High Five: St. Thomas Academy vs. Elk River

After Elk River tied St. Thomas Academy at 8 in their 5A state semi-final game, the Cadets took over. They outscored the Elks 46-8 the rest of the way, on the way to a 53-16 victory. It sent the Cadets to their second straight Prep Bowl. Many STA players deserve recognition in this story, but who made the cut? <strong>Joe Vascellaro – St. Thomas Academy OL</strong> All five of the Cadets' offensive lineman - specifically <strong>Tommy Brandt</strong> - could be on this list, but Vascellaro stood out to me on this outstanding unit. On the Cadets' first touchdown run, Vascellaro made a downfield block that turned a first down into a touchdown. He was asked to pull across the formation a lot and did a great job kicking out defensive lineman and opening holes for his running backs. One of his best blocks sprung running back <strong>Danny McFadden</strong> for big yards. Late in the game, another effective trap block sprung McFadden for another long touchdown run. <strong>Danny McFadden – St. Thomas Academy running back</strong> Speaking of McFadden, his speed through the hole off a trap block lead to a 32-yard touchdown run. Then he showed his power by breaking a tackle to get down the sidelines for 20-yards. He caught a screen pass and showed quick feet as he made a move right after the catch. He got a block from <strong>Devin Klein</strong> for 45-yards. He showed patience, waiting for his blocking to set up for a 9-yard run behind a pulling Vascellaro. He again showed his speed with a 50-yard touchdown run. He again showed he could catch, hauling in a crossing route and turning it upfield for a 40-yard gain. He finished with 130 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just eleven carries and picked up 87 yards on only two receptions. <strong>Garrison Solliday – St. Thomas Academy defensive tackle</strong> I really can't point to one specific splashy play Solliday made on Saturday night. Why is he on this list? To beat Elk River, opposing defenses need to slow down the Elks' inside trap game. The best way to do that is penetration from the defensive line – specifically in the middle. Solliday consistently pushed the interior of the Elks' offensive line backward. His penetration did not allow the Elk River guards clean pulling lanes or the fullback clean running lanes between the tackles. He was one of the keys to holding the Elks to 3.7 yards per carry. In the regular season, the Elks averaged over nine yards per carry. <strong>Joe Deyak – St. Thomas Academy quarterback/wide receiver</strong> I will start with Deyak's stat line from Saturday night – one completion on two passing attempts for seven yards, two rushing attempts for 86 yards and a touchdown, one catch for 39 yards and a touchdown. His completion was on the run. He showed his speed on a designed bootleg for a touchdown. He put his foot in the ground and made a great cut to pick up the final twenty yards. His touchdown catch came on a crossing route that covered 40 yards. <strong>Ben Reppenhagen – St. Thomas Academy linebacker</strong> Reppenhagen got credit for twelve tackles – eight of them solo tackles. At least four of those tackles were for a short or no gain. Even when he wasn't making the tackle, he was filling the hole and forcing the running backs into his teammates. Along with penetration on the inside, another key to stopping the Elks is to read your keys and not get caught looking into the backfield. Reppenhagen checked that box too. He was rarely fooled and out of position.