Jake Browning of Folsom (left) and Brandon Dawkins from Oaks Christian of Westlake Village were the first NorCal and SoCal Players of the Week. Photo: Student Sports.
In addition to our two players of the week, this week’s honor roll of the state’s top single-game performances includes Brady White and Connor Wingenroth from Hart of Newhall plus two sophomore cousins who combined for seven sacks and a player with three kick return touchdowns.
We will lead off the State Stat Stars every week with the Northern California and Southern California Players of the Week, which were announced on Wednesday night on Time Warner Cable’s Varsity Roundup show. We will then present the stat stars each week according to category and performance.
As has been customary for many years, we collect the state’s top stat stars in support of the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book & Almanac. The book has been published seven times and is as official as a state record book can be since no other exists. To report a State Stat Star of the Week of your own, please email details to markjtennis@gmail.com.
Note: All football state records are in the process of being added to this web site. They will be part of our Gold Club membership. To join our Gold Club today, please CLICK HERE.
Thanks to Paul Muyskens, Harold Abend, Ronnie Flores and CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for contributing items this week.
Northern California Player of the Week
Jake Browning (Folsom)
It wasn’t quite like last season’s opener that saw Browning throw for a state record-tying 10 touchdowns, but he did kick off his junior season by completing 31 of 38 pass attempts for 438 yards and seven touchdowns in a 56-21 win at home against Woodcreek of Roseville. Browning passed for 5,248 yards and 61 touchdowns as a sophomore and is on pace for 15,000 yards and 180 scores for his career.
Southern California Player of the Week
Brandon Dawkins (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
Despite completing 20 of 34 passes for 434 yards and six touchdowns, Dawkins had to be nervous on the sidelines as a potential game-winning field goal in the final seconds was no good, enabling the Lions to defeat Bakersfield 51-50. Dawkins passed for 2,844 yards and 33 touchdowns two seasons ago when he was named the Cal-Hi Sports State Sophomore of the Year. He has committed to Arizona. Senior Chris Davis was his leading target with eight receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Coach and trainer Chris Asher works with state stat stars of all ages, helping them to improve their speed, quickness and agility. He is based in Hollywood, also has a role with the UCLA track program and serves athletes within many miles of his location. For more about him, CLICK HERE. For more about his Gold Medal Excellence training program, CLICK HERE.
STATE RECORD BOOK SPECIAL
Brady White & Connor Wingenroth (Hart, Newhall)
Junior signal-caller White went 36 for 47 with 472 yards passing and three touchdowns in a 56-49 victory over Santiago of Corona. His pass completion total is a new school record and the yardage total earns him a permanent entry in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. The Indians also gained 669 yards from scrimmage for another school record. Wingenroth got into the act by rushing for 178 yards, catching eight passes for 103 yards and scoring 26 points, including a two-point conversion.
RUSHING
Bolo Olrunfunmi (Clovis North, Fresno)
Having more then just a fun time running the ball in Clovis North’s 47-25 win over Atascadero, this junior back ran for 341 yards and four touchdowns on just 17 carries.
Royce Freeman (Imperial)
Showing why he’s one of the top running backs in the state, Freeman carried 22 times for 340 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-34 win over Cibola of Yuma, Arizona. Last week, he was named preseason first team all-state.
Deven Boston (Buena Park)
Several big-time running backs were off and running in grand fashion and he was one of them. He carried 32 times for 323 yards and five touchdowns as the Coyotes defeated St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs 40-20.
Tre Watson (Centennial, Corona)
The Huskies opened up the season with a 60-42 shootout win over Liberty of Henderson, Nevada, and it was Watson’s running leading the way. He carried the ball 33 times for 319 yards and five touchdowns.
Richard Doctor (Lemoore)
Monache of Porterville likely wasn’t feeling very good after seeing this Doctor run for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-0 season-opening win for the Tigers.
Stefan Smith (Flintridge Prep, La Canada)
Despite rushing for 304 yards and scoring four touchdowns, it wasn’t enough to prevent the Rebels from a narrow 42-41 loss to Army-Navy of Carlsbad.
T.J. Dove (River Valley, Yuba City)
More than just diving past the opposition, Dove rushed for 279 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Falcons past Central Valley of Lake Shasta 48-17.
Asauni Rufus (Bakersfield)
Quarterback Rufus was a one man show for Bakersfield as he rushed for 278 yards on 43 carries, scored four touchdowns plus ran for one two-point conversion in a the heart-breaking 51-50 loss to Oak Christian of Westlake Village 51-50.
Wadus Parker (Elk Grove)
Showing why he is our No. 3 ranked RB in the Sac-Joaquin Section, Parker carried 33 times for 263 yards and three touchdowns as the Thundering Herd defeated Lincoln of Stockton 27-0.
Namane Modise (Castro Valley)
In a game against Monte Vista of Danville that featured 1,009 yards of combined offense, it was this diminutive 5-foot-7, 140-pound scatback that came up the biggest, rushing for 222 yards on only 14 carries with four touchdowns. He had 80- and 62-yard runs to paydirt, but it was his final TD, a 10-yard run in overtime, which preceded a 2-point conversion that won the game, 57-56.
QB Anthony Lawrence was the San Diego Section’s first team pick by many as a junior. Photo courtesy Student Sports.
PASSING
Brad Bussard (Ceres)
Doing all he could for the Bulldogs, he completed 27 of his 44 pass attempts for 437 yards and six touchdowns in his varsity debut but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 74-41 loss to Modesto.
Kyle Nelson (Galileo, San Francisco)
The Lions’ senior came up with one of the state’s top quarterbacking performances, going 28 for 34 for 435 yards and four TDs with no interceptions, but his team fell, 48-36 to Tamalpais of Mill Valley.
Anthony Lawrence (Grossmont, La Mesa)
Earning himself a spot as a finalist for our SoCal Player of the Week award, the returning All-CIF San Diego Section pick completed 18 passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a score as the Foothillers defeated Patrick Henry of San Diego 52-27.
Josh Rosen (St. John Bosco, Bellflower)
The highly regarded junior tossed a 40-yard TD pass to Jaleel Wadood on his first throw of the season, then finished 12 of 15 for 307 yards and five TDs as the Braves opened up with a 40-7 win against Dominguez of Compton.
Anthony Shoemake (Franklin, Stockton)
The senior quarterback found Cory Furuoka on a 79-yard touchdown on Franklin’s first play of the season and also ended with 307 yards passing and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough as the Yellowjackets lost to Antioch 34-21 on their home field.
Brett Hollingsworth (Citrus Hill, Perris)
His varsity debut with the Hawks was a great one as he passed for 288 yards and four touchdowns while rushing for 124 yards and a score in their 46-36 win over Poly of Riverside. Citrus Hill went 14-0 last season.
Blake Barnett (Santiago, Corona)
Although his team was on the losing end of a 56-49 game against Hart of Newhall, the 6-foot-4 junior QB started his season off on a high note. He passed for 287 yards, threw five touchdown passes and also scored on a 87-yard touchdown run.
SCORING
Aseal Birir (Tamalpais, Mill Valley)
It takes at least eight touchdowns rushing in a game to make the list in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. However, going for six in a game is a number that doesn’t happen in the Redwood Empire very often. That’s exactly what this senior accomplished to go with 258 yards on 24 carries, in a 48-36 win over San Francisco Galileo, the school O.J. Simpson graduated from.
Matt Rood (Monte Vista, Danville)
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound senior running back and linebacker only carried 15 times (118 yards) but bulled his way to paydirt for five touchdowns. Unfortunately for the Mustangs’ faithful, the team fell 57-56 in overtime to Castro Valley.
Michael Wright (Dinuba)
He scored five touchdowns that covered 44, 8, 4, 10 and 1 yard and rushed for 207 yards on 26 carries in a 35-13 win over Madera. Dinuba is the No. 1 ranked team for Division III in the CIF Central Section.
SPECIAL TEAMS/MULTI-PURPOSE
Alex Laurel (Manteca)
Returning the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown was just the start of a special evening for Laurel in Manteca’s game against Central Valley of Ceres. He later scored on a 50-yard reverse, zig-zagged his way for a 55-yard punt return score and then took another punt back 46 yards for a fourth TD. It all helped Manteca beat Central Valley 47-20.
Cristian Solano (San Fernando)
This returning all-L.A. City pick and all-state candidate came up big in the second half for the defending Division II city champion. After intermission in a 0-0 game, Solano hit paydirt on two second half runs in an eventual 27-13 victory over Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth. Solano, a dual-threat QB, finished with 156 yards rushing on 16 carries and also completed nine of 22 passes for 149 yards. He scored the Tigers’ first touchdown on a 22-yard jaunt on 4th-and-21.
Justice Shelton-Mosley (Capital Christian, Sacramento)
Combining for a total of 388 yards, he scored five touchdowns while also intercepting a pass and recovering a fumble on defense in a 48-0 win over Golden Sierra of Garden Valley.
Antonio Perez & Tiki Tonga (Modesto)
Antonio rushed for four touchdowns and 225 yards on 13 carries while Tiki danced his way to 102 yards and a touchdown rushing while passing for 212 yards and three touchdowns in the Panthers’ 74-41 win over Ceres.
Dreaundre Terrell (Pleasant Grove, Elk Grove)
A finalist for our player of the week award in the north, he rushed for 97 yards and two touchdowns while also passing for 157 yards and two scores as the Eagles defeated Rocklin 28-14. On defense, we saw him scoop up a fumble that he almost returned for a touchdown if it weren’t for a slip and on another he forced a fumble (although the ball rolled out of bounds).
DEFENSE
Adrian Ortega (Bishop Amat, La Puente)
Not only did he score two touchdowns, but he also had an impressive three interceptions on defense as the Lancers came from behind for a 38-28 win over Santa Margarita of Rancho Santa Margarita.
Donnell Hill (El Diamante, Visalia)
The senior had two first-half interceptions and returned the second one for a school record of 95 yards as El Diamante shut out Tulare 34-0 in the season opener.
Lewis & Luis Davalos (Williams)
These are sophomore cousins and they combined for seven sacks for the Yellowjackets in their 56-0 rout of Los Molinos. Lewis, making his first varsity start, had four sacks and six tackles. Luis had three sacks.
Daniel Belton (South East, South Gate)
This tackling machine has been one of the L.A. City’s best defenders the past two years, but it looks like he’ll also be heavily contributing on offense this year. He rushed for 113 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries to go along with his 10 tackles and sack in a 27-12 intersectional victory over Lawndale.
COMBINED TEAM YARDS
Porterville scored 36 points in the first half as it ran by Mount Whitney of Visalia 80-54. Porterville rushed for 541 yards, passed for 129 yards for a total of 670 yards. Mount Whitney rushed for 260 yards, 328 yards passing for 588 total yards as both teams accumulated 1,258 yards, the third most in Central Section history, the 134 points and 54 points second most. Andamo Rader ll of Porterville set a school record by returning a kickoff for a 97-yard touchdown. Quarterback Damarrea Joyce of Mt. Whitney had a fine game, passing for 322 yards and two touchdowns.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @CalHiSports
