CIF State Bowl Champs (All 13)

K.J. Latu (No. 10), chosen as our MVP of the CIF D3-AA state final, was part of flag-waving celebration after Paraclete topped Menlo-Atherton. Photo: @ParacleteFB/Twitter.com.

For a look at every MVP we chose for the CIF finals we watched from 2006 to 2014 in Carson, CLICK HERE.

For a look at every MVP from all 13 of last year’s CIF state finals, CLICK HERE.

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Open Division
Bellflower St. John Bosco (13-2) 56,
Concord De La Salle (11-2) 33

It wasn’t the most points scored in a CIF state final or even an Open Division state final – De La Salle scored 63 in 2014 – but considering the Braves did it against the Spartans, who only gave up seven in their last game to Freedom of Oakley team that was 11-0, their 56 in this game was perhaps even more impressive.
MVP Re-al Mitchell. In the last game the Braves lost to Mater Dei, a fourth quarter interception thrown by Mitchell really cost the Braves. He was nearly flawless against DLS, completing 18 of 20 for 191 yards and two TDs, adding 50 yards rushing and running the offense smoothly. It’ll be interesting to see how he does – more as a throwing QB than one who’s known for his track speed – in this spring’s camps and Elite 11 QB events.

Division 1-AA
San Diego Cathedral Catholic (15-0) 38,
Stockton St. Mary’s (14-2) 35 (OT)

An instant classic, the Rams lost on a field goal in overtime by Liam King. They had 611 yards of offense, but didn’t score on five trips inside the red zone (one on a missed field goal, the other four on fourth-down stops). Cathedral Catholic won its second CIF state title, the first coming in 2008 in what was another memorable game vs. St. Mary’s.
MVP Tate Haynes. This was perhaps the hardest game of the five played at Sac State to choose an MVP. Two St. Mary’s players easily could have been chosen despite the loss – RB Dusty Frampton or QB Jake Dunniway – but Haynes was more than solid for the Dons all season long. In this game, although the Rams got to him for a sack and fumble, he didn’t throw any big interceptions, finished with 318 yards passing and three TDs and rushed for 57 yards on 13 carries. He’s the son of NFL

Division 1-A
San Clemente (13-3) 22,
Loomis Del Oro (13-3) 17

The Tritons returned to a heroes welcome in their community that is the last one travelers heading on I-5 south see before they hit San Diego County. A parade also is in the works and why not? Del Oro had one in Loomis last year. This was San Clemente’s first state title.
MVP Brandon Reaves. Although he doesn’t have the recruiting offers of teammate QB Jack Sears (USC commit), Reaves was the versatile, multi-faceted threat who was just as valuable to the Tritons all season long. He scored twice in this game, including of course the game-winning 54-yard punt return in the fourth quarter. He also scored with 48 seconds left in the game when San Clemente edged Edison of Huntington Beach in the SoCal regional final.

San Diego Madison head coach Rick Jackson raises a CIF state title trophy for the second time in his career as his two sons stand nearby. Photo: Mark Tennis.

It was a defensive battle that came down to the final play of the game as the Warriors’ Hail Mary chance to win the game was knocked down by the Warhawks’ quarterback Terrell Carter, who played both ways. Carter passed for 195 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 28 yards in the come from behind win.
MVP Erick Buchanan. He rushed for their first and last touchdown on the day and finished with 163 yards on 26 carries with two touchdowns, including the game-winner late in the third quarter.

Division 2-A
Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (15-0) 42,
San Mateo Serra (9-5) 40

QB Niko Harris returned to the starting lineup and the Trailblazers captured their second state championship in a back and forth game that saw multiple lead changes and a two-point conversion to tie the game came within inches of being completed in bounds. Leki Nunn passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing for 109 yards and three scores in the loss. His touchdown pass to Isiah Kendrick made it 35-33 with 4:36 remaining but the attempted tying two-point conversion was caught but ruled just out of the back of the end zone.
MVP Bobby Cole. Called a workhorse by his head coach, Jon Ellinghouse, he rushed for 220 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries and scored Sierra Canyon’s first touchdown on an 80-yard run. He also scored on a 7-yard run with 3:05 remaining that would end up being the game-winner.

Division 3-AA
Lancaster Paraclete (12-4) 39,
Atherton Menlo-Atherton (13-3) 21

For a program that has nine CIF Southern Section titles, this was a first for the Spirits. They also became the first school from the Antelope Valley to win a state football crown. M-A scored just before halftime to cut a deficit to 26-21, but the Paraclete defense shut out the Bears in the second half. Jaylan Tynes led the defense with two fumble recoveries and one interception. Aaron Cooper also had a 45-yard interception return. M-A’s Aajon Johnson rushed for 138 yards and one TD and passed for 121 yards and one score. Paraclete head coach Dean Herrington, who was at Alemany (Mission Hills) last year and also well-known for assisting his brother, Mike, at Hart (Newhall), also celebrated winning his first state title.
MVP K.J. Latu. The four-year varsity performer at Paraclete rushed for three touchdowns as a fullback and had an interception on defense. Latu even punted for the Spirits.

Oakdale’s CIF state title trophy, earned the night before, was taken to the beach last Sunday morning in La Jolla before the players departed on a bus for long ride home. Photo: James Burns/The Modesto Bee.

While Northern California teams went 0-5 in games at Sacramento State, they were 6-2 in the Saturday divisional games (all on the road). No team perhaps represented better than the Mustangs, who were backed by more fans 450 miles from home than the Knights. They also rolled to the most lopsided win in any state final this year. It’s Oakdale’s first CIF state title after lopsided loss in its previous title game appearance vs. Gardena Serra.
MVP Will Semone. Perhaps the easiest MVP pick of any game, Semone scored six touchdowns to tie the single-game record for any CIF state final, a record set in 2008 by San Diego Cathedral Catholic’s Tyler Gaffney. Semone also had 28 carries for 219 yards to put his final season total at 2,851 yards.

Division 4-AA
Moraga Campolindo (12-3) 31,
Bakersfield Christian (13-2) 7

Facing a quarterback, Braden Wingle, who had passed for over 4,000 yards this season, the Cougars’ defense held him to just 155 passing yards with two interceptions. They also helped the school earn its second CIF state title (first was in D3 in 2014) in the fourth straight season in which it has been in a state final.
MVP John Torchio. The son of former Cal QB Jay Torchio recorded both of the interceptions thrown by Bakersfield Christian in this game and he also had a pick six in the NorCal final. A junior, don’t be surprised if he’s the QB for the Cougars next season.

Pleasant Valley of Chico QB Kyle Lindquist is shown after he helped team get a win over Napa. Photo: Harold Abend.

In a game that rivaled Cathedral Catholic-Stockton St. Mary’s as the craziest of the weekend, the Vikings brought home their first state title and no doubt brought a smile to the face of famous NFL alum Aaron Rodgers. St. Anthony took a 42-34 lead with 2:02 left in regulation on a 60-yard interception return by B.J. Busbee. On PV’s next series, a fourth-and-10 (match point so to speak) was picked up on a pass from Kyle Lindquist to Quiane Rhodes. Teammate Trevor Owens caught another pass from Lindquist a few plays later and turned it into a 47-yard TD with 1:13 left. Payton Williams next came through with a diving catch in the end zone for the two-point conversion that tied the score. In overtime, the Saints took the lead at 49-42 on a 10-yard run by Talaun Patton and a PAT. Pleasant Valley went next and after a 6-yard TD pass from Lindquist to Max Andersen, head coach Mark Cooley went for the two-point conversion to win – or lose – the game. Lindquist found Sean Seibert open (who had only two catches in the game previously). He made the catch and the Vikings had their state title.
MVP Kyle Lindquist. Anybody who stands out among all of the QBs who go to the annual Elite 11 camp in the Bay Area can’t be a sleeper, but Lindquist still is among any listing of top QBs in the state. He had a huge CIF state final, completing 27 of 44 passes for 406 yards and four TDs with another TD rushing. It may be the second-best CIF state passing total for anybody following the 445-yard total for Folsom’s Jake Browning in 2014.

Division 5-AA
Oakland Bishop O’Dowd (15-1) 43,
Moreno Valley Valley View (12-4) 24

The Dragons scored the game’s first 16 points and would never trail as the city of Oakland won two state football championships within minutes on Saturday after never having had one before. While we’ll get a lot of these types of accomplishments now that there are 13 different state champions, the city of Oakland needs any kind of lift after the recent warehouse fire that killed 36 people.
MVP Austin Jones. The standout sophomore rushed for 195 yards on 28 carries and three touchdowns while also catching three passes for 31 yards. One of many that will be back next season, he ended the year rushing for 1,966 yards and 27 touchdowns.

Linebacker Huruma Zulu will be one of the top players back for Oakland McClymonds next season. Photo: Everett Bass Photography.

Yet another prolific passer who was limited by a stingy defense was Country Day’s Braxton Burmeister, who was held to just 7 of 26 for 113 yards. Devin White’s kickoff return right before halftime that made the score 20-14 also turned out to be the game-winner. Emoreea Fountain had two touchdown passes, both going to Angelo Garrett, in the first half while the Torreys two touchdowns’ came on runs by Burmeister. Mack won its first CIF state football title.
MVP Devin White. His kickoff return turned out to be the game-winner. White also has been one of the team’s top two-way threats all season long.

Division 6-AA
Temecula Rancho Christian (14-2) 38,
Sutter Creek Amador (14-2) 13

Head coach Jim Kunau of the Eagles became just the second coach in CIF state history to guide a second, different school to a title. He did it the first time as the head coach at Orange Lutheran in 2006. The only other on that list is Harry Welch, who actually has led three different schools to state titles (Canyon of Canyon Country 2006, Rancho Santa Margarita St. Margaret’s 2008 and Rancho SM Santa Margarita 2011). Rancho kicker Emma Baker had one field goal and four PATs for seven kicking points. She ended the season with 99 kicking points (75 PATs, 8 of 10 FGs, long of 40) and already has 208 for her career. We already knew she had a state record for most points by a girl kicker and she already has a national record for that category. It’s going to be even better, however, when she ends her career on several all-time state lists regardless of gender. She’s in the book already for season kicking points and career kicking points.
MVP Carter Treadway. While RB Daylan Thetford of the Buffaloes had another strong outing, the junior QB for Rancho Christian hit on 10 of 11 passes for 211 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for 42 yards.

Division 6-A
Vallejo St. Patrick-St. Vincent (13-3) 29,
Strathmore (14-1) 28

Joseph Garcia rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries and Andres Lara caught two touchdown passes from Nick Salas to build a 28-14 halftime lead for Strathmore, but the Bruins outscored the Spartans 15-0 in the second half for the road win. Gabe Fuentes kicked a 19-yard field goal to win the game with six seconds left. It also was the Bruins’ first-ever state title in football.
MVP Marshel Martin. Nearly scoring the game-winning touchdown, he was knocked out at the one-yard line to set up the game-winning field goal and his 72-yard touchdown run with under nine minutes remaining made it 28-26. Martin also rushed for more than 100 yards on the night.

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