Week 4 Recap: Top Performers
We are officially at the half point of the regular season. In week four there was a plethora of monster performances, and quite possibly… the performance of the year? In no order, I will recap the top performances from week four.
Jonathan Kieren, RB, St. Anthony (senior):
–> 21 carries, 392 yds, 6 TDs
392 YARDS??? I just recently put together my Mid-Season Mr. Football watchlist which you can read here. I wish I could have a redo because Jonathan Kieren definitely deserves to be on the list. He has averaged a ridiculous 12.5 yards per carry on 86 total attempts (tied for 10th in MN) for 1,079 yards (first in MN), and 14 touchdowns (first in MN) on the season.
In Kieren’s week four performance against Richfield his yards per carry was 18.6. That is an unfathomable number. St. Anthony was able to carry their bell-cow’s bruising performance to a 56-27 victory. St. Anthony and Kieren have been a pleasant surprise this season. The Huskies are currently sitting at a 4-0 record heading into a big matchup with unbeaten Fridley next week. Whoever survives that will assert themselves as a serious contender in class 5A.
Jonathan Mann Jonathan Mann WR Rosemount | 2020 State MN , WR, Rosemount (senior):
–> 5 catches, 159 yds, 3 TDs, 1 carry, 1 yd
The 6’2″ Gopher commit started out his senior campaign fairly slow, only accumulating 8 catches for 180 yards and one touchdown in his first three games. In week four it was a different story. Mann came out and put up five catches for 159 yards and three touchdowns. Rosemount was carried by his performance in route to out-dueling Farmington’s high powered offense in a 48-21 victory.
(Photo by Mark Hvidsten, SportsEngine)
Rosemount now sits at 2-2 on the season suffering losses to very good Prior Lake and Lakeville North teams. We will see if Mann’s breakout performance can give the Irish some life heading into the second half of the regular season. Although their record may not say it, Rosemount and their talented receiver might still have some noise to make this season.
Ben Dahl, RB, Rogers (junior):
–> 24 carries, 210 yds, 3 TDs
Rogers has been one of the surprise teams of the 2019 season so far. After a disappointing 1-8 season last year, the rather consistent program has gotten back on track. The Royals went into Buffalo las week in hopes of slowing down Aidan Bouman Aidan Bouman QB Buffalo | 2020 State MN and the Bison’s high powered offense. They were quite successful holding Bouman to his lowest passing total of the season (261 yds), they paired that with a dominating offensive performance totaling 422 yards from scrimmage.
(Photo via: Erik Jacobsen, hometownsource.com)
Junior running back Ben Dahl led the Royals offense in their 42-14 victory. Dahl torched the Bison defense for 210 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. He has broken out this year, totaling 538 yards and five touchdowns, and last year as a sophomore he didn’t have a single carry. The junior RB and Rogers are quietly a very solid team this season, and they have the chance to make some noise in the post season.
Kaleb Blaha Kaleb Blaha 6'1" | QB Fridley | 2020 State MN , QB, Fridley (senior):
–> 9/17, 88 yds, 1 TD, 7 carries, 81 yds, 4 TDs
Senior quarterback Kaleb Blaha Kaleb Blaha 6'1" | QB Fridley | 2020 State MN and Fridley brought an unbeaten record into a matchup with Columbia Heights in week four. Their dominance continued. Blaha trounced them on the ground totaling 81 yards and four touchdowns, and he also added one through the air.
Continuing the trend of players on this list. Kaleb Blaha Kaleb Blaha 6'1" | QB Fridley | 2020 State MN has been wildly underrated this whole year and he deserves more attention. On the season for Fridley, Blaha has been very consistent completing 65% of his throws for 436 yards and six touchdowns through the air. Most of his work has came on the ground where he has 30 carries for 279 yards and 11 touchdowns (tied for 4th in MN). Fridley is currently 4-0 on the season, and with Blaha at the helm they will continue to have success throughout the season, with their dominant run game.
TK Marshall, RB, Minneapolis Southwest (senior):
–> 13 carries, 209 yds, 2 TDs, 2 catches, 49 yds
TK Marshall was a name to look out for in the preseason, therefore he came into his senior year with a lot of expectations. He has lived up to them. In week four the NDSU commit put up what almost seems like his guarantee at this point.. 200+ yards and two touchdowns. The difference with this week’s performance was he did it on only 13 carries. Which made his yards per carry on the day 16.07. This adds to the insane yards per carry from last week, which almost makes them individually lose their luster, all of the performances were dominant in their own right.
Minneapolis Southwest’s only blunder this year came to their cross-town rival Minneapolis North. I can see a scenario where Marshall and the Lakers come into the post-season with a 7-1 record, on a six game winning streak. And if they have TK in the backfield… watch out.
Josh Fobbe, QB, Becker
–> 12/21, 187 yds, 5 TDs
Becker has always been one of the most consistent programs in class 4A, and this year is no different. They are led by senior quarterback Josh Fobbe who has done a terrific job at running the show behind center. While completing 58% of his passes Fobbe has 861 passing yards and 11 touchdowns (tied for 8th in the state) on the season, as well as two on the ground.
Photo via: @jwachterphoto on Twitter
In Becker’s week four contest against Big Lake, Fobbe came to play. He attempted 21 passes on the day and completed 12 of them for 187 yards, and five touchdowns. Although the yardage numbers were not as insane as some other players on the list. The Bulldogs were able to carry their QB’s success into a 48 point victory while only squandering one touchdown against the Hornets.