The 2011 Gridiron Kings is now in the books with the Southwest squad taking home the championship. The West squad was knocked out by the Southwest team in the semifinals after beating the same Southwest squad in the final game of pool play earlier Sunday.Here's a breakdown of the West team and how it fared in the event. It was just a 15 man squad for the West as safety Shaq Thompson (Sacramento, Calif./Grant), who's No. 22 in the ESPNU 150, had to bow out last week with a knee injury.Quarterback: Mike Baker (Fresno, Calif./Central)
Baker had a solid tournament but struggled in the semifinal loss to the SW team. Up to that point, Baker had done a very nice job spreading the ball around, throwing on time and down the field when it was there. He never got in to a good rhythm in the semifinal looking hesitant and being late on most of his throws.Running backs: Robert Lewis, RB (South Gate, Calif./Southern Lutheran), KeiVarae Russell, RB (Everett, Wash./ Mariner)
There were several explosive running backs in the tournament but no one made more big plays than Lewis. He finished with four touchdowns, three of which were from over 60 yards. In the open field, Lewis always made that first defender miss and didn't drop a pass all tournament. The athlete has committed to SMU but will take his visits and watch out for Oregon here.Russell didn't make the plays down the field Lewis did, but was very effective catching the ball out of the backfield. He showed very solid hands and speed. It's not always easy to make a big impact at running back in 7 on 7, but Russell still found a way to do so.Tight end: Taylor McNamara, (San Diego/Calif./Westview)
McNamara wasn't as dominant as he was at The Opening in Oregon a few weeks ago, but that more to do with the offense than getting shut down by the defense. Simply put, McNamara wasn't put in to position to do what he does best and that's make plays down the field. When he was able to run a simple curl route down the middle of the field, he was often open and started to get on track the last few games. Still you could tell McNamara was frustrated, although to his credit, he didn't allow himself to sulk and remained a good teammate all weekend.Wide receivers: Jaydon Mickens, WR (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey), Darius Powe, WR (Long Beach, Calif./Lakewood), Bryce Treggs, WR (Inglewood, Calif./St. John Bosco)
Like he did at The Opening, Treggs had another dominant performance. He had three touchdowns in the win over the Southwest team in pool play, including one on the final play of the game to steal the win. Mickens and Powe were very solid as well as overall, the West receivers were very good getting open, both on the intermediate and the deeper routes. Mickens showed improved hands to go along with his blazing speed. He's very good in the open field and after the catch. Powe is a big receiver and when he uses his size, is a tough cover. He had a few early drops but rallied late and had a good overall tournament. He made some tough catches over the middle showing good leaping ability. Linebackers: Deontay Greenberry (Fresno, Calif./Washington Union), Christopher Santini, (San Jose, Calif./Leland), Scott Starr, (Norco, Calif./Norco)