Two of this week’s honorees are Damon Wiley and Zach Taylor of Buena Park. Photos: UnderTheRadar.com via YouTube & Miguel Vasconcellos/OCSidelines.com.
One of the leaders of No. 1 team in the state that hasn’t given up a touchdown in six weeks gets one of this week’s honor slots. Additional selections have gone to players from Buena Park, Nipomo, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Palo Alto.
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 Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Zach Taylor (Buena Park) Sr.
On multiple times this season Taylor has had state stat star worthy performances as the Coyotes’ QB and we felt now was a good time to pick him as one of our players of the week afte he combined for 501 yards of offense during a 42-19 win over Troy of Fullerton.
Completing 21 of his 27 pass attempts for a season-high 378 yards and three touchdowns, Taylor added 125 rushing yards and one touchdown on 11 carries.
His highest rushing total in a game this season was back in August when he rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns on five carries during a 75-20 win over Orange. Taylor also had a 517-yard passing game as a junior and this week could surpass 6,000 yards for his career.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Terry Wambolt (Nipomo) Sr.
If we selected an all-name team, Wambolt would be a great selection on the defensive side of the ball but he’s getting honors this week for his play on the field.
Despite being just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, Wambolt charged his way to a team-high 13 total tackles, a sack and blocked a punt during a 29-19 win over Templeton.
This senior middle linebacker also has had double-digit tackle totals in five of Nipomo’s games this season, including seven tackles for losses, three sacks, two fumble recoveries, three blocked punts and a blocked field goal.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Diego Chacho-Sousa (Loyola, Los Angeles) Jr.
Sometimes special teams can get overlooked when a team is successful but this junior kicker and punter has been outstanding for the Cubs this season.
During their 45-14 win over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks last Friday that clinched a CIFSS Pac-5 Division playoff berth, Chacho-Sousa he was a perfect 5-for-5 on extra points while kicking a season-best 53-yard field goal.
On the year, he also is a perfect 37-for-37 on PATs with nine field goals and averages nearly 40 yards per punt with almost half of his punts pinning the opposition inside the 20-yard line.
DeShawn Collins could be on his way to another 2,000-yard season. Photo: Mark Tennis.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
DeShawn Collins (Grant, Sacramento) Sr.
It was a bit of a surprising score early on when the Pacers trailed Davis 14-0 but behind Collins they ran their way past the Blue Devils for a 73-35 win.
While teammate Mike Green had a nice night rushing for 107 yards and three touchdowns, Collins put up the most impressive numbers as he rushed for 372 yards and six touchdowns on 21 carries. The big night plus another deep run in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs should help Collins equal or surpass last year’s total of 2,321 yards rushing in 14 games.
Collins and Green are just two of many top running backs Grant has had in recent years, including current University of Utah standout Deonte Booker.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Damon Wiley (De La Salle, Concord) Sr.
Since the fourth game of the season, Wiley and the Spartan defense have allowed only two field goals and no touchdowns. The streak includes shutouts of Granite Bay and San Ramon Valley with the field goals coming in wins of 41-3 over Orange Lutheran and 41-3 over Del Oro of Loomis. Long Beach Poly and James Logan of Union City scored six and 14 points, respectively, but all three TDs were on kickoff returns.
Wiley, a 6-foot, 235-pound defensive end, is leading the team in tackles and last week led with nine tackles and two sacks against Logan. He also tackled Logan running back Ahmari Davis in the end zone for a safety. Wiley also has 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss on the season. He has a reported offer from the University of San Diego, but could have the ability to play inside linebacker at a higher level.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Eli Givens (Palo Alto) Sr.
Someone we are familiar with after honoring him last season as one of our weekly South Bay/Peninsula Players of the Week, this CCS track champion had another nice night on the football field.
In a 45-7 win over Homestead of Cupertino to clinch a CCS playoff berth, Givens returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown. It also marked the second straight game he’s had a kickoff return score and later in the game against Homestead he scored on a 47-yard TD catchs.
Givens won the 100, 200 and long jump events in last spring’s CCS track finals and competed in all three events at the CIF state meet.
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
2 Comments
Despite playing for DLS, Wiley is one of my favorite players from the class of 2016. He deserves a full ride somewhere in college, regardless of his size.
Great work Damon!