Friday Night Lights
This time last year, the high school football season would’ve been well underway, with all 2020 commits (barring injuries) playing every Friday night for their high school teams. Unfortunately this year commits from California, Washington, Hawaii, and Oregon won’t be playing ball until the spring.
In 2020, only four Cal commits have played games. Arizona recruits Kai Millner and Hunter Barth played their second games this week. Bastian Swinney played his first game in Minnesota and J Michael Sturdivant played his third in Texas.
Kai Millner
Millner completed 19 of 34 pass attempts for 227 yards and two touchdowns Friday against Casteel. He also carried the ball a career-high 18 times for a career-high 73 yards and a touchdown in the 24-25 loss.
Millner opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, throwing a 38-yard touchdown on 3rd and 18. On the next drive he took it himself, rushing for a 19-yard score. In the second quarter he added a 20-yard passing touchdown to take a 21-13 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half he was scoreless, getting just one field goal on 5 drives.
In 2 games, Millner has 29 rushes for 143 yards, suggesting that he’ll get more totes this year after averaging just 7 carries and 27 yards per game his junior year. He’s also thrown for 375 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions, but his 52% completion percentage is a concern. His dual-threat ability will be a great asset for Cal, and if his accuracy improves, he’ll contend for QB1 once Chase Garbers enters the NFL Draft.
J Michael Sturdivant
J Michael Sturdivant caught 5 passes for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns in Marcus’s 49-10 rout of Keller Central. That brings the Marauders to 3-0, already scoring 129 points this season. No highlights have been recorded for the most recent game, but in last week’s highlights of Marcus vs. McKinney, Sturdivant appeared to gather 2 receptions for 56 yards, and showed some good blocking in the run game.
Hunter Barth
Barth’s team got the win on Friday, bringing Queen Creek’s record to 2-0. Although Queen Creek’s secondary picked apart Williams Field with 3 interceptions, Barth didn’t get any, but still totaled 5 tackles (2 solo, 3 assist).
In his first game against Perry, Barth garnered 1 interception, setting up a touchdown for the Queen Creek offense. He’s shown in two games that he’s physically dominant, able to stick defenders in the backfield and blow through blockers. At 6-2 and 200 lbs, he’s got the necessary size for Pac-12 football.
There’s no tape for Week 2, but here’s his impressive Week 1 highlights:
Bastian Swinney
WIth Minnesota opening high school football this past weekend, Bastian Swinney took the field for Edina in a 25-3 loss against Maple Grove. At 6’6 and 275 Swinney attracted offers from Michigan and Louisville after his junior year.