Top Gun Chicago 7v7: Top Performers Beyond The State Line

<p>Over the 11 year history of the Top Gun Chicago 7v7 Championship, teams from 9 different states and Canada came through the Greater Chicagoland Area to qualify for the Championship 7v7 national tournament via this event. This year, five teams from three other states came to compete. These are the top performers from beyond the state line.</p>   <p><strong><em>| Tap in with code StopPRZ30 for 30% off your PrepRedzone subscription |</em></strong></p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Michigan Elite</h2>   <p>The only club from Michigan is a repeat participant and entered a pair of teams into the weekend's tournament. Michigan Elite Black reached the semifinal round, inevitably falling to the tournament champions Nxt Level after putting on a strong effort that forced clutch plays down the stretch by the opposition to win. </p>   <p>2027 [player_tooltip player_id='2164230' first='Connor' last='Bobel'] out of Northville HS was the top offensive performer of the Black team and club's leading receiver, a smooth route runner with good hands who was big with tough catches and chain movers on day two. The other top offensive performer was the Red team 2027 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2157924' first='Nathan' last='Maffucci'] from Shrine Catholic who threw the ball well and showcased some velocity and spin despite his team's inability to advance out of the first round of the knockout stage. Defensively, 2027 DB [player_tooltip player_id='2164233' first='Anton' last='Hildebrandt'] from Northville was all over the field. Everytime commotion filled the Michigan Elite side of the fieldhouse, it was Hildebrandt making a big play. DB Sherman Neely III of Detroit Southeastern seemingly had springs in his legs in the way he was able to rise up and defend the pass. The talented sophomore came away with multiple picks and passes broken up, and was certainly unafraid of contact.</p>   <p>Also worth noting was 2027 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='1684994' first='Tanyaradzwa' last='Chinyadza'] from Salem, who goes by Caleb, made significant plays on both sides of the ball for the Red team. Chinyadza is a fluid athlete, easy hands catcher, and a team captain. 2027 Northville WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='2164239' first='Andrew' last='Shukeirah'] was a contributor on day one but stepped up in a big way on day two on both sides of the ball for the Black team and made a significant impact in the semifinal run.</p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Potenza</h2>   <p>This Minnesota club is another who also is a Top Gun frequent flyer. They advanced to the second round before bowing out to semifinalist TOP GUN Chicago Express. This team in general displayed incredible stamina as the entirety of the club played both ways except for the quarterback.</p>   <p>The quarterback of note was 2029 [player_tooltip player_id='2164244' first='Drake' last='Burrage'] out of Bloomington Jefferson. Burrage certainly showed leadership qualities and appeared very well seasoned as a signal caller for his age, communicating pre-snap, making reads and delivering the ball with consistent accuracy. As he grows, his arm strength will improve and add to his present ability to spin and place the football. 2028 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='2164249' first='Matthew' last='Lee'] of Shakopee was a slot receiver type that caused coverage problems over the middle, and when given the ball in space, displayed some wiggle and ability to navigate traffic. He made plays on the ball defensively, but was the most reliable receiver from start to finish. 2027 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='2112902' first='Gavin' last='Vanoverbeke'] from Bloomington Jefferson was a good sized athlete with height and length that presented a deep game and jump ball threat as a receiver, and made his biggest impact on defense at safety. His size and length was a problem for opponents on both sides, and rose to the occasion on day two with several significant plays made in the secondary as well as in scoring opportunities. As the tournament progressed, Vanoverbeke became progressively important to Potenza's chances to win.</p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Show Legacy</h2>   <p>The Show was one of two programs out of the State of Wisconsin that entered the tournament. After a rough go of in during day one pool play, The Show pulled off a first round upset in the day two knockout stage before falling to the tournament finalists M2 Prime in the second round.</p>   <p>Nominated as a top performer from their club was another young quarterback that showed well at the event, 2029 [player_tooltip player_id='2157725' first='Cole' last='Marszalkowski'] of New Berlin West. "Marsz" put up a quality effort distributing the football and running the show for The Show. He was able to place the deep ball well and showed some good leadership at a young age. Also nominated as a top performer was 2027 DB [player_tooltip player_id='1718756' first='Demetris' last='Vance Jr'] of Milwaukee Academy of Science who was one of multiple tall and long defensive backs or two way prospects roaming the fieldhouse over the course of that weekend, but Vance definitely stood out. Sinking in his drop and pursuing the football, this athlete was fluid, reactive and bendy. In coverage, Vance was highly competitive at the catch point and in one on one situations.</p>   <p></p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wisco Elite</h2>   <p>The other program that hailed from Wisconsin proved to be a tough out during the tournament. Wisco arrived with a group of very nice athletes, with physical traits of length and size, athletic traits of speed and lateral twitch, and a whole pitching rotation of quarterbacks that kept defenses on alert. Wisco advanced to the second round before falling to the eventual tourney champion Nxt Level in a game that could've sufficed as a championship matchup had the bracket fell differently.</p>   <p>Their top performer was 2026 WR/DB [player_tooltip player_id='700180' first='Kaedyn' last='Holden'] of Watertown who played both ways but really made an impact as a big time target in the passing game. Holden ran sharp routes, ran with aggressiveness, made plays at all three levels, and when the ball was in the air, his ability to high point and make a dynamic catch opened eyes and drew a pop from the spectators as well as his sideline. He was the most reliable and ubiquitous weapon for Wisco and has plenty of bounce. The other Wisco weapon was 2027 TE [player_tooltip player_id='1733709' first='Anthony' last='Zimmerman'] of Union Grove. Zimmerman who reported a size of 6050 265 looked more like an offensive tackle than a receiver, but looked quite comfortable running routes and catching the ball as he does on film. He also got reps at MIKE backer, but in the passing game, to say he was a mismatch issue is an obvious understatement. He draws player comps to some oversized tight ends that transitioned to offensive tackle and earned a contract or two in The League, but this jumbo pass catcher says he is hearing both tight end and offensive tackle from programs at this juncture.</p>   <p></p>   <p><em>"I want to thank all of the athletes, coaches, officials, media, teams & volunteers for a successful 11th-annual #TopGun7v7Chicago2026." -TOP GUN Chicago Express founder and coach and Top Gun Chicago 7v7 Championship event founder Scott Hoffman</em></p>   <p></p>   <p><em><strong>Coming soon, Prep Redzone Exposure Tour, NFL-style combine testing, hit the link in the post below to reserve your spot!</strong></em></p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/PrepRedzone/status/2032236251961577716 </div></figure>

Over the 11 year history of the Top Gun Chicago 7v7 Championship, teams from 9 different states and Canada came through the Greater Chicagoland Area to qualify for the Championship 7v7 national tournament via this event. This year, five teams from three other states came to compete. These are the top performers from beyond the state line.