Colorado Springs Week 5 Showdown: Vista Ridge vs Air Academy

I went down to Colorado Springs to watch two exciting teams duke it out on at the Air Force base. Let's dive into the electric performances from both sides.    Jones is one of the top 2029 QBs in the state. Jones went 19/28 for 276 yards with a 67.9% completion rate, 2 TDs, 2 INT. He has good athletic ability due to his very good change of direction, balance, good speed, and acceleration. Jones displays very good throw power, a quick throwing motion, and release. He has very good accuracy at all three levels. Very good ball placement skills. Throws it in stride with his receiver, or will throw it right above his man to go up and catch the ball. Jones has very good pocket presence. Stays poised and uses his very good progression speed to find the open man. Great throwing under pressure. Very good pocket mobility. Once the pocket starts to break down, he'll use his elusiveness to evade pressure and find the open man. Very good scramble ability. Very good at extending plays. Very good throw on the run and off-platform throwing. Even after throwing a couple interceptions, that didn't phase him at all. Still showed his gunslinger mentality. When it's all said and done, he'll be one of the top QBs in the state.     Taylor had himself a game. The 5'9 170-pound athlete had 13 carries for 234 yards with 2 touchdowns, 4 receptions for 100 yards with 1 touchdown, 2 tackles, 1 TFL. Every time he touched the ball, something positive would happen. Taylor displays very good athletic ability due to his very good balance, acceleration, speed, and change of direction. Very good vision. Taylor was effortlessly gliding through gaps using his explosive jump cuts to make defenders miss. Very good inside and outside running. Taylor has very good contact balance to keep churning forward when multiple defenders try to tackle him. As a receiver, he continued to ball out. Very good ball adjustment and body control. He had a crazy catch on the sideline, elevating himself and keeping both feet in bounds for a big gain down the field. Taylor's breakout game should put him on more scouts' radar. Explosive player.     Burr was making plays throughout the night. I was constantly hearing his name called out on the loud speakers. Measures in at 6'2 170-pounds, he has 28 total tackles (12 solo, 16 assisted), 1.5 TFL, 1 FF, and 1 INT throughout the season. Burr has good athletic ability due to his very good jumping, good acceleration, speed, and change of direction. Good read and reaction skills. Solid back pedal. Burr does a great job coming down into the box assisting in run support. He's a strong tackler with good strength stopping the ball carrier in their tracks. He's a defensive back with size and tackling ability to impact both the pass and run game.     Measures in at 6'2 210-pounds. Throughout the season, he has 50 carries for 263 yards with 6 touchdowns, 24 total tackles (8 solo, 16 assisted), 7 TFL, 1 sack, and 1 FF. Schlichter's bruising running attack was a key part in Air Academy's offense. He has very good athletic ability due to very good balance, speed, change of direction, good jumping, and acceleration. Used his very good vision to attack the defense all night long. Schlichter has very good inside running and runs through the holes with purpose. Puts his shoulder down and runs through defenders to gain yards after contact. He's an exciting two-way player that should demand more interest than he currently has.     Kressin measures in at 6'3 220-pounds. He had 10 total tackles (6 solo, 4 assisted), 2 TFL, 1 sack, with 3 QB pressures. Kressin has good athletic ability due to his very good balance, good acceleration, change of direction, lateral quickness, and speed. Kressin has good bend around the edge. Good initial quickness out of his stance to engage with the OL first. Very good hand strength and strength to eat up blocks and collapse the pocket. Kressin demonstrates good get off and block shedding skills. Strong tackling ability. Wraps up the ball carrier and pulls them down, or will lay the boom on them. Great performance by the junior.

I went down to Colorado Springs to watch two exciting teams duke it out on at the Air Force base. Let's dive into the electric performances from both sides.