Preseason Sac-Joaquin Sec FB Team

Cousins DaRon Bland (left) and Montell Bland from CIF Small Schools Open Division champion Central Catholic of Modesto both gained all-state junior recognition.

Note: These preseason all-section teams will be done in the same 30-player format as the annual Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football Teams. They are based on a combination of what the players did last season and college recruiting. Not every all-section team will have writeups of every player. Some will have an intro, then lists.

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OFFENSE

WR Chris Volek (El Dorado, Placerville) 5-10, 165, Sr.
Son of head coach Joe Volek gathered in a whopping 84 passes last season for 1,302 yards and 18 TDs.

TE Josh Falo (Inderkum, Sacramento) 6-5, 230, Sr.
He’s got offers from all of the major colleges and could be one of the top five tight end prospects in the nation.

It’s probably the best year ever for tight ends in the SJS. Inderkum’s Josh Falo is one reason for that. Photo: Hudl.com.

OL Bryan Catchings (Oak Ridge, El Dorado Hills) 6-2, 265, Jr.
He’s ranked as one of the top Class of 2018 linemen in Northern California.

OL Parker Jenks (Marysville) 6-4, 265, Sr.
A player who’s made a name for himself in the USA Football development program, Jenks was a top player last year for the Indians.

OL Chris Martinez (Pitman, Turlock) 6-4, 275, Sr.
Standout returnee is beginning to collect D1 offers after strong spring.

OL Taylor Tank Tonda (Granite Bay) 6-3, 290, Sr.
He lives up to that name and should be a rock on the interior for the Grizzlies this season.

OL Orlando Umana (Grant, Sacramento) 6-5, 320, Sr.
He was noticed two years ago when Grant had 13-0 team that lost to Folsom’s super team in the CIF D1 NorCal bowl game.

QB Jake Dunniway (St. Mary’s, Stockton) 6-1, 190, Sr.
He or Del Oro’s Stone Smartt could have been in this spot, but Smartt fit better on multi-purpose. Dunniway passed for 2,584 yards and 26 TDs last season, including 353 in 56-49 loss to Folsom in D1 section semifinals.

RB Montell Bland (Central Catholic, Modesto) 6-0, 210, Sr.
With Justin Rice moving on to Fresno State, Bland is expected to have a huge year for the Raiders. He also is a top linebacker on defense.

RB Elijah Dotson (Antelope) 5-10, 185, Sr.
A few others have a few more yards, but Dotson had higher honors as a junior. He also rushed for 1,513 yards.

PK Bryce Wade (Central Catholic, Modesto) 5-7, 175, Sr.
Kickers for the Raiders are always stellar and Woods kept it up as junior. He made 94 of 100 on PATs and kicked three field goals with a long of 38.

DEFENSE

DL Popo Aumavae (St. Mary’s, Stockton) 6-3, 300, Sr.
He’s the top lineman bar none in the SJS, who could have been listed on either side of the ball for this team. He has nearly 20 D1 offers.

DL Deonte Johnson (Burbank, Sacramento) 6-5, 240, Sr.
One of the top pass rushing prospects in the nation, Johnson recently committed to Miami. He had 14.5 sacks last year.

Mason Hurst is one of the top returnees for one of the top teams in Northern California. Photo: Mark Tennis.

LB Jake Bellecci (Elk Grove) 6-0, 215, Sr.
It looks like he’ll be one of the strengths for an Elk Grove team coming off of a 13-1 season. Bellecci had 89 tackles as a junior.

LB Brad Jenner (Folsom) 6-1, 200, Sr.
He’s the son of Scott Jenner, former Cordova of Rancho Cordova QB who was star on that school’s legendary 1975 State Team of the Year.

LB Ariel Ngata (Folsom) 6-3, 200, Sr.
One of the best in NorCal, Ngata has committed to Washington where he’ll join former Bulldog Jake Browning.

LB Kaderro Tamondong (Franklin, Elk Grove) 5-10, 190, Sr.
When Tamondong rings your bell, you’re going to feel it. He was a Sac Bee All-Metro second teamer last season.

DB DaRon Bland (Central Catholic, Modesto) 6-1, 185, Sr.
He shined in the CIF Open Division Small Schools state final and finished with five interceptions to go with 48 tackles.

DB Trajon Cotton (Inderkum, Sacramento) 6-1, 180, Sr.
He’s getting D1 offers for defense and also will be a standout for the Tigers on offense this season.

DB Mason Hurst (Del Oro, Loomis) 6-0, 190, Sr.
One of seven three-year starters, Hurst was a no-brainer pick for this team with nine interceptions and 91 tackles last season.

DB Jamarri Jackson (Christian Brothers, Sacramento) 5-10, 170, Sr.
As a sophomore, we were writing about Jackson’s exploits for the Falcons, especially on defense (seven interceptions).

P David Stone (Del Oro, Loomis) 6-0, 160, Sr.
We were trying to avoid picking a punter from the preseason big three of Folsom, St. Mary’s and Del Oro, but couldn’t do it with Stone. He punted a reported 48 times as a junior and had a 38.1-yard average. Stone also put 18 balls on punts inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line.

MULTI-PURPOSE

WR/ATH Alex Cook (Sheldon, Sacramento) 6-2, 175, Sr.
He’s the section’s top wideout from a talent and recruiting standpoint with a commitment to Washington. He does return kicks, however, and we also wanted to pick the very prolific Chris Volek so the multi-purpose slot worked like a charm for him with Volek going on offense.

WR/KR Dewey Cotton (St. Mary’s, Stockton) 5-6, 160, Sr.
One of the most dangerous kick returners in the open field in Northern California, Cotton also caught 56 passes for nearly 1,000 yards last season.

TE/DE Tucker Fisk (Davis) 6-4, 245, Sr.
Don’t take listing Fisk here as opposed to offense with Jaggers and Falo as any kind of a slight. All three are big-time tight ends. Fisk just has more defensive line success on his resume so listing the Stanford-bound standout on multi-purpose just made the most sense.

WR/DB Cutrell Haywood (Stagg, Stockton) 6-0, 185, Sr.
A NorCal Defensive Player of the Week as a sophomore when he had four interceptions in one game, Haywood caught 62 passes last season for 915 yards and 11 TDs.

RB/LB Tariq Hollandsworth (Sacramento) 6-0, 210, Sr.
Top returnee for the Dragons rushed for more than 1,300 yards as a junior and on defense he had nearly 50 tackles and two interceptions

QB/RB Stone Smartt (Del Oro, Loomis) 6-4, 190, Sr.
His erratic play against big-time competition in the regular season was one reason the Golden Eagles went 4-6. But by the playoffs, Smartt was sensational and his play was a major reason the Golden Eagles won the CIF Division II-AA state title due to their victory against previously unbeaten Camarillo.

SECOND TEAM

RB Chris Brown (Modesto Christian) Sr.
RB/LB Brad Canepa (Sonora) Sr.
DB Tyler Cordell (Vacaville) Sr.
LB Aric Holt (Downey, Modesto) Sr.
TE/DE Miquan Maxey (Lincoln, Stockton) Sr.
QB Brett Neves (Downey, Modesto) Sr.
OL/DL Cole Norgaard (St. Mary’s, Stockton) Sr.
RB/DB Zach Orman (Galt) Sr.
DB Trey Overton (Rocklin) Sr.
WR Gavin Reinwald (Elk Grove) Sr.
RB/DB Jared Rice (Central Catholic, Modesto) Sr.
DB Kane Rodgers (Sonora) Jr.
RB/LB D’Marcus Ross (Capital Christian, Sacramento) Soph.
WR Drake Stallworth (Folsom) Sr.
LB Seth Tennis (McNair, Stockton) Sr.
Rb Byron Thomas (Vallejo) Sr.
QB/RB/PK Mark Vicente (Sierra, Manteca) Sr.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports