Taft High running back Robert Cozine has made a name for himself in Kern County and beyond by having two 400-yard rushing games this season. Photo: turnto23.com.
Taft’s Robert Cozine takes center stage with second 400-yard rushing game of the season, but state’s hottest back stat-wise the last three weeks may be Larkspur Redwood’s Nick Calzaretta. We also highlight the game that La Jolla Bishop’s QB Jeffrey Jackson had against a big-time D1-bound counterpart, two players from a team that won 99-0 and QBs who went 10-for-10 and 13-for-13 as passers.
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 209-608-1317. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(Writeups by Paul Muyskens, Mark Tennis & CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett)
(For games played through Saturday, Oct. 22)
Dominik Austin (Lutheran, Orange)
Handed the football 32 times during a 49-42 win over Servite of Anaheim, this senior back set a season-high by rushing for 223 yards while scoring one touchdown. It was the second Trinity League win of the season for the Lancers.
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Blaine Bailey (Orange Glen, Escondido)
He had his second six-TD outing of the season in leading the Patriots past Holtville 39-35. Bailey also ended 22 of 37 passing for 351 yards. For the season, he now has 2,305 yards with 29 TDs.
Trent Banner (Foothill, Palo Cedro)
Having himself a banner night, he completed 25 of his 41 pass attempts for 431 yards and six touchdowns as the Cougars held on for a 44-42 win over Paradise, handing the Bobcats their first loss of the season.
Darrell Broussard (St. Augustine, San Diego)
Outscoring Mira Mesa on his own during a 42-7 win for the Saints, he rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries.
Simeon Burns & John Henry (Linfield Christian, Temecula)
We almost hate to mention anyone from a score that gets out-of-hand like 99-0, but the 99-0 win by Linfield last week over Western Christian of Glendora probably will be the season scoring high for a team. Burns had two fumble recoveries and two interceptions on defense. Henry rushed 10 times for 211 yards and scored four TDs.
Nick Calzaretta (Redwood, Larkspur)
What a three-week stretch Calzaretta has been on. In last week’s 76-7 romp past Novato, he had nine carries for 260 yards and five TDs. This came after an even more crazy 16-carry, 393-yard, six-TD outing when the Giants flattened Tamalpais of Mill Valley 66-27. The streak began in a 63-26 win vs. Terra Linda of San Rafael. In that game, Calzaretta rushed for 317 yards on 16 carries and had five TDs.
Robert Cozine (Taft)
We couldn’t pick the senior running back as NorCal Offensive Player of the Week because he’d been picked before. Last week, Cozine became the first Kern County player to rush for more than 400 yards two times in one season when he rushed for 408 yards on 36 carries and scored three touchdowns in a 28-7 win over Wasco.
Redwood of Larkspur’s Nick Calzaretta is shown from a game last season. Photo: redwoodbark.org.
Travis Dye (Norco)
In the same game that prompted us to choose teammate Lucas Havrisik as the SoCal Special Teams Player of the Week, Dye powered for 251 yards rushing on 24 carries with a 66-yard TD to lead Norco past Santiago of Corona 49-10.
Samuel Eggers (Twentynine Palms)
He’s from the same defense that includes Derek Sutherland, a recent SoCal Defensive Player of the Week of ours. In a 49-6 win last week over Desert Mirage, Eggers had a 75-yard fumble return TD and a 40-yard interception return score.
Sergio Figueroa (Chula Vista)
During a 40-29 rivalry game win over Sweetwater of Chula Vista, he showed his sweet moves while gaining 201 yards and scoring five touchdowns on 15 carries.
Abraham Galvez (North, Riverside)
Throwing TD passes to five different receivers, Galvez put up huge numbers in the Huskies’ 49-34 triumph vs. Valley View of Moreno Valley. He ended 17 of 31 for 367 yards and six TDs.
Austin Garber (Paradise)
The senior standout did his part to try to keep the Bobcats unbeaten in a 44-42 loss to Foothill of Palo Cedro. Garber had his third 200-yard game of the season, finishing with 32 carries for 256 yards and three scores. Through eight games, he has rushed for 1,562 yards and 23 touchdowns and has scored multiple rushing touchdowns in every game but one.
Cade Gorrell (Yucaipa)
He more than set his season-high for rushing last Friday night during a 66-42 win over Citrus Valley of Redlands as he entered with a season-high of 131 yards and left with a season-high 240 yards on 21 carries with three touchdowns.
Najee Harris (Antioch)
Making the most of his 17 carries, last year’s Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Football State Player of the Year rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns during a 44-19 win over Deer Valley of Antioch. Harris then left early the next morning for his official recruiting trip to Alabama.
Jeffrey Jackson (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
The junior QB faced off against La Jolla Country Day and its Arizona-bound, San Diego Section record-breaking Braxton Burmeister and did more than fine as unbeaten Bishop’s won the so-called “Brain Bowl” by 57-21. Jackson completed 15 of 26 passes for 325 yards and three TDs and added one TD rushing. In his game from the week before, Jackson had 334 yards passing and six scores.
Isaac Joseph (Valley Christian, Cerritos)
The Crusaders are proving to be great at running and passing the ball this season. Joseph, a junior, had a hard to fathom outing in last week’s 63-34 win vs. Whittier Christian of La Habra. He ended a perfect 10-for-10 that went for 341 yards and six TDs. Valley Christian also won its fifth straight game.
Dillon Keefe (El Modena, Orange)
The Vanguards won their fourth game in a row with a 34-20 win over El Dorado of Placentia as their senior running back rushed for 269 yards and four touchdowns.
Omari Land (San Leandro)
Making the football field his special land, he rushed for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries during a 46-36 win over Berkeley.
Griffin O’Connor has helped Edison of Huntington Beach to a 7-1 record heading into the last weekend of October with the only loss coming to state No. 1 Mater Dei. Photo: edisonchargerfootball.com.
J.J. Lino & Gavin Salierno (Central Valley Christian, Visalia)
Lino, a junior QB, passed for a game high of 349 yards on 16 of 26 and four touchdowns while Salierno had 245 yards on seven receptions for a school record and two touchdowns in a 49-21 win over Exeter.
Nolan McDonald (Poly, Long Beach)
In yet another ridiculous rout by the Jackrabbits vs. a Moore League opponent, McDonald connected on 20 of 30 passes for 334 yards and four TDs. The final score vs. a Lakewood team that scored 80 itself in previous game: 77-6. Two of McDonald’s TDs went to Darius Kryger, who also happens to be his backup.
Jordan Modesto (Branham, San Jose)
If he had been given more carries last week, he may have ended up in Modesto as he rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries during a 45-6 win over Sobrato of Morgan Hill.
Nick Moore (Hart, Newhall)
The latest outstanding QB for the Indians had a great pass-rush combon outing during 45-7 victory over West Ranch of Santa Clarita. Moore completed 15 of 25 passing for 189 yards and three TDs and rushed for 157 yards on 17 carries and scored twice.
Griffin O’Connor (Edison, Huntington Beach)
It would be hard to argue that he didn’t have a perfect night during a 52-14 win over Marina of Huntington Beach. O’Connor went a perfect 13 for 13 throwing the football for 298 yards and five scores before finding a spot on the sidelines for the second half. Edison’s only loss remains that one of 42-0 to state No. 1 Mater Dei.
Elisha Ortiz (Stockdale, Bakersfield)
He had two career highs as he rushed of 297 yards on 19 carries and scored five touchdowns on runs of 47, 1, 41, 11 & 34 yards in a 55-27 win over Frontier of Bakersfield.
Jordan Pachot (Citrus Valley, Redlands)
Despite passing for nearly 500 yards, it wasn’t enough for a win as he completed 26 of his 42 pass attempts for 492 yards and four touchdowns during a 66-42 loss to Yucaipa. We’re still checking, but it’s likely the 492 yards is a new Citrus Belt League record.
Shawn Poma (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego)
Just a sophomore, he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries during a 37-17 win over Point Loma of San Diego. His four touchdowns came on runs of 61, 59, 4 and 68 yards while he also returned a punt back for a score but it was called back because of a penalty.
Jay Razzano (Roseville)
He rushed for 225 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers defeated Whitney of Rocklin 35-14 to improve to 7-1 on the season and hand the Wildcats their first loss in league play.
Terry Ryan Jr. (Pacific, San Bernardino)
He continued to put up solid numbers (16 of 33, 245 yds, 4 TDs) in Pacific’s game vs. Moreno Valley last week, but makes the honor roll because we had to report what he did the week before that previously hadn’t been reported to us. In a 47-0 shutout of Moreno Valley Vista del Lago, Ryan went nuts with 589 yards passing and seven TDs. He completed 29 of 41 passes and the yardage total obviously goes into the state record book. We’ll be updating a lot of records in the next few days.
Brent Schaeffer (Vista del Lago, Folsom)
With Schaeffer throwing six TD passes, the Eagles improved to 3-0 in the Capital Athletic League with a 61-7 win over Rio Americano of Sacramento. Three of his touchdown passes went to Brenden Hall.
Bakersfield Christian’s Braden Wingle has helped his team to top ranking among schools that are Division III in the CIF Central Section. Photo: Twitter.com.
Setting his season-high for yards, carries and touchdowns during a 38-27 win over Savanna pf Anaheim, Serna rushed for 277 yards and four touchdowns on 41 carries.
Jake Simmons (Rancho Cotate, Rohnert Park)
He now has 35 TD passes and nearly 2,700 yards for the season after passing for 273 and three in a 55-53 win vs. Santa Rosa. Two weeks ago, Simmons recorded a state record book qualifying total of 490 yards in the air and had five TDs when the Cougars beat Windsor 51-23. In that game, he also hit on 26 of 45 passes.
Isaiah Steele (Santa Rosa)
Completing half of his pass attempts for 452 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 40 yards and a score was not enough to prevent a heartbreaking 55-53 loss to Rancho Cotate of Rohnert Park.
Lucas Triplett (Fort Bragg)
The former receiver turned QB came up big again when the Timberwolves topped Middletown 31-16 in a matchup of unbeaten teams in league. Triplett went 24 of 34 passing for 376 yards and two TDs and rushed for 47 yards on 11 carries. Teammate Tystin Strickland added 20 carries for 92 yards and two TDs on the ground and caught nine passes for 126 yards and two scores.
Tui Vaivai (San Juan, Fair Oaks)
While it came during a 55-24 loss to Highlands of North Highlands, he played hard on both sides of the ball all night long. Vaivai rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns while also making 15 tackles on defense.
Sherod White (Heritage, Menifee)
Also a big-time running back for the unbeaten Patriots, White had three interceptions on defense when Heritage beat Perris 49-6. Teammate Cameron Dawson also had two interceptions.
Braden Wingle (Bakersfield Christian)
It was night of wingin’ it for Wingle in the Eagles’ 56-28 victory vs. Arvin. The junior QB had two career highs as he passed for 357 yards, going for 14-for-24, and six touchdowns in the win.
Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for CalHiSports.com. 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
