All-State FB 2017: Small Schools

Presented by Blast Athletics, the Cal-Hi Sports 2017 all-state teams roll on with the release of these 60 players representing small schools. Yes, it’s getting harder and harder to determine what’s a “small” school anymore in the age of competitive equity playoffs but we’re not changing our format and will take the extra time to continue to find the best players from those schools that continue to be truly “small” by enrollment and tradition. Those schools this year getting more than one player on the 2017 Cal-Hi Sports Small Schools All-State Teams are McClymonds of Oakland, Half Moon Bay, Sutter, Bishop’s of La Jolla, St. Anthony of Long Beach, St. Bernard’s of Eureka, Sonora and Strathmore. Blast Athletics is a new partner of Cal-Hi Sports and is about to become one of the hottest fundraising options for high school activities & athletics programs in the state. For details, CLICK HERE.

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Small Schools State Player of the Year Joseph Garcia of Strathmore is joined on this year’s Cal-Hi Sports All-State Small Schools Football Teams, presented by Blast Athletics, by other skill players with equally impressive accomplishments.

Garcia, a running back who rushed for 2,849 yards and scored 49 touchdowns for a team that went 16-0 and won the CIF Division 6-AA state title, was put on the first team for all-state schools alongside quarterback T.J. Campbell from St. Bernard’s of Eureka. There weren’t very many small school quarterbacks this year with gaudy passing numbers who also had significant rushing totals. Campbell not only was the only small schools QB in the state with more than 4,000 passing yards — he had 4,060 with 57 TD passes — but he also rushed for 620 yards and three TDs for a team that lost its only game by one point to CIF Division 5-A state champ Fortuna.

The one QB with passing-rushing totals that did have to go onto the first team as a multi-purpose was Kerman’s Sean Chambers. He has signed with Wyoming (after committing to Rutgers last summer) and hopes to follow the same path at Wyoming as former CIF Central Section QB Josh Allen, who is from Firebaugh and recently was projected as the No. 1 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

Both receivers on first team racked up big-time stats along with compiling academic success that will put both of them in the Ivy League. Mozes Mooney from Bishop’s of La Jolla (Dartmouth) ended his prep career with 276 catches for 3,954 yards and 66 TDs. All of those totals put him among the best in state history in each category. At St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano, meanwhile, Ryan Cragun (Penn) had a great season that saw him catch 93 passes for 1,586 yards and 20 TDs. He also was named first team All-Orange County, which is almost impossible for a small schools player to do with all of the receivers at so many of the large schools in that county.

This year’s all-state small schools teams also will go down in history as the first time since the all-state teams began being named by Cal-Hi Sports nearly 40 years ago that a female has her name on it. This wasn’t just a gimmick, either. The difference for Rancho Christian of Temecula kicker Emma Baker is that she already has received recognition from the Riverside Press-Enterprise and that her career kicking point totals at Rancho Christian are in the top five on the all-time state list (including all male kickers). Baker made 9-of-12 field goal attempts this season and was 50 of 53 on PATs. For her career, she went 23-of-31 on field goals and 216-of-229 on PATs for 285 points. She wasn’t going to be first team small schools kicker — Dylan Williams of Half Moon Bay got that and just this week committed to Washington — but after careful evaluation she is going on as second team kicker.

Note: Schools broken down into large, medium and small based on section playoff divisions but also on where they’ve been traditionally. We also will not generally consider a school close to or above 2,000 enrollment small school at all no matter what section playoff division that school is placed. This means a school like Orange, which played Strathmore for the CIF D6-AA state title, can’t ever be a “small” school. Medium, yes. Small, no. This year, we also have had to move up several private schools that previously were “small” but played in D2 or D3 for CIF state games. That list includes Grace Brethren of Simi Valley, Bishop Diego of Santa Barbara and Aquinas of San Bernardino. Other schools that have been deemed as medium schools and not small would include Golden West of Visalia, Katella of Anaheim and Christian of El Cajon.

Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football
Small Schools

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
WR – Ryan Cragun (St. Margaret’s, SJ Capistrano) 6-1, 185, Sr.
WR – Mozes Mooney (Bishop’s, La Jolla) 6-1, 180, Sr.
TE – Garren O’Keefe (Colfax) 6-3, 215, Sr.
OL – Ben Coleman (Linfield Christian, Temecula) 6-3, 270, Jr.
OL – Colin Laidlaw (Ontario Christian) 6-5, 280, Sr.
OL – Aaron Leitula (St. Anthony, Long Beach) 6-1, 330, Sr.
OL – Roman Prieto (Kennedy, Delano) 6-3, 300, Sr.
OL – Amani Trigg-Wright (McClymonds, Oakland) 6-5, 305, Sr.
QB – T.J. Campbell (St. Bernard’s, Eureka) 6-2, 215, Sr.
RB – Joseph Garcia (Strathmore) 5-10, 180, Sr.
RB – Tiquan Gilmore (Torres, Los Angeles) 5-9, 170, Sr.
PK – Dylan Williams (Half Moon Bay) 5-9, 155, Sr.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Tyler Gillming (Sutter) 6-2, 220, Sr.
DL – Isaac Hodgins (Berean Christian, Walnut Creek) 6-1, 270, Sr.
DL – Jarrett Kingston (Anderson) 6-5, 255, Sr.
DL – Carson Spence (Scotts Valley) 6-7, 225, Sr.
DL – J.H. Tevis (Menlo School, Atherton) 6-5, 230, Sr.
LB – Jack Camara (Sonora) 6-1, 230, Sr.
LB – Darian Green (Valley Christian, Cerritos) 5-11, 215, Sr.
LB – Kaleb Roth (Liberty, Madera Ranchos) 5-9, 205, Sr.
DB – Charles Alberty (McClymonds, Oakland) 5-11, 180, Sr.
DB – Emany Johnson (Hercules) 6-2, 190, Sr.
DB – Anthony Ruiz (Cantwell-Sacred Heart, Montebello) 6-0, 175, Sr.
P – Colby Schroeder (Vasquez, Action) 6-2, 165, Soph.

FIRST TEAM MULTI-PURPOSE
RB/LB – Ateru Ane (Silver Valley, Yermo) 6-2, 240, Sr.
QB/RB – Sean Chambers (Kerman) 6-3, 215, Sr.
RB/DB – Chase Hofmann (Half Moon Bay) 6-0, 185, Sr.
RB/WR/DB – J.B. Lewis (Fortuna) 5-11, 185, Sr.
RB/LB – Marshel Martin (St. Patrick-St. Vincent, Vallejo) 6-2, 200, Sr.
QB/RB – Tyler Reynolds (Sutter) 5-11, 190, Sr.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
WR – Micha Fontenot-Cornely (St. Bernard’s, Eureka) 6-2, 185, Sr.
WR – Tylor Palmer (Firebaugh) 5-10, 165, Sr.
OL – Otutua Afo (Sonora) 6-4, 270, Sr.
OL – Tyler Critser (Paradise) 6-2, 250, Sr.
OL – John Kelley (Calaveras, San Andreas) 6-0, 235, Sr.
OL – Maino Maino (Taft) 6-1, 255, Sr.
OL – Shaylan Singh (Strathmore) 6-2, 250, Sr.
QB – Quinn Commans (Whittier Christian, La Habra) 6-4, 205, Sr.
RB/WR – Trever Facey (Sutter) 5-7, 180, Sr.
RB – Jarmar Julien (McClymonds, Oakland) 5-11, 220, Jr.
RB – Marcus Prior (Rancho Mirage) 6-0, 175, Sr.
PK – Emma Baker (Rancho Christian, Temecula) 5-11, 145, Sr.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Evan Bennett (Capital Christian, Sacramento) 6-4, 285, Sr.
DL – Jonah Cranford (Classical Academy, Escondido) 6-0, 235, Sr.
DL – Christian Hovey (East Nicolaus, Nicolaus) 6-2, 275, Sr.
DL – Christian Stapleton (Carmel) 6-2, 265, Sr.
LB – Imanol Arredondo (Caruthers) 5-9, 180, Sr.
LB – Raiden Hunter (San Diego) 5-11, 190, Sr.
LB – Ryan Place (Webb, Claremont) 6-3, 215, Sr.
LB – Noah Nieto (St. Anthony, Long Beach) 5-9, 185, Sr.
DB – Davion Gates (Modesto Christian) 6-0, 170, Sr.
DB – Tanner Rocha (Central Valley Christian, Visalia) 6-2, 170, Sr.
DB – Mike Tsogt (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia) 5-9, 165, Sr.
P – Ryan Sanborn (Parker, San Diego) 6-3, 195, Jr.

SECOND TEAM MULTI-PURPOSE
QB/RB – Alex Aguilar (Shafter) 5-10, 160, Jr.
QB/RB – Luke Baggett (Bear River, Lake of the Pines) 6-0, 185, Sr.
RB/DE – Francis Bemly (Carnegie, Riverside) 6-4, 220, Sr.
RB/DB/PK – Chuy Castro (Big Bear, Big Bear Lake) 5-8, 175, Sr.
QB/RB – Jeffrey Jackson (Bishop’s, La Jolla) 6-0, 190, Sr.
QB/RB – Gavin Tomberlin (Half Moon Bay) 6-1, 180, Sr.

Notes: In addition to Joseph Garcia of Strathmore as Small Schools State Player of the Year, also already announced earlier was David Griffiths of Big Bear (Big Bear Lake) as Small Schools State Coach of the Year.

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