2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

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VimSince03
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2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

Post by VimSince03 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 9:54 am

Defensive End

Selections

East: Layne Swigart (Sidney) - 6'3", 210 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State TE/DE
Future Plans: Will play football for Minot State University

East: B.J. Hatcher (Laurel) - 6'2", 200 lbs. (#4 in the photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State DL
Future Plans: Will play football for MSU-Northern

East: Justin Brown (Miles City) - 6'4", 220 lbs. (#56 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State DE; Badlands Bowl Selection - OT
Future Plans: Will play football for UM-Western

West: Clay Allison (Dillon) - 6'7", 215 lbs. (#75 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State DE
Future Plans: Unavailable

West: Hunter Hartwick (Butte Central) - 5'11", 185 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team Southwestern A All-Conference DE
Future Plans: Will attend Montana Tech for school

West: Rylan Wilcox (Missoula Big Sky) - 6'4", 210 lbs. (#89 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: HM AA All-State DE
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana State University

Declined to Play

East: Tanner Harrell (Shepherd) - 6'1", 255 lbs. (#75 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State OL/DL; GF Super-State Team - OL; Badlands Bowl Selection - OG
Future Plans: Will play football for Carroll College

East: Jory Choate (Bozeman) - 6'0", 200 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State DE; GF Super-State Team - DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DE
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana State University

West: Logan Kolodejchuk (Columbia Falls) - 6'2", 240 lbs. (#9 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State FB/DE; GF Super-State Team - DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DE
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

ADVANTAGE:

Losing Jory Choate and Tanner Harrell certainly hurts the East but they still should be in decent shape at DE. All three East selections will be playing college football this fall and for good reason. B.J. Hatcher was one of the more underrated players in the state last year. He's an explosive athlete with good film that has a ton of room to add good weight to play defensive line. Justin is a physical, two-way lineman out of Miles City. What he lacks in athleticism he makes up for in toughness and technique. Justin played offensive tackle in the Badlands Bowl and will switch to DE for the Shrine Game. Layne Swigart of Sidney was primarily a blocking TE for Sidney's run-heavy offense but he shined on defense at DE for the Eagles. He is a long, wirey kid who gives OT's fits while rushing the passer or playing the run. Also, Jayden Holley will play either DE or DT in this one so he could be in the rotation.

The West squad won't include Logan Kolodejchuk of Columbia Falls but it does feature two players from the Southwestern A conference along with a Missoula Big Sky product. Clay is by far the tallest player on the either roster and his length on the defensive line gives offensive lineman problems on a consistent basis. Whether its batting down passes or stretching out a run play, Clay can handle most situations at DE. Hunter is a versatile athlete who will line up at DE. He's undersized for the position but he plays with good pad level, effort, and technique to make up for this lack of size. Rylan is an athlete that has a ton of potential at the DE position and I'm glad he gets to play it for the Shrine Game. He's got excellent length and strength for the position. Rylan also excelled as a pole vaulter, taking 3rd at State AA this past May.

Overall, I believe the East has more overall talent at the position than the West even without Choate and Harrell. Moving Swigart over to DE gives the East two legitimate pass-rushers (Swigart/Hatcher). The East gets the advantage at DE.
Last edited by VimSince03 on Thu Jul 19, 2018 4:25 pm, edited 3 times in total.


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Re: 2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

Post by VimSince03 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:58 am

Defensive Tackle

Selections

East: Brandon Aimsback (Browning) - 6'4", 255 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State OL/DL; GF Super-State Team Selection - OL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DL (did not play)
Future Plans: Unavailable

East: Jayden Holley (Glendive) - 6'2", 230 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team Eastern A All-Conference DE
Future Plans: Will play football for Dickinson State University

East: Trey Copeland (Huntley Project) - 6'2", 265 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State OL/DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - OG (did not play)
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

East: Bruce Spang (Billings Skyview) - 6'3", 250 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - OG
Future Plans: Will play football for Rocky Mountain College

West: Corbin Walker (Butte) - 5'10", 220 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DL
Future Plans: Will play football for Carroll College

West: Justin Jenks (Helena Capital) - 6'2", 230 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DL
Future Plans: Will play football for Colorado State University - Pueblo along with track & field

West: Michael Lee (Flathead) - 6'3", 270 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DL (did not play)
Future Plans: Will play football for Rocky Mountain College

West: Karson Wheat (Deer Lodge) - 6'3", 265 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State OL/DL
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

Declined to Play

West: Caeden Suero (Helena High) - 5'10", 235 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State DE; GF Super-State Team Selection - DL; Badlands Bowl Selection - DL
Future Plans: Unavailable

West: Jacob Caldwell (Frenchtown) - 6'0", 240 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State DL; Southwestern A Defensive MVP - DT
Future Plans: Will play football for UM-Western

ADVANTAGE:

If you ask a few folks out of Browning connected to the football program, many will point to Brandon Aimsback as the MVP of the Indian's resurgence the past few years. He bought into the weight room and got kids to follow his lead through hard work and dedication. Brandon has great length and strength at the line of scrimmage which makes him a problem on both sides of the ball. He only has one attitude on the field: mean. The rest of the East group is composed of Holley, Copeland, and Spang. Jayden was arguably the best player on either side of the ball for a Glendive team that made the playoffs for the first time in 10+ years. He has some natural pass-rushing ability and good length/strength to help stop the run. Copeland was a three year starter at Huntley Project on both sides of the ball. As a guard, he was a bulldozer in the run game. At defensive tackle, he is hard to move off the block. Trey should get a lot of action at 1-tech on Saturday. Bruce is a two-way lineman from Skyview who blossomed into a very good defensive lineman his senior season who plays with good technique. He played guard in the Badlands Bowl for Montana.

Caeden Suero declined invites to both the Badlands Bowl and Shrine Game so Montana won't get to see the Western AA Defensive MVP play this summer. Jacob Caldwell was initially an alternate for the Shrine Game but was added to the roster after some declines started happening. But now Jacob declined to play so two conference defensive MVP's won't take part for the West defensive line. However, the group is still absolutely loaded. Justin Jenks and Michael Lee made up the 1st-Team All-State AA DT group while Corbin Walker was a 2nd-Team All-State selection at DT. Throw in Deer Lodge product Karson Wheat (who I ranked as my #1 DT prospect at year-end last fall) and you have a group of four kids who make life miserable for offensive lines. Justin was my #14 overall prospect in the 2018 Montana Recruiting class and I felt he was the #1 recruiting miss by UM/MSU this past February. He compiled 19 sacks and 131 solo tackles his junior/senior seasons for the Bruins and finished his senior track season with State AA titles in the shot put and discus with throws of 64'-3.5" and 181'-11", respectively. Michael is the largest DT for the West and arguably the strongest. On film, he got consistent push on the interior of the defensive line for Flathead and made it tough on opposing backfields to get a run game going. Michael also had plenty of success on his own post-football. He finished his AA wrestling career with a Heavyweight title victory. After wrestling, Michael took to the throwing events in track & field and finished 2nd to Justin Jenks at State AA in the shot put along with a 6th place finish in the discus. Corbin played anywhere Arie Grey told him to play for Butte the past few years. A selfless football player, Corbin played nose tackle despite his lack of size. But if you ask any AA offensive lineman, none of them would tell you Corbin lacked strength and explosiveness on the interior defensive line. He also got to play some offense in 2017 as a fullback for the Bulldogs. This is the position he will play at Carroll. Finally, Karson Wheat has everything you want in a defensive tackle prospect. Fast hands, good pad level, quick feet, a thick lower body, and a high motor put him at the top my rankings at DT last fall. Instead of taking PWO offers from MSU/UM, he decided to go with the team that wanted him the most: Montana Tech. He may not play much in the Shrine Game because of nagging groin injury but make no mistake, Karson can ball.

Alright so obviously I wrote a much larger paragraph describing the West selections but this is a fairly even group. Aimsback/Holley/Copeland/Spang will give the West offensive line all they can handle but the West just has more overall talent in my opinion. I give the advantage to the West.
Last edited by VimSince03 on Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:48 am, edited 3 times in total.


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Re: 2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

Post by VimSince03 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 11:44 am

Linebackers

Selections

East: Tyler Buckingham (Billings West) - 6'0", 205 lbs. (#7 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State LB; Badlands Bowl Selection - LB; Defensive MVP Badlands Bowl - LB
Future Plans: Unavailable

East: Brandon Cooper (Bozeman) - 5'10", 200 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State LB
Future Plans: Unavailable

East: Griffen Lee (Fairfield) - 5'10", 190 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State LB
Future Plans: Unavailable

East: Zachary Newman (Calgary, Alberta) - 6'2", 230 lbs. (Zach is the fullback stiff-arming the poor kid below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Unavailable
Future Plans: Will play football for University of Calgary

East: Trace Simonson (Malta) - 6'0", 195 lbs. (#12 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State LB
Future Plans: Will play football for Rocky Mountain College

East: Sawyor Thogerson (Sidney) - 5'8", 205 lbs. (#32 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State FB/LB
Future Plans: Will play football for Minot State University

West: Colton Grange (Drummond/Phillipsburg) - 5'11", 180 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class C 8-Man All-State QB/LB; Class C 8-Man All-Star Game Offensive MVP - QB; GF Super-State Selection - LB; Badlands Bowl Selection - S
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

West: Hayden Guisti (Jefferson) - 6'1", 190 lbs. (#23 in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State RB/LB
Future Plans: Will play football for UM-Western

West: Ryan Moodry (Butte Central) - 5'11", 200 lbs. (running the ball in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State RB/LB
Future Plans: Will play baseball for Utah State University-Eastern

West: Brandon Morley (Missoula Sentinel) - 6'0", 195 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State LB
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

West: Conner Nash (Helena High) - 5'11", 175 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State LB; GF Super-State Selection - LB; Badlands Bowl Selection - LB
Future Plans: Unavailable

West: Brent Tezak (Dillon) - 5'10", 165 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State LB
Future Plans: Unavailable

Declined to Play

East: Nolan Askelson (Billings Senior) - 6'2", 210 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State QB/LB; AA Defensive MVP - LB; GF Super-State Selection - ATH; Badlands Bowl Selection - LB (did not play)
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana State University

East: Blake Allred (Billings Senior) - 6'0", 200 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State LB; Badlands Bowl Selection - LB
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana State University

West: Tucker Nadeau (Flathead) - 5'11", 195 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State LB
Future Plans: Will wrestle for West Virginia University

West: Corbin Wood (Ennis) - 6'0", 190 lbs. (Corbin is on the left in photo below)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State RB/WR/LB; Badlands Bowl Selection - LB
Future Plans: Will play football for Dickinson State University

ADVANTAGE:

Unfortunately for the East, the two best linebackers in the state won't suit up on Saturday as both are already working out with the Bobcats. However, the East had a deep group of alternates to pick from so the there shouldn't be that much of a talent drop off. If I had to guess, the middle backers will likely be a mix of Cooper, Newman, and Thogerson while the outside backers should be Buckingham, Lee, and Simonson. Regardless, of middle or outside, all these kids are excellent against the run and can run sideline to sideline. Three of the six East selections were state qualifying wrestlers this past winter. Buckingham was the Defensive MVP of the Badlands Bowl for Montana. The group is a little bigger than the West which will be essential going up against the West's large offensive line. The biggest of the bunch is Canadian product Zachary Newman who packs a punch at 230 lbs.

The West won't include State AA champion wrestler Tucker Nadeau and all-around athlete Corbin Wood. But the West doesn't lack in the talent department. Colton Grange had a senior season for the books, leading Drummond/Philipsburg to a Class C 8-Man state title. He has had a busy all-star game circuit as he collected Offensive MVP of the Treasure State Classic and followed it up with a strong defensive effort against North Dakota in the Badlands Bowl. Grange will likely be used as a LB/S hybrid for this game. Brent Tezak will play a similar role to Grange at OLB. Tezak was a three-time state champion wrestler for Dillon. The rest of the group is composed of AA All-state selections Brandon Morley and Connor Nash (Co-Western AA Defensie MVP), Butte Central MLB Ryan Moodry, and Jefferson stud Hayden Guisti (one of the top tacklers in the state in 2017).

Both offenses are likely going to run the ball heavily on Saturday. The East LB's are built better to stop the run for 4 quarters while the West offensive line is built better to pound the rock. The West LB's are a faster, smaller group as a whole while the East offensive line is built to be successful at second-level blocks. The problem for the East offensive line is that West DT group which will open up opportunities for the fast West LB's. However, I think the East DT group will open up just as many opportunities for their linebackers. I'm going to give the advantage to the East group at LB.


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Re: 2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

Post by VimSince03 » Thu Jul 19, 2018 5:37 pm

Cornerbacks

Selections

East: Caleb Knoche (Forsyth) - 6'0", 185 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class C 8-Man All-State QB/DB; GF Super-State Team Selection - DB
Future Plans: Will play football for MSU-Northern

East: Damien Nelson (CMR) - 5'10", 165 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State CB; Badlands Bowl Selection - CB
Future Plans: Will play football for MSU-Northern

East: Latrell McCutcheon (Bozeman) - 6'1", 170 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: HM AA All-State KR
Future Plans: Will play football for Minot State University

East: Jeremiah Paine (Westby/Grenora) - 6'1", 175 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class C 6-Man All-State QB/DB
Future Plans: Will play football for Dickinson State University

West: Mark Northey (Helena Capital) - 5'10", 170 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State CB
Future Plans: Unavailable

West: Cal Holgate (Manhattan) - 5'9", 170 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class B All-State WR/DB
Future Plans: Will play football for Minot State University

West: Kadin Lahti (Missoula Big Sky) - 5'8", 160 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State WR; 2nd-Team AA All-State CB; Badlands Bowl Selection - CB
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

West: Gabe Kirkley (Dillon) - 5'9", 155 lbs. (no photo available online)
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State WR/DB
Future Plans: Unavailable


Declined to Play

East: Tyler Dobie (Bozeman) - 6'1", 170 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State CB; Badlands Bowl Selection - CB (did not play)
Future Plans: Will play baseball for South Mountain Community College (AZ)

West: Ethan Pyron (Frenchtown) - 6'0", 165 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State DB
Future Plans: Unavailable

ADVANTAGE:

The East will be without the services of Tyler Dobie, who also declined to play in the Badlands Bowl for team Montana. McCutcheon and Nelson are good cover corners who can run with speed receivers (OBVIOUSLY NELSON IS FAST). Knoche and Paine are two Class C products who provide more of a physical presence which will be necessary with several of the West's receivers. It will be a tall task to slow down West receivers like Alexander, Chouinard, and Koppang and it will all depend on how Levi Wesche matches up his corners. But the East has a solid group of corners to get the job done as three of the four corners are over 6'0".

The West has a shorter group as their tallest corner was Ethon Pyron. Since he declined to play, none of the corners stand taller than 5'10". However, kids like Kadin Lahti and Cal Holgate were excellent WR's for their respective teams while Mark Northey led AA in interceptions in 2017 with 9 interceptions. The East quaterbacks will have to be accurate and avoid 50/50 balls as much as they can. Finally, Gabe Kirkley (the smallest corner on either roster) was added late to the West roster but he produced an All-State senior season at CB for the Dillon Beavers.

The West corners will have an easier challenge through the air as the East QB's aren't the best throwers. Also, the East WR's are not as talented as the West receiver group. However, the East corners are the more physical group in my opinion and the West QB duo of Austin Green and Kaleb Winterburn aren't the most accurate QB's themselves. I still believe this game is going to come down to who can slow down either team's run game. I'll give the advantage to the West corners based off the matchups.


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Re: 2018 Shrine Game Breakdowns - Defense

Post by VimSince03 » Fri Jul 20, 2018 2:24 pm

Safeties

Selections

East: Dalton Macy (Billings Skyview) - 6'1", 180 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State RB
Future Plans: Will play football at Montana State University

East: Micah Ans (Billings Senior) - 5'10", 175 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team AA All-State S; Badlands Bowl Selection - S
Future Plans: Will play football for Carroll College

East: Kevin Boes (Great Falls High) - 6'4", 210 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: HM AA All-State S
Future Plans: Unavailable

East: Si Ryan (Billings West) - 6'0", 175 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 2nd-Team AA All-State S
Future Plans: Unavailable

West: Ty Hoppie (Frenchtown) - 6'0", 180 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: 1st-Team Southwestern A All-Conference S
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

West: Ben Windauer (Columbia Falls) - 6'1", 180 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class A All-State S
Future Plans: Will play football for Montana Tech

West: Ty Peterson (Butte) - 5'10", 160 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: HM AA All-State S
Future Plans: Unavailable


Declined to Play

West: Jackson Pepe (Glacier) - 6'1", 210 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: HM AA All-State S; Badlands Bowl Selection - S
Future Plans: Will play football for University of Montana

West: Tanner Wood (Ennis) - 6'0", 195 lbs.
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Senior Year Football Accolades: Class C 8-Man All-State; Badlands Bowl Selection - WR
Future Plans: Will play football for Dickinson State University


ADVANTAGE:

The East squad is composed of four All-State players from AA. Micah Ans will likely be a starter at FS with the other three figuring in at SS. The most physical of the bunch is Dalton Macy of Skyview. Kevin Boes was benched at QB his senior season at Great Falls High but he still turned in an All-State performance at safety for the Bison. He is easily the tallest member of the East secondary at 6'4". Si Ryan is a versatile player who can play both free and strong safety while also figure in at cornerback. Overall, I like the makeup of the East group. They should be good against the pass and versatile enough to contain the West's run game.

The West lost two of its best players in Jackson Pepe and Tanner Wood. Both are physical, tenacious run defenders in the secondary and will be missed against an East offense that will pound the rock. That being said, I think Ben Windauer is a very underrated football player (I probably should compile a list for how many times I've said that during these breakdowns). Ben captured a State A championship in his wrestling class this past winter and has excellent instincts for the position against the run and pass. Ty Hoppie also fits the mold of versatile safety who likes to bring a physical presence to the position. Ty Peterson was a late addition but he should be able to be successful at free safety on Saturday. Colton Grange could also see time in the secondary for the West.

Overall, the advantage would've went to the West if Pepe and Wood had participated. However, the East added Dalton Macy to the East roster and he makes that group complete in my opinion. They have enough versatility to show multiple looks and I think they can contain the West's run game. I'll give the East the advantage.


"There's two times of year for me: Football season, and waiting for football season."

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