Lent, Watson, Taylor Help Lift Barlow (Conn.) Past Weston (Conn.)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Weston and Joel Barlow met in a mid-week SWC clash on Tuesday night that saw Barlow come away with a 13-3 victory. Weston is a three-time defending Class S state champion but lost a lot from last year. Top weapon Will Harris graduated, while head coach Josh Thornton moved on. This year's Weston team sees a talented sophomore class playing the lion's share of impact positions. As talented as the Trojans are, they're inexperienced, however, the promise is there. Joel Barlow also was hit by graduation, including top player Danny Shaban, who is now playing football at UConn. <br><br>For both squads, it's a year for new faces to show what they can do. These players stood out most on Tuesday night: <br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["24478"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLent did a bit of everything. On the offensive end, he's at his best when dodging from low wings against shorties. He was able to get topside with hitch-and-go moves twice (to his strong hand both times) and score on sweeps where the help defense was late to him. His speed his is best attribute, and he uses it well when attacking defenders. He also was a factor on the defensive end, as he played two ways for Barlow most of the night. Again, his speed impacted the game, and he covered midfielders well on the ride. When Barlow was in the clearing game, Lent was a 'punt return' option on multiple occasions, running through the Weston ride and clearing on his own.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["24482"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eLike Lent, Taylor impacts the game in multiple ways. He was primarily a defensive option for Barlow, but he was very good at going defense to offense and playing the transition game. Slow breaks, or attacking a defense as it got settled, were a bright spot for him. Taylor also took face-offs and was a major difference in the first half. He was great on exits to the rear and to his wings, identifying that he'd be able to do so consistently and positioning his wings accordingly.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["24485"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eWatson was the top defender on the field. He drew the matchup against Weston's top offensive threat, the dynamic Cobie Walker, and held him scoreless on the night. Watson's footwork was very good. He was clearly prepared for the matchup and didn't allow the shiftiness or change of direction dodging from Walker to throw him off. Watson didn't throw a ton of checks, but kept his stick on Walker's gloves all night and was quick to get hands on him while he tried to change directions, pushing him off his dodges and keeping him off balance.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["24487"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003ePossick is one of the few seniors playing critical roles for this team. He's a versatile weapon for the offense, but his sweet spot is dodging from the righty wing. He's very good at taking the ground that defense allows him to take - he's smart enough to understand when he's really being guarded and when he isn't. He attacks to apply pressure, and if it's a shorty in front of him, he's good at getting underneath his man and finishing from an angle. He can be both a dodger and a facilitator.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["24489"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"u003cp style=u0022font-weight: 400;u0022u003eZullo plays on the wings on face-offs and is at his best on-ball. He's the type of LSM who you can tell is always hunting a turnover and looking for the check that's going to knock the ball free. Playing this style at LSM is not easy. It involves taking risks that are calculated based on the ball carrier, game situation, where the player is on the field, and more to make sure that a check that misses doesn't result in a Zullo being left out of the play. Zullo picks the spots well, and doesn't concede much when he throws checks. He's good at recovering and taking an angle to stay in a position to continue defending effectively.u003c/pu003e","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6621411234591"} /-->