My favorite individual performances of the year

During this time of year, everyone loves to-do lists of the best players in the conference, section, or state. This is not that kind of list. While some players on this list are considered some of the best in the state – some guys did not make post-season lists. These are the guys I could see full games of – either in person or online who looked great, at least for one game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18030" first="Deven" last="Eastern"] Shakopee DL vs. St. Michael-Albertville</strong> Eastern just signed with Minnesota a few days ago and is obviously one of the state’s top players. On opening night, he almost had two games in one. In the first half, he dominated and completely had the Knights’ offense out of sync. The Knights made it obvious they were running away from him and were throwing short passes not to allow Eastern time to get to the quarterback. He still made play after play . . . in the first half. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18099" first="Everett" last="Sunvold"] St. Michael-Albertville OL vs. Shakopee</strong> In the second half of their game against the Sabers and Eastern, the Division I prospect was well contained. The guy who was assigned to deal with Eastern most often was Sunvold. I don’t know how much it had to do with scheme and how much it had to do with Sunvold’s play, but as good as Eastern was in the first half, Sunvold was in the second half – including a pancake block (I think, it was tough to tell watching from the stands) on Eastern. <strong>Dylan Schmidt Anoka RB vs. Eagan</strong> The Tornadoes struggled to a 1-5 season, but they didn’t struggle in their one win – a 52-19 victory. Schmidt showed all the tools during the game. He broke tackles – most notably when he broke three tackles during a 25-yard touchdown run. He showed his speed consistently, getting the corner on sweeps and his hands with two touchdown catches out of the backfield – for a total of 71 yards. Schmidt ended the game with nearly 200 scrimmage yards. <strong>Luke Thompson, Derick Ashland, Jack Graham, Jonas Person, Jonathan Elliot Lakeville South OL vs. Prior Lake</strong> Even without standout tight end/tackle [player_tooltip player_id="18025" first="Riley" last="Mahlman"] in the game, this group completely dominated a solid Prior Lake defense. The Cougars’ offense rushed for nearly 400 yards while averaging over seven yards per carry. The offense scored seven touchdowns – all on the ground. This group dominated so much that the offense didn’t have a negative play until half-way through the third quarter. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18027" first="Jake" last="Ratzlaff"] Rosemount DB vs. Woodbury and East Ridge</strong> I saw Rosemount twice during the season, and the Irish defense – led by Wisconsin commit Ratzlaff - were dominant. In six games, the Irish defense allowed a total of 13 points. Ratzlaff was in the middle of everything. Sometimes, a highly ranked player is not easy to spot – they can blend it and look like just a guy for periods. This was never the case with Ratzlaff. As a defensive back, he was all over the field. As an athlete, he looked like he was out of place because of his size, strength, and speed. Against Woodbury, he had fourteen tackles and two sacks. Then, against East Ridge, he had another fourteen-tackle game. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18033" first="Terrance" last="Kamara"] Minneapolis North RB vs. SMB</strong> Kamara was the most explosive athlete I saw all season. His combination of power, speed, and quick feet at the running back position was hard to top. The Polars’ offense was so good during the game that they didn’t need to dress a punter – they didn’t use him once. The biggest reason for that was Kamara and the running game. He put up Madden type numbers – 23 attempts, 216 yards rushing, and two touchdowns. The senior also added a ten-yard reception. <strong>Ryan Bercich Academy of Holy Angels OL/LB vs. Benilde-St. Margaret’s</strong> Early in the game, Bercich was disrupting everything BSM was trying to do on offense. Usually a middle linebacker, the coaching staff lined him up in a three-point stance a few times, and his speed off the ball got him into the backfield. At middle linebacker, he racked up eleven total tackles. A two-way player, on offense, he helped key the inside running game of the Stars and helped key a second-half comeback with 21 second half points. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="18206" first="Connor" last="Reynolds"] Eden Prairie K/P/CB</strong> I don’t think I have ever seen a kicker be so crucial in a game as Reynolds was during the Eagles’ game against the then-undefeated STMA Knights. STMA led the game 14-7 at halftime, but without Reynolds – it would have been much worse. The Eagles were having long snapping issues during the game, and Reynolds bailed the special teams out not once but twice, fielding bad snaps. He was able to get both punts off – saving about sixty yards of field position and possibly a special teams touchdown for STMA. He also was three for three on extra points, hit a 37-yard field goal, and four of his kickoffs resulted in touchbacks. Oh yeah – throw in a late-game interception for Reynolds that sealed the EP victory. <strong>Leo Silha – Plainville-Elgin-Millville RB/DE</strong> Silha was all over the field for the Bulldogs. He was credited with half a sack in the first half. In the second half, he dropped into pass coverage and had a critical third-down pass breakup. Late in the game, he registered a solo quarterback sack. On offense, he showed he could not only run the ball but be a threat in the passing game. He caught an over the shoulder pass down the sidelines for 40 yards. He was able to get the tough yards between the tackles and has good feet – allowing him to bounce runs to the outside. He showed his speed during a game-sealing run off-tackle and showed his speed for a 35-yard touchdown run to seal the game in the fourth quarter.