Noah Valencia from California School for the Deaf (Riverside) should be among state scoring leaders throughout the 2015-16 season. Photo: GoFundMe.com.
Noah Valencia of California School for the Deaf (Riverside) scores the most points in a California boys basketball game in nearly 10 years and joins top 10 on all-time state list with 71-point outburst in game vs. Baker. This week’s best in football, meanwhile, includes another huge outing from Darnay Holmes of Calabasas (yes, we know he’s not playing this week) while in girls hoops it’s a big game from Minyon Moore for Richmond Salesian against a defending CIF state champion.
Note: We will collect totals from MaxPreps, newspapers, tweets and from those sent in to us. We also will compile single-game highs from this post throughout the season and of course we use our weekly State Stat Stars collection as an aid for the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. That is the only state record book anyone has ever done and we have published it seven times with full copyright protection. To report totals to us for this feature and for the record book, email markjtennis@gmail.com or call 209-463-9050. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(For football games played through Saturday, Dec. 5)
(Boys & girls basketball through some games this week)
(Thanks to Stockton office assistant editor Paul Muyskens & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for contributions)
BOYS BASKETBALL HEADLINER
Noah Valencia (California School for the Deaf, Riverside)
There were two games CSDR played last Saturday at the Knights Classic in Apple Valley and although the Cubs lost in the second one in overtime the bigger news came from the first game when Valencia poured in 71 points and made 10 three-pointers in a 94-33 romp past Baker.
Valencia’s total was reported in an email by the Riverside Press-Enterprise and it is the most in a single game in California since Tyrone Shelley had 76 for San Diego Crawford in Dec. 2005 game vs. Burlington Central of Canada.
It broke the school record of 50 points set in 1974 by John Foronda and also beats the reported best ever from Riverside County of 65 by Andre Conners for St. John’s of Whitewater in 113-50 win over Zinsmeyer of Long Beach in Jan. 2001.
On the state record list, Valencia’s 71 points will go in at No. 10. The record is 100 by Tigran Grigorian of Pico Rivera Mesrobian set in Feb. 2003 in 114-47 win over Los Angeles Pacific Christian. It’s also interesting that we have a 69 on the list from Don Lyons of California School for the Deaf (Berkeley) in 82-38 win vs. San Rafael Military Academy set in Feb. 1964.
Last year’s top single-game outing was 63 by Clayton Ladine from Burton of San Francisco.
Valencia, who averaged nearly 30 ppg as a junior, had 24 points later in the day but CSDR lost in overtime 44-43 to Silver Valley of Yermo.
On a side note, Noah was in a Hallmark TV movie when he was nine years old and was selected last summer to be part of the USA team at the World Deaf Basketball Championship.
FOOTBALL
Eric Barriere (La Habra)
It was a performance La Habra fans will never forget when Barriere led the Highlanders past San Clemente 39-36 in the CIF Southwest Division championship. With no time left, he tossed a miraculous 27-yard TD pass to Prince Ross to win the game, which also gave him a line of 15 completions in 16 throws for 293 yards and four TDs. Barriere also rushed 12 times for 98 yards and one score.
As a sophomore and junior, Ryan Johnson quarterbacked Hanford to CIF Central Section Division III titles. Photo: CentralValleyFootball.com.
Rashaan Fontenette (Oak Grove, San Jose)
His 60-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left on a fourth down play gave the Eagles a 27-21 triumph over St. Francis of Mountain View in the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division II championship. Fontenette also finished with 192 yards on 15 carries.
Darnay Holmes (Calabasas)
It’s been a tough week so far for our 2014 State Sophomore of the Year since he was suspended for this week’s CIF Division 2A regional bowl game vs. Citrus Hill of Perris for leaving the bench during a fight in last week’s CIFSS Western Division final vs. Palos Verdes. Still, we have to mention his performance in the 42-3 triumph. In all, Holmes returned two punts for touchdowns, ran back an interception 68 yards for a score, caught a TD pass and scored on a TD run.
Ryan Johnson (Hanford)
The junior QB tossed a pair of TD passes to his cousin, Brandon Sanchez, as part of an 11 of 23 showing for 285 yards and three TDs when Hanford topped San Joaquin Memorial of Fresno 42-28 in the CIF Central Section Division III final. Johnson also rushed 11 times for 60 yards and one score.
Jordan Love (Liberty, Bakersfield)
Liberty had too much Love for Clovis to handle in the CIF Central Section Division I final as QB Jordan Love passed for 294 yards on 13 of 17 with three touchdowns and no interceptions in a 56-21 triumph. Love also rushed for 64 yards on 12 carries and one TD. Liberty’s 56 points is the fourth most points scored in a Central Section title game in the large division, which dates back to 1916.
Jack Newman (Analy, Sebastopol)
The junior QB didn’t throw for quite the yardage he did in the CIF North Coast Section D3 quarterfinals and semifinals, but he still went 26 of 57 for 313 yards and two TDs in a 38-28 loss to Campolindo of Moraga in the championship.
Eli Shelton (Mater Dei Catholic, Chula Vista)
After returning the opening kickoff for an 87-yard TD, Shelton was just getting warmed up in a 49-14 win vs. Bishop’s of La Jolla in the CIF San Diego Section Division IV title game. He also happens to be a dangerous receiver and later on caught four passes for 250 yards with three going for TDs of 80, 53 and 96 yards.
J.J. Taylor (Centennial, Corona)
In a game with big-time talent all over the field, Taylor perhaps was the most spectacular with 41 carries for 271 yards and five TDs to lead the Huskies past St. John Bosco 62-52 in the CIFSS Pac-5 Division championship Anthony Catalano also shined with 11 of 18 passing for 225 yards and three TDs plus two TDs rushing.
David Zepeta (Kennedy, Delano)
He led Kennedy past Avenal 30-14 in the CIF Central Section Division VI title game by rumbling for 229 yards n 28 carries and scoring three times. It was Kennedy’s second straight section title.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Clayton Ladine (Burton, San Francisco)
Not only did he have a triple-double last week but he had three straight triple-doubles during losses to Crenshaw of Los Angeles and Davis with a win over Laguna Creek of Elk Grove in between the defeats. Ladine’s three performances saw him score 35 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 13 assists, 35 points with 16 rebounds and 10 assists and lastly 30 points with 18 rebounds and 11 assists.
Joey Calcaterra is a junior to watch from Marin Catholic of Kentfield. Photo: Bill Schneider/VarsityPix.com.
Elijah Mosham (El Dorado, Placentia)
Doing it all to open the season, he had a triple-double during a 69-26 win over Irvine at the Godinez Invitational as he scored 17 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and blocked 10 shots.
Joey Calcaterra (Marin Catholic, Kentfield)
One of several schools that still has the football team playing midway through December, this junior captain shooting guard had 46 points as the Wildcats opened the season with a 75-68 loss to Campolindo of Moraga (which also is still playing football).
T.J. Leaf (Foothills Christian, El Cajon)
For the second week in a row, this big man and USA Basketball veteran had a big performance to be listed here but despite his season-best 44 points and 16 rebounds the Knights suffered their first loss of the season, losing to the Chino Hills 106-86.
Nathan Clark (Adelanto)
He scored 35 points for the Saints but it wasn’t enough to get the win at the Sierra Vista Tournament against Villa Park and fellow state stat star Evan Battey as they lost by a 101-95 score in overtime.
Trey Smith (Saddleback Valley Christian)
Playing at the Jim Harris Memorial Tournament of Champions, he had a game-high 34 points but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 70-56 loss to Foothill of Tustin.
Sebastian Much (JSerra Catholic, San Juan Capistrano)
Making sure we get used to typing him with his new school quickly this season, he scored 22 of his 33 points in the second half to help the Tritons defeat San Clemente 71-70 to win the Diablo Inferno championship.
Jordan Ford (Folsom)
While football is still going on and may have most of the school’s attention, the Bulldog basketball team should have an outstanding season this year as well with this Saint Mary’s-bound star, who had 32 points during a 79-78 win over Sheldon of Sacramento.
Austin Molezzo (Mission Oak, Tulare)
He scored a game high of 34 points in the season opener as Mission Oak beat Redwood of Visalia 70-59. In the second game of the week, Austin scored 38 points, 12 points coming from the free-throw line, as the Hawks lost to Centennial of Bakersfield 99-75 in the Clovis North Tournament. Centennial set a school record by making 18 three-point field goals in the win.
Camren Panganiban (Trabuco Hills, Mission Viejo)
The Mustangs improved to 3-1 on the year with a 76-43 win over Lutheran of Chula Vista as he scored a game-high 30 points at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic.
Michael Hayes (West, Tracy)
While he did it against the alma mater of Stockton office assistant Paul Muyskens, we won’t hold it against him from being listed here as he scored 29 points and grabbed 16 rebounds during a 60-53 win over Bear Creek of Stockton.
Kaden Rasheed (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM)
Scored a team-high 28 points as the Eagles defeated St. Mary’s of Phoenix, Arizona to capture the Christian Cup tournament championship. Earlier in the tournament he also had 27 points during a 103-58 win over Bell-Jeff of Burbank.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Destiny Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
While her last name has the word little in it, she is known for not having little scoring performances. As reported last week, Littleton tipped off her junior year with 44 points and 10 rebounds during a 78-35 win over Hilltop of Chula Vista, but then she added 45 points and 17 rebounds later in the week during a 83-42 win over Eastlake of Chula Vista.
Minyon Moore of Richmond Salesian tries to corral rebound in 2014 NorCal CIF Open Division final. Photo: Willie Eashman.
Aarion McDonald (Brookside Christian, Stockton)
A school we drive by every day when we head into our office in Stockton, this Washington-bound senior’s two best games last week during their 2-2 start to the year was actually during both of their losses. McDonald scored 29 points during a 62-55 loss to Edison of Fresno and 28 during a 52-50 loss to Valley Christian of San Jose.
Casey McWilliam (Mt. Carmel, San Diego)
We like to encourage people to send in state stat star worthy performances that don’t get reported or may be hard to find. One of those that was sent in was her performance during a 68-44 win over Del Norte of San Diego. She was nearly perfect shooting as she only missed on one three-point attempt while scoring 24 points. She averaged 19 points per game last season and will be counted on to score more this season with the graduation of perennial state stat star Ali Engelhardt.
Amber Melgoza (Santa Barbara)
Averaging 33 points per game last season, she was a state stat star quite often last year and she starts her senior year as one once again. She as twice scored 28 points and also scored 27 points during three wins last week. Along with her 27 points during a 68-31 win over Righetti of Santa Maria, she also had eight steals and six rebounds.
Minyon Moore (Salesian, Richmond)
Her older sister Mariya led Louisville to an upset win at nationally ranked Michigan State earlier in the week and she made sure she had a nice week as well. Minyon scored 28 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had seven steals during a 68-55 win over defending CIF Division I state champion McClatchy of Sacramento to win the Dorothy Speck Tournament.
Lillian Olson (Sacramento Waldorf, Fair Oaks)
Listed as the top scorer in the state earlier this week on MaxPreps of players who actually exist, she scored 40 points and grabbed 12 rebounds during a 69-10 win over Global Youth Charter of Antelope and had 36 points with 15 rebounds during a 60-48 win over Mira Loma of Sacramento last week.
Jasmine Pharms (Stagg, Stockton)
Senior captain for the Delta Kings averaged 17.5 points per game last year and is off to an even better start this season. After struggling in the season opener, Pharms nearly recorded a triple-double in the next game as she scored 36 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and had nine steals during a 74-9 win over Johnson of Sacramento. Also last week, she scored 32 points and grabbed 17 rebounds during a 69-36 win over Valley of Sacramento.
Briana Reynolds (Aragon, San Mateo)
She helped the Dons finish third at the Irvington tournament by scored 32 points against Milpitas and also had 68 points in three tourney contests.
Baylee Vanderdoes (Placer, Auburn)
Younger sister of UCLA football player Eddie Vanderdoes scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds during a 52-44 win by the Hillgals over Oakmont of Roseville.
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
