High Five – St. Agnes vs St. Paul Humboldt

From the opening possession, the St. Agnes Aggies controlled their game against the St. Paul Humboldt Hawks. Touchdowns on their first two possessions and their last three possessions – that the starters played – bookended a 35-6 victory. It was a total team effort, but who stood out – for both teams – Friday night? <strong>Andrew Brownell RB/DB St. Agnes</strong> Brownell was the Aggies' most productive offensive player. He was effective getting to the edge on sweeps and traps, but he was most productive between the tackles. He has speed and good feet, but his biggest asset was his toughness and physical play. The physicalness did not surprise me when head coach Tom Flood told me after the game that this was the senior's first game – ever – playing running back. He spent last year and the first part of this year at tight end and fullback. His thirty-yard touchdown run put a bow on the 35-6 victory. He played well in run support on defense as well, forcing runners inside, toward his help. Although he fumbled the ball back on the same play, he intercepted a pass late in the first half. <strong>Javon Jones FB/ILB St. Agnes</strong> Jones moved back to his usual position of fullback for game three. He was playing tight end while starting tight end <strong>Tim Tibesar</strong> recovered from injury. Jones was the lead blocker on most of Brownell's successful runs. Jones doesn't have a prototypical fullback body but can still lay a hit as a lead blocker. The junior also scored two short touchdowns. He did his fair share of hitting on the defensive side of the ball too. As an inside linebacker, he made life tough between the tackles for the Hawks. He was consistently filling holes and making tackles for short gains or forcing the running backs to bounce runs outside. <strong>George Stark OL/DL St. Agnes</strong> One of the reasons for Brownell's success – especially early – was because of the play of Stark and fellow right-side offensive lineman <strong>John Gutzmann</strong>. The majority of the first two offensive drives were runs behind the right side of the Aggies' line. On the defensive side of the ball, he was solid against the run and forced a first-half punt with a quarterback sack. In the second half, he put pressure on the quarterback twice forcing early throws and incompletions. <strong>Phillip True OL St. Agnes</strong> Playing center on the offensive line – True got off to a good start helping the running game dominate the first quarter. Then the Humboldt defense made some adjustments – things the Aggies' offense was not ready. One of the changes was using a standup nose tackle who lined up far enough off the line of scrimmage, so it was illegal to block him low. That slowed down the offense, but in the second half, True made the necessary adjustments and helped the offense get rolling in the second half. <strong>Michael Casarez McCampbell – WR/DB St. Paul Humboldt</strong> Although Casarez McCampbell left the game early in the second half with an injury, his impact was felt all over the game. As a safety, Casarez McCampbell stopped what looked like sure points for the Aggies when he picked off a pass down the middle of the field in the red zone. The Aggies were successful on a similar play earlier in the game, but Casarez McCampbell was there when St. Agnes tried it again. Later in the game – playing the deep safety, St. Agnes decided to go deep, but the sophomore was able to close and make a leaping interception. On the offensive side of the ball, he was the most reliable receiver. He was mainly targeted on short passes but caught a deep, 50/50 ball for a first down. It was a fourth and long and the conversion set up the Hawks' lone touchdown.