Top Offensive Performances: Playoffs Level Two

Level Two of the WIAA Playoffs is in the books! The number of games are low, but the number of exceptional performances are not! We have a little bit of everything this week! Pocket passers doing it through the air, dual threat QBs taking care of business on the ground and through the air, RBs carrying massive workloads on the way to victory, and WR/TEs who proved to be go-to options! Let’s get into the film from Level Two! Cortez LeGrant, ’23 RB- Sun Prairie Stat Line: 22 Carries, 106 Yards, 3 TDs When I wrote the article of the Scariest Athletes in WI I had a tough internal battle going on surrounding who I wanted to put as the scariest RB out on the edge. The biggest reason for the tough decision is the play of the Sun Prairie junior RB. LeGrant has a knack for being able to always find and run to daylight. When he is able to attack the defense outside the tackle box he has the speed and make you miss ability to leave LBs and DBs in his wake. There’s no hesitation either. He is always gaining positive yards, even as he allows blocks to set up. I’m excited to continue watching the playmaker deliver his seemingly weekly big plays as Sun Prairie looks to continue their way towards state. [embed]https://twitter.com/d_legrant/status/1454314882824867840[/embed] [player_tooltip player_id="31377" first="Elijah" last="Gray"], ’22 RB- Middleton Stat Line: 24 Carries, 106 Yards, 1 TD, 1 Reception, 9 Yards Middleton needed every bit of Elijah’s Level Two performance to pull off the one point victory. The combination of vision, contact balance, and ruggedness makes the 5’11" 180 lbs senior RB an intriguing next level prospect. His level two film perfectly highlights those three traits. Whether attacking the edge from the backfield or on jet sweeps, Elijah demonstrated a strong ability to find the seams set up by his blockers. Same can be said when he attacked between the tackles. Once he found that seam and put his foot in the ground to attack the defense, the contact balance and overall rugged play style shows up. Gray consistently ran through arm tackles and could absorb the body blows while continuing to generate yards after contact. I’ve said it a few times this season, but Elijah is definitely an under the radar senior that a team is going to be able to steal. Check him out! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15732280/617d4847bd746c0bb45a1af8">Elijah’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="118349" first="Nigel" last="Cheeks"], ’22 RB- Whitefish Bay Stat Line: 17 Carries, 124 Yards, 1 TD It’s short film this week, but it shows exactly who Nigel has been on the field all season long. A compact athlete at 5’7" 180 lbs who plays much bigger than that size. The toughness and ruggedness he demonstrates between the tackles and through contact is something you usually see from backs in the 215+ lbs range. Then on top of that physicality Cheeks has the long speed to take a glimpse of daylight and turn it into a 75 yard TD like he did this week. Check him out! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/13038997/617cf249bd6a2e11641b9c66">Nigel’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="118404" first="Austin" last="Schlies"], ’22 RB- Northwestern Stat Line: 30 Carries, 281 Yards, 4 TDs Another week, another dominant performance for the 6’ 195 lbs senior RB out of Northwestern High School! This week’s huge workload gave us a look at the tough, old school, grind out the tough yards type of ball carrier that Austin is. Schlies always makes defenders earn their tackles as he does a very good job of playing behind his shoulder pads and running his feet through contact. This week we got to see more than just that power. This week we got to see Austin’s playmaking ability and his ability to make defenders miss in space. I believe his power and contact balance perfectly set up those opportunities to use a juke or jump cut because the defender was bracing for a big hit, but then were left wrapping up nothing. Austin also won Conference Defensive Player of the Year this week. There is definitely a spot for him at the next level. Check out the film! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11062717/617d8991a019be054c32fe7a">Austin’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="104427" first="Mark" last="Haering"], ’23 TE- Edgewood Stat Line: 6 Receptions, 118 Yards, 3 TDs, 5 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 FF The 6’1" 190 lbs two-way junior had a great showing last Friday on both sides of the ball! The first thing that jumped out watching through his offensive plays was the TE’s route running and how savvy he was while in his route. Mark does a good job finding open seams and holes, and he has the athleticism to turn those openings into plenty of separation for his QB to target. Haering does a good job of consistently catching the ball with his hands. He can naturally pluck the ball out of the air instead of allowing it into his body, and he can adjust to it while it’s in the air. Lastly, Mark clearly has proven himself to be a solid option in the passing game on a team that is loaded at the WR position. He can contribute in very meaningful ways game after game. Take a look at his defensive performance as well! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12831506/617eaec334531601789f49eb">Mark’s Level Two Highlights</a> Brady Belisle, ’23 QB- Saint Croix Falls Stat Line: 11/18, 223 Yards, 2 TDs, 13 Carries, 58 Yards The 6’1" 185 lbs junior QB is one that schools will want to keep an eye on. The lefty went up against a tough Stratford defense and proved he could make plays with his arm and his legs. Through the air, Belisle attacked the short to intermediate levels of the field with accuracy while also showing that he understands when to use touch and when to really put the velocity on his passes to hit windows. He also put the ball where it needed to be depending on the leverage of the DB. On the ground, Brady has 4.85 speed and solid short area quick twitch to be able to make box defenders miss. He also made an impact as a DB. Check him out. I’ll be keeping my eyes on him this fall and next! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11650917/617ec39f34531601789f5515">Brady’s Level Two Highlights</a> Bryn Gouker, ’22 WR- Saint Croix Falls Stat Line: 7 Receptions, 162 Yards, 2 TDs The 6’1" 175 lbs senior WR is a player to know the rest of these playoffs. He has natural hands that easily snatch the ball out of the air both while open and in traffic. Bryn uses a combination of speed and body control to create separation. When in traffic, Gouker uses his length to keep the ball away from DBs and when he gets a free release he can outrun a lot of DBs down the field. After the catch, Bryn is a physical runner that is able to out muscle DBs as he runs through arm tackles and drags DBs for extra yards. Check him out! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/16292552/617dae070c539c0a00ebb351">Bryn’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="223711" first="Trevor" last="Syse"], ’22 QB- Belleville Stat Line: 11/15, 125 Yards, 1 TD, 22 Carries, 84 Yards, 3 TDs The 6’2" 185 lbs senior lefty led his team into the biggest game of the season with undefeated Marshall, and came away with the victory. Syse carved up the defense with a mix of quick passes and his legs. Trevor demonstrated his touch and accuracy on each of his passes. Where he looked to be at his best was when the play started to break down. Syse was very good at being able to buy time, avoid the rush, or tuck it and run on designed and undesigned QB runs. Syse is a gamer that steps up when his team needs him most. Check out the highlights from Level Two! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10852575/617edbeebd746c0bb45b55f7">Trevor’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="118566" first="Simon" last="Bauer"], ’22 RB- Durand Stat Line: 24 Carries, 146 Yards, 4 TDs, 2/4, 47 Yards, 1 TD The 5’8" 160 lbs senior RB plays the game at a different speed than everyone else on the field. He is able to erase pursuit angles not only on carries down the sideline, but also on carries right up the middle where angles should be easy for safeties and LBs. Simon has carried a big workload for Durand over the past couple seasons, but I believe he will be best as a change of pace option at the next level. D3 schools should definitely take a look at the under the radar stat monster! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11473848/617eac26bd6ae10ba0bf91c3">Simon’s Level Two Highlights</a> [player_tooltip player_id="118556" first="Isaac" last="Hyland"], ’22 RB- St. Mary’s Springs Stat Line: 37 Carries, 179 Yards, 1 TD The 5’11" 175 lbs two way athlete had a great performance at RB to send St. Mary’s Springs on to level Two! It’s fun to watch this past week’s film of Hyland because he carries the ball the same way he plays defense. Aggressive and downhill. Isaac tends to be more of a north-south runner who utilizes his power to pick up his yardage. He also has the lateral agility to be able to shake defenders, and he uses that agility to bounce runs to the outside when he sees the daylight out there. When he does hit the seams of daylight watch out because he has 4.55 40 speed that surprises defenders leaving them taking poor pursuit angles. The senior camped at the D1 and D2 level this past summer, but it looks like he is still looking for his opportunity to play at the next level. Take a look! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/11799779/617d6ef732e7120abc737ae0">Isaac’s Level Two Highlights</a> Wyatt Goveronski, ’24 QB- Spring Valley Stat Line: 13/20, 242 Yards, 3 TDs, 10 Carries, 33 Yards, 1 TD What a performance by the sophomore QB from Spring Valley. Not only did he step up in a big time playoff game, but it was his first real action at the QB position all season. He came into the game with seven pass attempts on the season, yet was able to takeover the game and lead his team to victory. The first thing that jumps off the screen is the poise that the young gunslinger has. The moment never got too big for him, including when he threw a 55 yard TD pass with 2:18 left in the game to take the lead after throwing an 11 yard TD pass to tie the game with 5:30 remaining in the game. Despite it being his first game, Wyatt showed off good timing with his receivers and demonstrated clean mechanics and a solid release. I’m excited for Wyatt’s future and to see watch how he develops over the next 2+ seasons. The arm talent is coming along nicely. He has enough athleticism on the ground to threaten the defense, and he is just barely scratching the surface on his potential! Check out the film! <a href="https://www.hudl.com/video/3/15030962/617d78f0a019be054c32f10b">Wyatt’s Level Two Highlights</a> Other Notable Performances Davontre Smith, ’22 RB- Menasha Stat Line: 30 Carries, 403 Yards, 4 TDs Alijah Maher- Parr, ’22 RB- Arrowhead Stat Line: 35 Carries, 255 Yards, 3 TDs Keagan Jirschele, ’24 WR- Mosinee Stat Line: 13 Receptions, 223 Yards, 3 TDs [player_tooltip player_id="31225" first="Luna" last="Larson"], ’22 LB/QB- Baraboo Stat Line: 12/17, 117 Yards, 1 TD, 32 Carries, 193 Yards, 1 TD [player_tooltip player_id="118346" first="Jack" last="Janke"], ATH- Ellsworth Stat Line: 9/10, 102 Yards, 10 Carries, 52 Yards, 4 TDs Matt Getgen, ATH- Wisconsin Dells Stat Line: 25 Carries, 196 Yards, 2 TDs, 6 Tackles Colton Brunell, ’24 RB- Columbus Stat Line: 34 Carries, 235 Yards, 2 TDs Casey Verhagen, ’22 WR- Kohler Stat Line: 21 Receptions, 222 Yards, 2 TDs Elijah Shefchik, ’22 RB- Denmark Stat Line: 33 Carries, 362 Yards, 6 TDs