Published Nov 8, 2020
Recruit Roundup: Three of four Cats post playoff wins
Michael Fitzpatrick
WildcatReport Writer

With QB Brendan Sullivan’s game cancelled due to COVID-19, there were only four future Wildcats in action this week. They combined to go 3-1, with one securing a spot in the state championship game.

Here's this week's Recruit Roundup:


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Pick Central moves one step closer to repeat behind dazzling performance by Wallace

Garner Wallace is a difference maker for top-ranked Pickerington (Ohio) Central. He proved it on Friday night.

The 6-foot-5 quarterback, who will play safety at Northwestern, took off on a 92-yard touchdown sprint to help stake unbeaten Pickerington Central to a 21-0 lead. The Tigers wound up holding on in a 38-31 win over Mentor to improve to 11-0, and, more importantly, advanced to the state championship game for the second year in a row.

Mentor made a late push to threaten Pick Central, but that was not enough to overcome a dazzling 138 yards on the ground and 120 through the air for Wallace. He helped stave off Mentor's comeback attempt by hitting Gavin Edwards for a 31-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Pickerington Central takes on Cincinnati St. Xavier in the Ohio Division I state championship on Friday. St. X is the alma mater of Northwestern freshman tight end Marshall Lang.

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Tyus III stays hot as Portage Northern moves on

Anthony Tyus III wasn’t able to reach last week's total of eight touchdowns, but 267 yards and two touchdowns rushing on offense, and a team-high 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on defense wasn't a bad consolation.

Tyus' monster night led Portage (Mich.) Northern to a 28-14 win over Lakeview to improve to 7-1.

“He plays all three phases in the game, and we try not to play him very much on special teams -- he’s returning some kicks, and we put him back there on punt returns this week -- but he’s just a really, really, really good football player,” Portage Northern coach Pete Schermerhorn told MLive.com.

“It doesn’t matter what side of the ball you’re talking about. From a defensive standpoint, he has the versatility to play free safety or linebacker, and we could put him out there at corner or D-end if we wanted to. He’s a tremendous athlete with a great football IQ and is willing to do anything and everything you ask him to do.”

Tyus showed how special he was early on, busting a 54-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. He later plunged in from a yard out to put the Huskies up 14-6 in the second quarter.

Portage Northern finished with 481 yards of total offense.

The Huskies take on East Lansing in the third round of the playoffs on Friday night.

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Detroit Country day leans on Tiernan, offensive line for late rally

Detroit (Mich.) Country Day didn’t make it easy on themselves on Friday, coming back for a 21-14 win over Notre Dame Prep in a second-round playoff game on Friday night.

After an anemic first half offensively, Country Day got it going behind Northwestern commit Caleb Tiernan and their veteran offensive line in the second half, when Brandon Mann raced into the end zone on a 9-yard run to even the game at 7.

The Yellow Jackets found themselves trailing 14-7 late in the game before a nine-minute drive was punctuated by one-yard dive from Jacob Yarberry to tie the game at 14.

Country Day got the ball back with under five minutes left and again leaned on their offensive line. A 36-yard run from Yarberry set up a QB sneak by Mann to give the Yellow Jackets the winning score with a minute to go.

Detroit Country Day’s defense held Notre Dame at bay to get the win.

The Yellow Jackets (5-1) take on Madison Heights Lamphere on Friday for the district championship.


Fenton’s season ends in disappointment

Fenton (Mich.) picked a bad time to lose its first game of the year.

Northwestern OL commit Josh Thompson and the Tigers rumbled out to 7-0 start to the season but they were knocked out of the playoffs with a 44-28 loss to North Farmington on Friday night.

Fenton never led, falling behind 16-0 by the end of the first quarter. The Tigers fought back to within 16-14 in the second quarter, but a two-play, 80-yard North Farmington touchdown drive in the final 13 seconds of the first half killed all of Fenton’s momentum and carried into the second half.

North Farmington ripped off the next 14 points to push its lead to 37-14 before Fenton rallied once more, scoring two TDs in the final nine minutes.

Fenton finished the season 7-1 and captured its second straight Flint Metro League championship.


Sullivan and Davison continue quest this weekend

Brendan Sullivan and Davison (Mich.) were idle this weekend as their second-round playoff game against Rochester Adams was cancelled due to COVID-19.

The Cardinals (8-0) will get a chance to continue their march to a repeat state championship on Friday night against Grand Blanc.


DONE FOR THE SEASON

The following commitments have already completed their 2020 seasons:

DE Aidan Hubbard of Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius (3-4)

DE Najee Story of Solon (Ohio) (2-4)

CB Theran Johnson of Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central (6-4)


WAITING FOR THE SPRING

The following commitments' programs have postponed football until the spring due to COVID-19:


ILLINOIS

OL Jackson Carsello, Northbrook Glenbrook North

LB Mac Uihlein, Lake Forest


MASSACHUSETTS

WR Donnie Gray, Deerfield Academy


NORTH CAROLINA

TE Lawson Albright, Greensboro Grimsley

WR Jacob Gill, Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons