Patrick Reusse: Game offers glance at the future

Moses Alipate, the jumbo-sized quarterback from Bloomington Jefferson, opened Friday night's game at linebacker. He tackled his rival quarterback, Apple Valley's Mark (Boomer) Hermes, after a 2-yard gain, received a couple of hand slaps from teammates and went to the sideline.

He remained there for Jefferson's first offensive series.

As it turned out, the officials told the Jefferson coaches that Alipate had an equipment problem and it had to be adjusted before he could return.

The Jaguars went three-and-out on the first series. A short punt allowed Apple Valley to start at Jefferson's 48. On first down, Hermes looked off a defender and hit Ray Watson in stride running open on the right sideline.

Alipate was at quarterback for his team's second possession, and he remained there for the rest of Apple Valley's 31-21 victory.

On first down near midfield, Moses was trying to hit Marcus Alipate, his sophomore brother, with his initial pass of the night.

He threw to a spot, Marcus kept running and Tevis Wilson had an easy interception.

Four plays later, Hermes hooked up with Varmah Sonie, Apple Valley's dynamic senior receiver and D-back, for a 40-yard gain to Jefferson's 1. The pass traveled 20 yards and Sonie earned the next 20 with an outstanding cut to the middle and almost to the end zone.

Matt Gurtcheff powered in for a touchdown and it was 14-0 for Apple Valley with fewer than 10 minutes gone. The Jaguars already had suffered a pair of blowout losses in the Lake Conference -- 38-14 to Eden Prairie and 33-0 to Lakeville South.

Alipate had to get his team involved in the fireworks or it was going to happen again. He hit Matt Damman with a 33-yard pass on the first play of the second quarter. He completed two more passes, then ran the ball in on a keeper to make it 14-7.

Later in the period, he hit Damman with a well-thrown 46-yarder. Moses then drilled a 7-yarder to Jack Wittenborg for a touchdown and it was 14-14.

Alipate fit that pass between two defenders, causing a commentator for an online broadcast to suggest Alipate's throw was remindful of Brett Favre.

There was 1:46 left in the half when Sonie took a short kickoff and returned it to Jefferson's 37. He dodged, darted and leaped over a tackler to the point the cable guy said Sonie was remindful of Barry Sanders.

Beautiful night in the south suburbs. Favre vs. Sanders.

Gosh, the crowd should've been larger than the 1,000 folks in the Apple Valley bleachers and the dozens scattered on the visitors' side of the field.

Alipate is 6-5, and he is listed at 230 pounds. He doesn't appear to have the mobility of an Adam Weber when it comes to running from a pass formation.

Then again, Apple Valley had a jail break for a pass rush on most every passing down for Alipate.

The young man does have an arm, so it might not be a given that Alipate quickly will be moved from quarterback after he joins the Gophers next season. Mike Dunbar, the Gophers' offensive coordinator, had a quarterback of similar size and footwork in Nate Longshore at California.

Sonie is another interesting case when it comes to recruiting. His family moved here from Liberia in the late '90s. He's listed at 5-10 and 160 pounds. He's fast, elusive, tough and tireless. He's an outstanding cornerback and can play all the skill positions on offense.

There are big-time recruiters trying to decide if they should take a shot on Sonie despite his lack of size. Some significant program will be wise enough to say "yes."

Sonie's kickoff return set up a touchdown before the end of the half. A two-point conversion made it 22-14.

The second half deteriorated into a marathon of penalties and incompletions. Wilson's dash gave Apple Valley a two-TD lead in the third quarter, and the Eagles went from there to a 3-0 start in the Lake Conference.

Jefferson is 0-3, but the schedule now gets easier. Presumably, that will mean better protection for Alipate, and his production will start to equal the advance billing for his senior season.

Patrick Reusse can be heard weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP at 6:45 and 7:45 a.m. and at 4:40 p.m. • preusse@startribune.com