Two of this week’s honorees are A.J. Stanley (left) from Hart of Newhall and Jack Rice from St. Bernard’s of Eureka. Photos: HartIndiansFootball.com & Rob Graham/ETSN.fm.
From a school known for its quarterbacks, a safety defending the pass who gets five interceptions in one game grabs one of this week’s six POW honors. Others earning the nod for this week are from Eureka, San Jose, Oakdale, Moreno Valley and Fallbrook.
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).
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Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Jack Rice (St. Bernard’s, Eureka) Jr.
After serving as the primary receiver last season as a sophomore who had 96 catches for 1,711 yards and 20 TDs, Rice has become the prolific QB this season in the offense of head coach Matt Tomlin.
Taking over for the graduated Noah Davis, Rice had a monster game over the weekend when the Crusaders topped Hoopa Valley of Hoopa, 70-18.
The dual-threat QB ran the ball eight times for 157 yards and five touchdowns and he completed 16 of 21 passes for 309 yards and four scores. That’s nine TDs and 466 yards if you don’t want to do the math.
For the season, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder now has 2,064 yards passing with 22 TDs and 702 yards rushing and 11 scores. He has helped St. Bernard’s to a 6-1 record with its only loss coming to Justin-Siena of Napa.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Ainu Tuiono (Oak Grove, San Jose) Sr.
Facing an undefeated Live Oak of Morgan Hill team that was averaging over 43 points per game, Tuiono did a bit of everything as the Eagles defeated the Acorns 36-0 and moved closer to capturing the Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division championship.
Playing at strong safety, he recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and tipped another pass that ended up being intercepted by junior linebacker Grady Ryan. Tuiono also delivered some hard hits and helped make it impossible for the Live Oak offense to do much of anything.
Chipping in on offense, Tuiono also scored the game’s opening touchdown as he rushed for a 38-yard score.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Lane Trapp (Oakdale) Sr.
The Mustangs remained undefeated with a 58-20 road win at Weston Ranch of Stockton and this senior kicker doubled his season total of made field goals this season from three to six in just one night.
Named earlier this week as one of the athletes of the week by the BlackHatFootball.com website, Trapp kicked three field goals, including a 49-yarder, against the Cougars. He is also a big part of making sure Oakdale opponents have to start drives from the 20-yard line since nearly 70 percent of his kickoffs have reportedly resulted in touchbacks.
Jamal Scott has been contributing to the Rancho Verde offense since his sophomore year. Photo: rvathletics.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Jamal Scott (Rancho Verde, Moreno Valley) Sr.
Not often does a team have a guy pass for over 300 yards and another rush for over 300 yards but that was the case for the Mustangs when they defeated Riverside Poly 49-20 last Friday.
While quarterback E.J. Stewart passed for 338 yards and three touchdowns, it was Scott’s rushing totals that were even more impressive. On just 16 carries, the senior running back racked up 376 yards and three scores.
It also was the second time this season that Scott broke the 300-yard rushing mark and put him at 1,363 yards for the season with 16 TDs. Earlier this season, he rushed for 328 yards and five touchdowns during a 49-26 win over Murrieta Mesa.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
A.J. Stanley (Hart, Newhall) Sr.
Despite having one interception taken away because he was out of bounds and another taken away because of off-setting penalties this junior defensive back still finished with a school record of five interceptions during Hart’s 24-21 overtime win against Golden Valley of Santa Clarita.
After Hart went ahead in overtime on a field goal by Andrew Nielsen (who we’ve considered for SoCal Special Teams POW several times), Golden Valley had a chance to win the game on a touchdown. Stanley, however, came through with an interception to clinch the victory.
In addition to the five interceptions in one game, which is tied for the single-game state high for the year, Stanley also now has nine interceptions on the season.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Parker Martin (Fallbrook) Sr.
In a 21-0 victory by the Warriors over San Pasqual of Escondido, Martin made plays on both sides of the ball but most importantly on special teams.
The senior, who is a wide-receiver and defensive back, came through in the shutout win by scoring on a 56-yard punt return and helped set up another touchdown when he recovered a blocked field goal attempt.
Martin played on the freshman team at Fallbrook three seasons ago, but moved to Alaska due to where his father was stationed as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. He has returned to the school for his senior year and has quickly become one of Fallbrook’s best players.
Thanks to Stockton office assistant editor Paul Muyskens for contributions to this post. 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
