Jordan Wade Stony Point junior defensive tackle: After watching Wade against Waco High, it’s increasingly clear that Wade has excellent athleticism for his position. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to display that athleticism by shooting gaps into the backfield – instead, head coach Craig Chessher asks him to hold the middle of an undersized defensive line. With Waco running the triple option, holding the middle of the field was a priority to keep the speedy Stony Point linebackers free to make plays and Wade did an excellent job, shutting down any running plays attempted through the middle of the Tiger line and finishing with five tackles in barely more than two quarters of work. While Wade doesn’t always play with great leverage, he was strong enough to repeatedly hold his position against the sizable interior of the Waco High line.
PL Lindley Stony Point junior linebacker: College coaches often say that they only need to see three of four plays to know if a player is good enough to compete at the collegiate level. Lindley mad just such a play against Waco – charged with forcing the quarterback to pitch the ball to the running back on the triple option, Lindley then showed off his impressive speed by tracking down the running back behind the line of scrimmage.
Much like the game against Connally, Waco often ran the ball to the other side of the field in an attempt to avoid Lindley, leaving him with two tackles in the game in abbreviated action due to the score. Two tackles seems like a low number for a linebacker, but it wasn’t because of missed plays on Lindley’s part – he executed his assignment as Waco ran the other direction.
Even though Waco threw the football more often than Connally the week before, Lindley didn’t have much of a chance to show of his skills in coverage, as the Waco quarterbacks struggled nearly as much as Dustin Babola did in completing passes and the bunch formation the Lions used often in the passing seemed to result in two or three receivers going down the field still essentially bunched and did not particularly test the coverage skills of any of the Stony Point players.
Gerard Shillow Stony Point senior tight end: As teams in college football look for more hybrid players that can play h-back, tight end or receiver or running back and receiver, Shillow may increasingly be in demand on recruiting in the 2010 class winds down. The primary possession receiver for Stony Point, Shillow has the ability to catch balls in the middle of the field and is also the best deep threat for the Tigers. A favorite pattern is a stop and go that produced a 71-yard touchdown earlier in the game against Waco and set the stage for the eventual blow out. For the game, Shillow caught six passes for 167 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. While he isn’t a burner, he does have the speed to flex out as a wide receiver at the college level and presents a mismatch for linebackers in that position.
With offers from UTEP and Idaho, the primary concern for college teams is his size. At 205 pounds, he doesn’t yet have the size to play h-back or tight end college and needs to bulk up significantly in order to contribute at the next level – he will probably need several years in a college weight program to fill out his frame. There aren’t any questions about his ability as a receiver, as he catches the ball naturally with his hands and away from his body, but I will be watching his blocking closely in the next several weeks – the talent that he will need to develop to play at the next level.
Kevin White Stony Point senior cornerback: The slight but talented TCU commit showed against Waco just how dangerous it is to attack his side of the field, as he intercepted two passes that set up Stony Point touchdowns in the first half and helped the Tigers distance themselves from the Waco Lions. Combining strong recovery speed with great instincts and superior hands for a cornerback, White is the definition of a shut-down high school cornerback.
Kollin Kahler, Waco senior quarterback/punter: Kahler struggled during the game at the quarterback position, especially throwing the football, but he has a future in college as a punter if he wants to play the position. The star soccer kicked beautiful, high spirals throughout the game and really has an impressive leg that he got to show off to full effect with a lot of grass to kick into in front of him after Waco drives that quickly fizzled.
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