Prep athletes of the week: With Barry, there's a fine line at Benilde-St. Margaret's

Standing in the huddle, trailing Chaska 26-20 as the fourth quarter wound down, the 6-foot, 205-pound senior running back looked around and felt a sense of calm.

"We were all business," Barry said. "We didn't get panicky. We said, 'Let's go to work.' "

Benilde-St. Margaret's drove 70 yards, with Barry touching the ball on all but two plays, and his 5-yard TD sweep with 1 minute, 41 seconds remaining lifted the Red Knights to a 27-26 victory.

"We ran the same play, a basic trap play, five, six times," said Barry, who piled up 243 yards rushing and two touchdowns. "Then on the sweep, I was pretty much untouched. The offensive line had a great drive. They just went and moved bodies."

A first-year starter, he admits he's more efficient than flashy. His preferred style of running over or through defenders has led to 397 rushing yards through two games. He gives every speck of credit to the big boys opening holes for him.

"It's all them. They do a great job of making me look good," he said.

The senior quarterback did not have a great game passing in the Stars' 35-34 overtime victory over St. Croix Lutheran, but he made up for it with his legs. He rushed 11 times for 271 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner in overtime.

The 6-1 junior outside hitter led the Irish to five victories in six matches and a first-place finish in the Apple Valley Aerie Invite, beating Class 2A No. 2 Stewartville in the finals. For the week, McLean had 96 kills, 37 digs and nine blocks.

Playing solely in the back row, liberos rarely get noticed. But Kauth, a junior libero, stood out last week, averaging more than five digs per game as the Raiders beat Hopkins and Rosemount. She is approaching 1,800 career digs.

The totals for the senior quarterback in back-to-back victories over Duluth Denfeld and Duluth East are impressive. Through two games, Solberg has completed 16 of 21 passes for 265 yards and rushed 37 times for 409 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Spartans won four of five matches, highlighted by taking the Silver Division championship of the Visitation Invitational. She had 84 assists in the tournament, bumping her school-record career total to 2,133.

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