tigers are a balanced attack with 215 passing attempts compared to 278 carries. They lean more to the run game, but it's not proportionality different.   Junior QB [player_tooltip player_id='2035686' first='Jack' last='Arnold'] has been the man under center. He has 96/189 for 1487 yards, with 15 TDs and 6 INT, 50 carries for 316 yards and 6 touchdowns. Arnold has very good throw power, touch, and good release. He has very good ball placement skills and fits it tight windows downfield. He has good progression speed, and goes through his progressions. If no one's open, he'll use his good scramble ability for a first down or use his legs to extend the play. He's accurate under pressure. Very good acceleration, and good speed. Puts the shoulder down to gain extra yards. Check down below !    The Tigers' offense has two great running backs in [player_tooltip player_id='757121' first='Braylon' last='Toliver'] (105 carries for 783, and 8 TD, with 10 rec for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns), and [player_tooltip player_id='2044073' first='Tommy' last='Thiesen'] (85 carries for 617 yards and 5 touchdowns, 8 rec for 104). Toliver and Thiesen compliment each other well. They both have very good athletic ability. Toliver thrives on physicality, while Thiesen thrives on making defenders miss.   Northern Arizona commit TE [player_tooltip player_id='1620499' first='Gabe' last='Sema'] is a beast. He has 22 rec for 205 yards and 3 TDs with 10 total tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FR, 1 blocked field goal. Sema is a phenomenal receiving tight end. Very good athletic ability and release. Very good separation quickness, fighting through contact or finding an open void. He's a very good catcher as well a very good blocker. I love his tight end film.   [player_tooltip player_id='754548' first='Lincoln' last='Hageman'] is two-way stud and a top tier linebacker. The UNCO commit has 11 rec for 252 and 2 TDs with 104 tackles, 15 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 3 PD 1 FF. He is a bruising presence on both sides of the ball, and I did a full evaluation that you can find <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/11/hidden-heat-low-profile-players-with-big-time-impact/">here</a>. Here are his highlights.    [player_tooltip player_id='1361191' first='Gio' last='Giampietro'] is the team leader in sacks. He has 20 total tackles, 8 TFL, 5 sacks, 7 QB pressures, and 1 PD. He has very good strength with a powerful bull rush. He uses his very good hand placement and hand strength to move the OL around easily and pass rush the QB.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Valor</h2>   Valor has an explosive offense. They like the run game more than the pass with 294 carries compared to 210 pass attempts.   The offensive line is spear headed by two P4 lineman in sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='983361' first='Davis' last='Moon'], and junior [player_tooltip player_id='1330909' first='Reis' last='Russell']. Russell has elite strength, elite hand strength, and very good hand placement skills. Very good balance. He gets low and overpowers the DL easily. Very good anchor and doesn't budge in pass protection. He also is mobile and has very good athletic ability. Very good footwork. He's a beast in the run game, creating lanes for star RB [player_tooltip player_id='1371842' first='Chase' last='Hanosh']. Here are Russell's highlights below.    [player_tooltip player_id='983361' first='Davis' last='Moon'] is another stud on the line. This sophomore has elite strength, hand strength, and very good hand placement as well. He has very good balance, good knee bend, and flexibility. Very good quickness out of his stance with very good hand speed. He explodes out of his stance into a low pad level and controls and steer the defensive line with ease. Very good anchor. Very good pull blocking and blocking out in space. His highlights are below    QB [player_tooltip player_id='1214582' first='Titus' last='Huard'] has rushed onto the scene. He has thrown 84/112 for 1346, 75% completion, 13 TDs, 3 INT, 18 carries for 48 yards and 1 rushing touchdown. Huard is a very accurate quarterback with very good ball placement skills. He can launch the ball downfield easily, and fit the ball tight windows 40+ yards downfield. Snappy hips when rolling out. Very good off platform and throw on the run. He has good mobility and isn't scared of contact. Will take a hit in the pocket to make the throw. Tough kid.    He has a pair of great wide receivers in [player_tooltip player_id='491969' first='Cash' last='Spence'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1626423' first='Jackson' last='Coleman'] and stud running back [player_tooltip player_id='1371842' first='Chase' last='Hanosh']. Hanosh has game breaking speed and is a home run threat with the ball in his hands. Very good juke moves and dynamic cuts to break defender's ankles. He currently has 103 carries for 984 yards, 11 TDs, 14 rec for 193 yards and 1 TD. Spence is the leading receiver with 741 yards and 7 touchdowns. Great all around player, and you can read his full evaluation <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/11/players-to-watch-in-rd2-of-the-5a-playoffs/">here</a>.   Coleman currently has 29 rec for 640 yards and 7 touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='1626423' first='Jackson' last='Coleman'] is a very good contested catch receiver, and will consistently come down with it. He has very good athletic ability, and will out run the defenders with ease. You can read his full evaluation <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2025/11/battle-tested-the-regular-season-warriors-who-set-the-standard/">here</a> from a couple of days ago.    On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='984499' first='Evan' last='Ingalls'] leads the team with 96 total tackles, 5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, and 3 PD. He has very good athletic ability and very good range to roam the field. Very good read and reaction speed. Ingalls is a very good blitzer. Very good take off speed and powerful bull rush to dominate the lineman. Very good in pass coverage and very good tackling. Ingalls is a beast.    [player_tooltip player_id='1338161' first='Jaxson' last='Sanders'] is the leader in sacks with 4.5 and 6 QB pressures. He has very good bend around the edge and good athletic ability to get the upper hand on the offensive line. Very good initial quickness out of his stance. Good bull rush.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Final Thoughts</h2>   Erie's defense will have to look out for an explosive Valor offense. This is going to be a high scoring game in my opinion between both the offenses. We'll find out the answer Friday night !

Boy! Am I excited for this 5A matchup. Valor Christian and Erie are two teams that have been on fire throughout the season. The Valor Eagles are 8-2 and earned themselves a first round bye. Erie is 7-4 and had a dominating win against Regis Jesuit, winning 20-3 in round 1.