Friday Night Lights: Nov. 6 2020
J Michael Sturdivant had another big game for Marcus on Friday, catching four receptions for 120 yards and a touchdown. Once again, he demonstrated D1 playmaking ability, making players miss, churning yards after the catch, and forcing the defense to bring at least two defenders to get him down. Sturdivant is a stud.
If you followed the Hudl closely, there was a play that could’ve gone for 75 yards and a touchdown. Studivant made an acrobatic run by the sideline, but by the hair he was called out-of-bounds at the 50-yard line. Sturdivant was extremely frusturated by the call. Understandable.
Sturdivant is starting to look like the top dog on this 6-0 offense. In six games this season, Sturdivant has 407 yards and seven touchdowns based on what can be assessed from Hudl. He probably has even more yards accounting for all the non-highlights that haven’t been recorded (Marcus has released no stats for 2020). LSU and Oklahoma lost a NFL-capable playmaker here.
Hunter Barth had three tackles (two solo, one asst) and two passes defended in a 36-29 win over Red Mountain. Barth was all over the field Friday, making plays in deep coverage, hitting running backs in the backfield, and dominating the middle right. Last year Barth impressed with his physicality. This year, he’s shown he can be a do-it-all guy.
Higley didn’t record any stats, but Kai Millner had two touchdowns and a succesfull fake punt to help preserve a 20-17 victory over Cesar Chavez. That puts Higley at 3-3. On the season, Millner has thrown for 1,1197 yards, ten touchdowns and three interceptions on a 63% completion rate. As a dual-threat quarterback, he’s also shown prowess in the run game, rushing 54 times for 230 yards and two touchdowns on 4.3 yards per carry.
Millner hasn’t shown much improvement since last year. In fact, he may have slipped off a bit. Over the course of five games this season, he’s averaged more interceptions (0.6 vs 0.5), less touchdowns (2 vs 2.58), and lower completion rate (63% vs 64%). In some areas he’s shown slight improvement, such as passing yards/game (239 vs 199), rushing yards/game (46 vs 27), and rushing yards/attempt (4.3 vs 3.8). So overall he’s shown improved volume, but in important metrics such as touchdowns, interceptions, and completion percentage, he’s dwindled. You would expect the opposite from a senior QB recruit.
Bastian Swinney and Edina High School finally got a win, beating Minnetonka 14-13 to move them to 1-4. Yesterday he posted his first highlight videos of the season against Maple Grove and Prior Lake. He showed good mobility and size.