Brauny's Best: Highlighting top high school performances from Week 4

I'm back in Texas after my trip to Salt Lake City and am catching up on all the high school action that happened within the friendly confines of the Lone Star State. I have to admit, the quality of the game I witnessed in Utah between Corner Canyon and Lone Peak was much better than I thought it would be, and while different from what we see here, it had an upbeat, fun atmosphere surrounding the contest. Overall, I came away impressed with the entire experience, and the backdrop of the mountains was breathtaking.

Anyway, let's recognize some of the top performers this past week.

Texas A&M's Class

Prosper OL Zaden Krempin‍

• 5 steamroller blocks, 5 downfield effort blocks, no sacks, no pressures

How about some love for the big guys? It's hard to dole out individual awards to offensive linemen because the stats don't always pop off the page. However, Krempin and his buddies up front paved the way for a massive night for Prosper en route to a runaway victory over McKinney Boyd. In total, they ran for 330 yards and netted more than 600 total yards of offense in the game.

This kid has the perfect look and disposition for an offensive lineman. Big, mean, incredibly skilled, a mullet and a facemask that looks like it's out of a 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers equipment room, Krempin is showing why he was such a highly coveted target for Mike Elko and Adam Cushing last summer. He's punishing people and seemingly has a blast doing it.

State of Texas

Klein Bearkats' special teams

• 5 onside kicks, 5 recoveries

Um, what? I couldn't believe it when I saw it either, but the Klein Bearkats (behind first-year head coach Nic Codutti, who is regarded as one of the more cutting-edge coaches in the state) attempted and recovered FIVE onside kicks in the first half of their district win over Klein Forest by a score of 44-20.

The odds of you recovering one onside kick in a game are long. Five? That feels like it's as statistically probable as winning the lottery twice. Klein may not recover five onside kicks in the next decade of football games.

Look, there was obviously something on film that Klein thought they could take advantage of, but you'd think they'd keep it in their pocket until the game called for it. Even still, if you decide you're going to try and exploit it early, you figure it's your only shot. It clearly was not, and hey, who can blame them after you get the first two? Do it until they stop you, right?

They play Klein Collins this week. I'd bet there's some extra time spent on kickoff return in practice.

My Coverage

Highland (UT) Lone Peak WR Jaron Pula‍ - Utah commit

• 9 catches, 162 yards, 3 touchdowns

I had spoken to a few folks in the Utah football world who tipped me off about Pula and his twin brother. They were right. The story I got was that Alabama had come into the state and made a rather large push for both so it was considered a massive win for Kyle Whittingham and Utes to keep them from the Crimson Tide.

Simply put, Pula was the best player on the field last Friday night. He has a skillset that really pops. Physically, he's built a lot like A&M WR commit Madden Williams‍. He's stout but mobile. His play strength came through both in his route running, his ability after the catch, and in jump ball scenarios. One of the biggest plays of the game came when Lone Peak faced fourth-and-15 from no-man's land, and their head coach decided that going for it was the best option...and it was when you have a player like Pula playing like that. He came down with a jump ball in the corner of the end zone over two defenders. That play was the proper depiction of the game as a whole as Pula powered his team to a 42-21 victory.