Nate’s Big Dogs of the Game: Maple Lake Irish
MAPLE LAKE— We close the book on our evaluations from Friday night with the home team, the Maple Lake Irish. I said in during my game recap the Irish might now be 0-5, but that record doesn’t even come close…
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Continue ReadingMAPLE LAKE— We close the book on our evaluations from Friday night with the home team, the Maple Lake Irish. I said in during my game recap the Irish might now be 0-5, but that record doesn’t even come close to the fight level these kids show off on the field. Countless times on Friday night, I thought to myself just how darn impressed I was for the entire duration of the game with the relentless motor this team as a whole showed off despite what the scoreboard showed off in the end.
This Maple Lake Irish team has some solid players throughout their roster, and one in particular, who I named my Big Dog of the Game for the Irish in my eyes, has a plethora of skillsets to have an impact at the next level and could be a small-school steal for those Division III and NAIA schools hunting the Outstate of Minnesota for talent. Take a look at my Big Dogs of the Game from the Maple Lake Irish.
Logan Salmela, LB/WR, Maple Lake (2024)
Logan showed off a consistent tackling ability from the linebacker spot on Friday night for the Irish, and it wasn’t just that he was making tackles; I thought he showed solid physicality and had a handful of tackles that had that knockback physicality I love watching from prospects at the linebacker position. It was the Maple Lake linebacking core that I thought graded the highest from their outing on Friday night, as Logan and others’ fluidity inside making plays off efficient first contact showed off the high amount of fight this Maple Lake Irish defense has in their arsenal as they have developed a ton from the start of the season until now.
Jarrett Faue, QB, Maple Lake (2023)
We didn’t get to see a lot of reps from the Irish throwing the football on Friday night, but the reps we did see from QB1 Jarrett Faue late in the game in the red zone showed the promise of this Maple Lake offense that has seen growth from the start of the season. This young man showed off a sufficient touch ball when he was given the chance to get his first touchdown of the game, and it might open eyes to see more reps out of the Irish throwing the football earlier and more often. Jarrett will need to develop his throw-fitting ability by being able to change the speed of his ball more consistently, but that promise late in the game should open up the playbook more for this young man to get more opportunities to sling the rock later in the season as he certainly possesses the arm strength on the shorter routes to get the job done later this season.
Matthew Aasen, RB/DB, Maple Lake (2023)
Matthew looked like the powerful charge on the outside to escalate the rushing attack for the Irish in the near future. I was impressed with his size and just how long this young man’s striding ability was for 6’0 160 pounds as if you didn’t look at the program, he ran more like 6’1-6’2 based on his length brought with his running ability. Another skillset Matthew showed was his durability with those long strides, as on several occasions, it took multi-player tackles from the Warriors to get this kid to the grass as he was the leader of the rushing attack for the Maple Lake Irish on Friday night at Irish Country Stadium. Look for Matthew to get boosted reps for his play the last two games for the Irish rushing attack and becoming an effective return man.
Riley Hall Riley Hall 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Maple Lake Public Schools | 2023 MN , LB/RB, Maple Lake (2023)
You are going to want to pay attention to this evaluation college coaches, as Maple Lake’s versatile threat Riley Hall Riley Hall 6'1" | 200 lbs | RB Maple Lake Public Schools | 2023 MN has some satisfying skillsets to play at the next level. On either side of the field, Riley stands out as a high-IQ football prospect that just understands the game fluidly. What impressed me most on both sides was his vision. He showed off his fair share of tough, hard-nosed runs on the early downs and was a linebacker that could create a clog in the running holes on an early base of the play due to that football IQ. After speaking with Riley on Friday night, he has aspirations of playing football at the next level and is a humble team leader that passed my eye test on Friday night to do just that with the skillsets this 6’0 200 pounder brings to the table at the next level. Many schools in the MIAC and WIAC would be a great fit for this young man, especially at that linebacker spot. Riley would get my nod for Maple Lake as my Big Dog of the Game from the Irish, as his versatility and play recognization on both sides of the ball were fun to zoom in and watch on Friday night.