Players of the Game: Waseca vs. Cambridge-Isanti

It was a high-scoring affair yesterday afternoon between the Waseca Bluejay vs. Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets hosted at Irondale High School, but unfortunately most of the scoring was one-sided. The eventual 54-18 victory for the Bluejays was filled with exceptional offensive, defensive, and special teams performances from players on both sides, and there are a lot of things to like from the awardees of PrepRedzoneMN’s "Players of the Game" in-terms of college football potential. Find out who balled out below, and thanks for reading! Also, Skol Vikes. Player of the Game: Tave Ball (Waseca) 5’8, 190 lbs. RB/KR/ATH. Offensive Players of the Game Ryan Dufault (Waseca) QB. 5’10, 175 lbs. Hold basketball offers from Minot State, Bemidji State. Ran in 4 TDs as the Bluejays QB and was a really fun runner to watch with the ball in his hands as he was graceful and shifty and cut hard when he saw a hole. A great leader of the Waseca offense as well, he was in-command the entire game and poised in the pocket. Threw a good ball too, and it’s no surprise he’s a tremendous athlete who has NSIC basketball offers as a PG. Braden Jones (Cambrige-Isanti) WR/DB. 6’, 180 lbs. 2022. Jones was the most exciting Bluejackets player all day long and made an impact on offense, defense, and special teams. As a WR he looked like a total natural, and was phenomenal in his ability to track and play the football when it was in the air, and has great hands, great concentration, and had the speed to burn CBs deep. He basically kept the offense churning for Cambridge-Isanti, and was there for a big play when they needed it. His kickoff return skills also showcased his athleticism, and he’s a really promising 2022 prospect as a WR and an ATH. Tave Ball (Waseca) RB. 5’8, 190 lbs. Ball was another player who I came into the game not knowing about, but man he proved me uninformed as he looked like the fastest kid on the field playing at both RB and at kickoff return. He’s got game-changing speed and is lightning in a bottle every time he gets ahold of the football. At RB he shows great burst, solid vision, and some nifty open-field moves that leave defenders spinning and in a panic to get him to the ground. He’s well-built for the RB position and is a strong 190 lbs., and colleges at both the DIII and DII level really need to get a good look at Ball as a prospect, because there’s a ton to like about his game. [player_tooltip player_id="18050" first="Gaven" last="Ziebarth"] (Cambridge-Isanti) RB. 6’0, 215 lbs. Committed to North Dakota to play football. Although Waseca played the Bluejacket run game well, it was easy to tell that Ziebarth was 1) a great athlete deserving of playing D1 ball, and 2) that the Waseca defense was really keying in on him in their defensive gameplan. He got a lot of carries and looked really light on his feet for 215 lbs., and he made some nice plays that were close to being negative plays for the Bluejackets. He’s got a good variety of moves in his skill-set, and was fun to watch run the ball. The Fighting Hawks got a good one! Defensive Players of the Game Adam Hamed (Cambridge-Isanti) LB. 2022. From the very first defensive series of the game for the Bluejackets the 2022 LB Hamed was all over the field and was a tackling machine. With great speed and a natural and finding the football, Hamed easily finished with double-digit tackles and rarely missed when wrapping-up the ball-carrier. He's got good size for a junior but is more a speedy LB, and I'll be excited to see where his prep career takes him. [player_tooltip player_id="22942" first="Marcus" last="Hansen"] (Waseca) DL. 6’, 230 lbs. Holds offers from Army-West Point, Visited Bemidji State. An absolute force on the DL of the Bluejays, Hansen had himself a great game and showed up not only on defense but as the kickoff specialist for Waseca as well. He easily booted the ball into the endzone, but that's not why we're here! Hansen was a beast defensively and made multiple plays in both the run-game and as a pass-rusher. He's a strong lineman with a lot of pop and explosion in his hands and his feet, and was also a high-effort and energetic leader on the defense of the Bluejays. It's no wonder he has a D1 offer and is a highly-touted NSIC recruit. [player_tooltip player_id="23700" first="Matthew" last="Seberson"] (Waseca) DL. Committed to run track at North Iowa Area CC. A force in the both the run and pass game from his DL position, Seberson is long and used his speed well to make plays out on the edge for Waseca. [player_tooltip player_id="22925" first="Kyreese" last="Willingham"] (Waseca) DB. 6’5, 195 lbs. Committed to MSU-Mankato to play basketball. It was a really special treat to watch Willingham play DB for the Bluejays, as the 6'5 college basketball commit was more than athletic enough to play out on the edge and was a really hard-hitter at the position. CI was efficiently utilizing the quick hitch routes to get themselves some easy yardage earlier in the game, but Willingham effectively shut that down himself with some explosive hits when Bluejacket WRs would try the hitch route later in the first half and early in the 3rd quarter. I wish so bad he was playing football in college, and I hope MSU football isn't shy about staying in his ear in college. Special Teams Players of the Game Tave Ball (Waseca) 5’8, 190 lbs. Ball was absolutely ELECTRIC as a kick returner. The first KOR of the game he took 90 yards down inside the redzone of Cambridge-Isanti, and later in the half returned another KO almost 100 yards for a TD that was really exciting to watch. He was so explosive the cameraman was having trouble keeping him in frame through the livestream, and his speed and acceleration made him a total weapon for Waseca. It's already been said, but coaches: hit him up! [player_tooltip player_id="22925" first="Kyreese" last="Willingham"] (Waseca) 6’5, 195 lbs. Committed to MSU-Mankato to play basketball. Made a impressively athletic punt return for a TD late in the 2nd quarter that not many athletes in the state can make where he fielded the ball near midfield and took off down the sideline like a bat out of hell and raced all the way to the endzone before leaping horizontally for a TD through contact for six. He's an outstanding athlete and was hard to corral in the open-field.