SportzFarm All-Star Weekend: SIPU 12U

Que up Jadakiss and get the beat going on the bongo drum, because the champ is here. The SIPU 12U team is comprised of some of the top pre-high school prospects on Long Island and they came to play. It took a lot of grit and some extra football in over time, but SIPU 12U walked away with the championship ring. Here's a look at some of the standout players from last week's tournament.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Headliners</h2>    Quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2168811' first='Cardi' last='Burnett'] was a nice wrinkle in the SIPU offensive attack at the tournament, using his speed and quickness to make some big plays, as a dual-threat Quarterback. The first of a few 2031 prospects that standout to me on this team, he was far from the biggest kid on the field -- but that didn't stop him from having a nice showing and jumping on my radar.     Big [player_tooltip player_id='2168814' first='Nazir' last='Wilson'] was often unblockable up front for SIPU, and in spurts he completely took over the game. The biggest kid on the field for the team, he is currently in 8th grade (class of 2030), but has plans of reclassing and will be listed as a 2031 prospect going forward. Wilson is a wide-bodied, gap-controlling interior guy who was simply too big for most of the of the opposing O-Linemen to move. He's very raw and clearly still developing physically, but with more training and work he could be an impactful guy for years to come.     Depending on how big he gets will dictate a lot of his future position(s) on the field, but I came away from the SportzFarm All-Star weekend as a big fan of [player_tooltip player_id='2168818' first='Elijah' last='Springer']. Standing at an estimated 5-foot-8 and 135-ish pounds, Springer was an athletic mismatch from his Edge/Outside Linebacker spot. I don't think common fans understand just how athletic and quickly-reacting an edge rusher has to be in order to bat down a quick pass into the flat -- and I saw Springer do it twice in one half. He also lined up at Tight End and in tight as a Wide Receiver and did a good job of being physical with his blocks. Time will tell here, but he has the potential.     The future St. Anthony's Friar was one of the best Defensive Linemen in the entire 12U bracket and played a significant role in SIPU winning the tournament. Another one of the bigger kids on the team, he did a nice job playing the Edge position but is big enough enough to play inside as a Defensive Tackle. He used quickness and attacking hands to routinely gain penetration into the backfield. In SIPUs opening game, he had multiple TFLs, a forced fumble and a sack -- not a bad day at the office.     The SIPU 12U team featured a potent running attack, with a deep stable of Running Backs to choose from. They often lined up with three RBs in the back field in addition to their dual-threat QBs all behind a solid Offensive Line. [player_tooltip player_id='2168923' first='Moses' last='Moore'], who is just a current seventh-grader, established himself as the do-it-all back. He ran with speed and great vision, in addition to having some wiggle in close proximity situations. Moore put an exclamation on the tournament by scoring the game-winning TD in the championship game.     As mentioned above in [player_tooltip player_id='2168923' first='Moses' last='Moore']'s writeup, the SIPU 12U team had no shortage of capable RBs to keep the chains moving. They all brought their own style, but [player_tooltip player_id='2168982' first='Logan' last='Alston'] established himself as the hammer of the group. The clear power back, Alston was a chore to bring down. He's a Linebacker/Defensive Tackle on the defensive side so coming with force is nothing new to him, but he made defenses pay when bringing him down.    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Eye-Catchers</h2>   Camden Clay | SIPU #44 | 2031 - One of the first prospects that caught my eye during warmups, Camden Clay was an Edge with good speed off the snap. He was in on a lot of tackles and had no problem chasing ball carriers down from behind. He's one to keep an eye on with at least one more year of pre-high school football.   Lance Jackson | SIPU #25 | 2031 - Another one of the Running Backs on the SIPU 12u team, Jackson wasn't the complete back that Moses was or power back that Alston was, but he still has to be accounted for. He was smaller than those other Backs, but was arguably the shiftiest. He also offered versatility, lining up at WR at times.   Henry Silva | SIPU #19 | 2030 - In addition to [player_tooltip player_id='2168811' first='Cardi' last='Burnett'] behind center, the SIPU 12U team also had the services of Henry Silva leading the offense. Silva also featured dual-threat ability, but I liked how he threw some balls too. The Southpaw made some tough off-platform throws throughout the tournament.   JJ Baines | SIPU #13 | 2030 - Baines is a bigger CB that has played both Wide Receiver and even some Edge before. He didn't register a ton of stats, but the future LuHi prospect looks like a player to know for down the line.   Jayden Rojas | SIPU #29 | 2030 - Rounding out the SIPU 12U team standouts was Middle Linebacker Jayden Rojas. He passed the eye test right away and looked very comfortable in the middle of the field.

Que up Jadakiss and get the beat going on the bongo drum, because the champ is here. The SIPU 12U team is comprised of some of the top pre-high school prospects on Long Island and they came to play. It took a lot of grit and some extra football in over time, but SIPU 12U walked away with the championship ring. Here's a look at some of the standout players from last week's tournament.