Indian Trail vs. Oak Creek Game Balls: Defensive MVPs

Last Friday night in Kenosha <em>PrepRedzoneWI </em>was fortunate enough to scout the <em>Indian Trail </em>vs. <em>Oak Creek </em>Division 1 matchup, and boy did the defenses shine. With the 13-0 <em>Oak Creek </em>victory being a more low-scoring affair, the defenses of both squads saw their time to impact the game and balled out, and there were some impressive defensive performances on both squads. Find out who made the biggest impression on me below, and thank you for reading! <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Oak Creek </span></em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31098" first="Craesean" last="Slaton"] </strong>- CB. 6’, 185 lbs. c/o 2021. My choice for Defensive MVP of the ballgame, the University of Minnesota-Duluth commit was a lockdown CB all night against an explosive <em>Indian Trail </em>offense with some game-changing WRs in [player_tooltip player_id="30762" first="Kameron" last="Lee"] and Raymond Jones. This was key matchup of the game and <strong>Slaton </strong>needed to have a big game if the <em>Knights </em>wanted to leave Kenosha with a W, and he came through and then some. The 6’, 185 lber. showed sticky coverage on big plays throughout the night, such as an endzone fade in the second half on third down followed by an interception and a nice return, as well as a beautiful PBU where he undercut a post route and tipped the ball away at the last second on what would have been a big play if it was completed. <strong>Slaton </strong>also had no problem mixing it up in run support, and made some nice and open field tackles on the perimeter for <em>OC. </em>It was a blast to watch. <strong>Zach Peterson </strong>- DB/WR. 5’9, 175 lbs. c/o 2021. <strong>Peterson </strong>was heavily relied on by the <em>Knights </em>and made some key plays on both sides of the ball during the game. On defense, the DB was a quality tackler who made a big stop on fourth down late in the fourth quarter and made his presence known all over the field with his tackling. Good leader who you could tell was a sparkplug and leader for the <em>Knights. </em> <strong>Ryan Santi </strong>- LB. 6’, 195 lbs. c/o 2022. Had a couple sacks/TFLs in the game and was the most prominent pass-rusher for the <em>Knights!</em> <em><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Indian Trail </span></em> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31333" first="Stefon" last="Mitchell"]</strong> - DB. 5’11, 180 lbs. c/o 2022. Recorded 13 tackles on Friday. A really nice 2022 prospect for <em>Indian Trail, </em><strong>Mitchell </strong>didn’t see much passing from his DB spot, but came up big in the run game all night long. Able to tackle on the perimeter as well as inside the box, <strong>Mitchell </strong>is fundamentally sound and  a quite a bit of pop as well. It was fun to watch him hit last Friday. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31073" first="Dylan" last="Connell"] </strong>- LB. 5’11, 180 lbs. c/o 2021. There was a strong contingent of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="31073" first="Dylan" last="Connell"] </strong>supporters around the stadium last Friday, and they had a lot to cheer for as #34 came to play and was flying around all night for the busy <em>IT </em>defense. A smaller, quicker LB, <strong>Connell </strong>had a knack for diagnosing the play, avoiding blockers, and finishing tackles, and it payed off as he recorded multiple TFLs and 10+ tackles on the night. <strong>Tyrail Beverly </strong>- LB. 5’10, 205 lbs. c/o 2022. <strong>Beverly </strong>was arguably the best defensive player for <em>Indian Trail </em>last Friday, and the 2022 prospect really made an impression on me as he was a tackling machine against the <em>Oak Creek </em>offense and was almost unblockable at times in run-support. He had his name called on the loudspeaker more than anyone on the night for <em>IT - </em>and for good reason - as he made more than a few TFLs in the backfield as well as the open field. A well built kid for the LB position, he’s got many more tackles in front of him!