Two of this week’s super six are Blake Green from Alemany of Mission Hills (left) and John Horn of Yuba City. Green had 437 yards passing while Horn had 309 yards receiving. Photos: Student Sports & Courtesy Horn family.
Only one is named from each region for offense, defense and special teams and we’re going to do our best to spread it around as much as possible. This week’s honors go to Mission Hills, Glendora, Sylmar, Yuba City, Oakland and Rocklin.
Note: For purposes of this feature, we are considering the CIF Central Section to be in the north.
To nominate a player for next week, email markjtennis@gmail.com by Monday at 12 noon and be sure to include a photo that we can use (which means it’s not from the local newspaper or from another web site). Please feel free to call at 209-463-9050 as well both for nominations or to see if your business or small company would like to become a sponsor for this weekly content. Thanks to Stockton office assistant Paul Muyskens for contributing to these selections and writeups.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Blake Green (Alemany, Mission Hills) Sr.
There was no red light from head coach Dean Herrington to tell Green to stop throwing as he completed 20 of his 25 pass attempts for a school record 437 yards and three touchdowns in a 55-38 win over Chaminade of West Hills. The Warriors remained undefeated and ranked No. 5 overall in the state by topping their rivals, who were No. 6 and also were unbeaten entering the night. Taking over as the starter this season at Alemany, Green has spread the ball around nicely to targets including USC-bound Desean Holmes, Washington State-bound Dominic Davis (a running back) and senior Brandon Pierce.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Zach Lewallen (Glendora) Sr.
With at least 10 tackles in all five of Glendora’s games so far this season, Lewallen had a season-high for solo tackles with 12 and was in on 10 more tackles to finish with 22 during a 28-7 win over Kaiser of Fontana. Selected to the preseason All-San Gabriel Valley team for his play as a linebacker, Lewallen also has rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown this season on 17 carries. Lewallen is a 6-0, 195-pouner and is the son of Glendora head coach Jerry Lewallen. The Tartans improved to 4-1 with the win and are currently the No. 1 team in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune rankings.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Shontee Smith (Sylmar) Sr.
With the Spartans doing all they can to find a way to get him the ball, teams might start kicking the ball out of bounds to prevent him from getting a return. Smith returned a punt 67 yards for a touchdown during a 48-0 win last week over Kennedy of Granada Hills. It was the third game in which Smith has returned either a punt or kickoff for a score. Heading into the second half of the regular season, Smith has two punt return TDs and two kickoff return TDs. Three more kick return TDs would put his name into the state record book.
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Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
John Horn (Yuba City) Sr.
It’s another week and another player from the Yuba City area putting up a big time performance against Rio Linda. We normally don’t choose a player from the same city two weeks in a row or in a loss but couldn’t resist with Horn. The Honkers’ wide receiver caught 11 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns during a 42-40 loss to the Knights. Horn’s receiving yardage total will earn him a spot in the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book and will be No. 2 all-time for the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section, trailing only the 380 yards of receiving (the state record) that Damen Wheeler had for Sacramento in a game last season. Horn nearly was recognized earlier this season as a NorCal player of the week for his performance on defense when he intercepted two passes and returned them both for touchdowns during a 47-29 win over Foothill of Palo Cedro. On the year, he has six touchdown catches and six interceptions. Devin Cates from River Valley of Yuba City was last week’s NorCal Defensive Player of the Week. Horn and Cates should lock up frequently when Yuba City and River Valley play each other on Oct. 24.
Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Jacquese Steen (Skyline, Oakland) Sr.
Recording double digit tackles in every game so far this season, this 6-foot, 225-pound linebacker recorded as many tackles as Ygnacio Valley of Concord had points last Friday when he made 21 tackles in the 42-21 win. Selected as an all-state underclass linebacker last season, Steen also has contributed on offense this season by rushing for 84 yards on 20 carries while also catching two passes for 18 yards. He has overcome a lot in his life to become a leader and true student-athlete at Skyline.
Northern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Max O’Rourke (Rocklin) Sr.
His performance alone on offense was outstanding but he also was impressive kicking the ball which helped him fit in better this week to be honored as our NorCal special teams player of the week. During a 59-21 win over Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills, O’Rourke passed for 302 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a score as the Thunder remained undefeated and improved to 5-0 on the year. Also the team’s kicker – and to be honest one of the best “athlete” kickers we’ve ever seen — he was a perfect 8 for 8 on extra points, kicked a 34-yard field goal and sent all 10 of his kickoffs against Oak Ridge into the end zone for touchbacks.
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
