Needle-Movers of the Semifinals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This weekend marks one of the most exciting weekends in High School Football. Here in Michigan, 16 teams remain, and they're all dreaming of punching their ticket to Ford Field. Today, I'll highlight five players who will be massive in their teams' hopes for a State Title. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Ogemaw Heights RB Calvin Marshall</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Man!!! Going into Ogemaw Heights' regional finals matchup against Swan Valley, Calvin was not on my radar. After watching the first half, I knew that Calvin was a significant difference maker for this semifinal-bound team. Many media outlets have described Calvin as a "bowling ball". I would have to agree. He's 6-foot 215 pounds of pure downhill running. He's the type that will consistently earn you 4-7 yards, with the occasional 20+ yard explosive run. Calvin excels in breaking initial contact, keeping his pads low, and feet moving. I'm not sure what kind of recruiting traction Calvin has, but if he's not looking to play college football, he could genuinely be an elite college Rugby player at a scholarship program like IUP or Trine. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Divine Child ATH [player_tooltip player_id='318570' first='Marcello' last='Vitti']</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Can't wait to finally see [player_tooltip player_id='318570' first='Marcello' last='Vitti'] play this Saturday! The film doesn't lie- Marcello is an elite all-around player for Divine Child. Offensively, he has the speed, vision, and elusiveness to break big plays. Defensively, he's reactive, physical, and a sound tackler. By all accounts, Vitti is the best player in the Division 4 semifinals and will be a massive difference-maker against Goodrich. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Mt. Pleasant LB William Garcia</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the biggest standout leaders of this season. Against Dow, I watched Garcia make play after play, especially against the run. He flew all over the field, completely eliminating Dow's rushing attack. On the sidelines, Garcia was an incredibly positive leader, and you could tell his team was rallying behind him. I feel that Garcia could have a massive game this weekend against Lowell, who runs a highly run-heavy offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Dexter QB Cooper Arnedt</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A record-breaking performance against Carlson last week, Cooper will be facing a stronger defense this Saturday against Groves. I was especially impressed with Cooper's ability to make plays off-schedule. He has an incredible connection with his receivers, and throws a nice deep ball. This weekend, I could see the Groves D-Line providing some pressure. Cooper absolutely has the athletic ability to break those sacks and extend plays. Another productive game with zero turnovers, and Cooper will be playing at Ford Field next weekend. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Groves QB Levelle Shannon</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I've always thought of Levelle as an impressive, high-upside quarterback. This postseason, the Groves' rushing attack has been phenomenal. That said, Groves has not had to pass the ball as much as they had to against the best teams on their regular-season schedule. Against Dexter, I could see Groves getting into more pass-obvious situations. In these scenarios, I hope Levelle leans on his strengths. He's great at extending plays, and he'll likely have the opportunity to extend plays against Dexter. After evading the pocket, Levelle is good at making off-platform throws. Hit those throws, and he'll give the Groves offense a huge boost. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->