PRzMN Player of the Game Awards: Mankato East. vs. Mankato West
Yesterday’s crosstown rivalry matchup of Mankato East vs. Mankato West was a hard-hitting, slug-it-out, grind of a game that ended with a West Scarlett victory 20-0 over the East Cougars in the 48th meeting of the two high schools. With scholarship commits and prospects in…
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Continue ReadingYesterday’s crosstown rivalry matchup of Mankato East vs. Mankato West was a hard-hitting, slug-it-out, grind of a game that ended with a West Scarlett victory 20-0 over the East Cougars in the 48th meeting of the two high schools. With scholarship commits and prospects in both sides 2021 classes, and some serious D1 talent in each teams 2022s, there was a lot of talent on the field all night long in Mankato. One of the things I love about rivalry games is you tend to see 100% high-flying effort from both squads, and last night was no exception. This effort and talent combined to produce some excellent individual performances on offense, defense, and special teams and these athletes deserve some recognition for their games. Check out who earned our PrepRedzoneMN Player of the Game Awards below! Thanks for reading.
Player of the Game: Mekhi Collins Mekhi Collins 6'4" | 205 lbs | WR Mankato West | 2022 State MN (Mankato West) WR/CB. 2022. 6’5, 190 lbs. @MekhiCollins2
The crazy part about giving this POTG award to Collins is that despite his 2 TD receiving performance, his lockdown game at CB that was filled with PBUs and hard hits, and a variety of other impressive plays is that West’s #1 missed a couple big plays that would have most likely put the game in favor of West earlier in the game. Despite these missed opportunities Collins still was able to showcase his skill-set, and it’s a fun one. With his breakaway speed and YAC ability he was an explosive threat on offense all night, but I personally really enjoyed his performance at CB. He’s physical, fast out of his breaks, and has more than ideal size for the position. The speed is there to play CB at the college level too, but he would also make a dangerous WR threat so either way is fine with me. Good game, Mekhi!
Offense
Zander Dittbenner Zander Dittbenner 6'0" | 195 lbs | QB Mankato-West | 2022 State MN (Mankato West) QB. 2022. @ZanderDitt – This was my first introduction to West’s new QB1, and I liked what I saw from the junior as he showed a strong arm, good footwork, a smooth release, and nice accuracy on his throws. All three of West’s TDs came through the air, and Dittbenner stood strong in the pocket and delivered balls right on the money to put up points for the Scarlett. He’s got his best football in front of him.
Jacob Eggert Jacob Eggert 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Mankato East | 2022 State MN (Mankato East) QB. 6’1, 175 lbs. 2022. @Jacob_Eggert – Our National Scouting Director Jake Lemming got ahold of the film of Eggert’s film prior to the season and was a big fan, and for good reason too as Eggert is a special QB in-terms of his athleticism, pocket-presence, elusiveness, and mobility. I can’t tell you how many times I saw him make a West rusher miss in spectacular and magical fashion, seemingly cutting or ducking at the very last second to keep the play alive. Unfortunately, he had to do this a lot, and it was hard to gauge or scout or arm talent on the night. I did see an ability to accurately deliver throws on short, intermediate, and deep throws, and the poise and presence in the pocket make him a kid who I am very excited to continue to track throughout this season and his senior year. Either way it was fun to watch.
Puolrah Gong (Mankato East) WR/DB. 6’6, 170 lbs. 2022. @puolrah – Gong had an up-and-down night yesterday, but was still no doubt a playmaker who helped keep East in the game all four quarters. He played both WR and CB and was assigned to cover Collins, so he had one of the toughest tasks of any player on either side all night. Offensively he went all out and I really liked and appreciated his effort at the position. He kept working every down on every series to continue to find work and get open with Eggert scrambling around in the backfield keeping plays alive. His size and frame are outstanding, and he has a huge catch radius and strong, soft hands that efficiently reel in catches. He’s got great feet and a nice release off the LOS as well. As an accomplished hooper I know he can jump out of the gym too, so there’s a ton of upside in his game. I hope he keeps eating.
Defense
Ryan Haley Ryan Haley 6'0" | 205 lbs | LB Mankato-West | 2022 State MN (Mankato West) LB. 2022. 6′, 205 lbs. @ryanhaley_2 – Haley was the hardest hitter on either team on the night, and multiple times I heard his tackles echo in the stadium through the livestream. He was vicious in his run-support and pass-rush, and was excellent in shooting the gaps and timing his blitzes out with the snap to find himself in the backfield before anyone could touch him. He posted several TFLs as well as sacks, and they call came at much-needed times for the Scarlett. He was fun to watch and made his presence known every series. There’s a lot more tackles in his future.
Gannon Rosenfeld (Mankato West) DL. 2022. 6’3, 220 lbs. @Roll_Tide_14 – Rosenfeld was not on my radar coming into the game, but man he made sure to make sure everyone in Mankato knew his name after that defensive performance. He showed excellent hand-usage and quick lateral agility that made him very difficult to block for East’s OL. With his ability to fire off of the ball he was making plays in the backfield of the Cougars all game long and was a strong tackler when close in space. He also recorded multiple TFLs and sacks, and is a 2022 name to know coming out of Mankato.
Brady Hoffner (Mankato East) LB. Hoffner was all over the field from the first whistle to the last defensively for East, and he was a tackling machine who rarely missed and was strong at the point of contact. He seemed to get stronger as the game went on, and easily finished the game with over double-digit tackles. A lot of these hits came against West’s hard-running RBs too, so I know it wasn’t easy sticking your head in there over and over. I was impressed, though.
Tanner Borchardt (Mankato East) DL/TE. Borchardt was long and lean and the best pass-rusher for East on the night. He made a big sack in the second half to keep East in the game, and was a strong edge presence and a good tackler as well. He was also an aggressive blocker as a TE for East.
Special Teams
Owen Johnson Owen Johnson 6'0" | ATH Mankato West | 2021 State MN (Mankato West) RB. @orjohnso2 . Made a huge hit on kickoff coverage for West to open the second half that got me fired up. He also did a great job as a RB for West and was a tough-runner who had a strong lower body and put it to use with multiple explosive runs between the tackles and more than a few Cougar tackle attempts ran though. A great looking DII prospect.