Tahj Owens (left) will go down as one of the best running backs in the long history of Los Angeles Loyola. At right is RB Devin Samples of Long Beach Poly, who will be one of the best in the state at that position in California. Photos: Courtesy school & John Napalan / the562.org.
Nominating players like this for the annual Cal-Hi Sports all-state football teams wasn’t possible for the 2020-21 spring season, but the section-by-section lists and then the public adding to them is back. After posting the nominees from the nine other CIF sections in two parts, here’s the first run-through for the CIF Southern Section (more than 600 schools). All input on all players listed here or not are welcome.
Note: Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football content that will be for Gold Club members include second, final list of nominees plus second team, third team overall and All-State Juniors & Sophomores. The free posts will be first team overall and first team small schools and medium schools. If you also want to check out all of our rankings content, and all state record updates, you can check it out for just $3.99 to cover a one-month subscription. For info, CLICK HERE.
FOR CCS, NCS, SF-OAK, NORTHERN & SAC-JOAQUIN SECTION NOMINEES, CLICK HERE.
FOR CENTRAL, L.A. CITY & SAN DIEGO SECTION NOMINEES, CLICK HERE.
Please send any nomination with each athlete’s height, weight, position, year in school, significant statistics. Comparing a player not on the board yet to one who already is also can be very important toward eventual selection. Limit each nomination to one page please. Send to: markjtennis@gmail.com or text/call (209) 608-1317.
The format we will continue to use is to honor a 30-player overall all-state first team with 30 more on second team. Each first team player is written up. There also are 30 for medium schools and 30 for small schools and yes we are struggling with what’s medium and what’s small with competitive equity. All that is certain is that players from large, public high schools will not be considered “small school.”
Don’t assume we know all there is to know about a player on the list, either. Send us info to make sure all pertinent information is turned in and placed into our files.
Special thanks for the work done on these nomination lists to Northern California correspondent Daniel Poulter. He’s a great follow on Twitter and did great work for us on our State Top 50 rankings packages this season. Check him out at @DanielJPoulter.
QB Jaxon Potter threw for more than 3,000 yards for Santa Margarita and will be one of many starters who will be returning next season. Photo: Twitter.com.
SOUTHERN SECTION (DIVISION 1 TEAMS)
Samarai Anderson (Centennial, Corona) LB Jr.
David Bailey (Mater Dei) LB Sr.
Jabari Bates (St. John Bosco) RB Sr.
Cooper Barkate (Mater Dei) WR Sr.
Rashad Beckham (Mission Viejo) OL Sr.
Jacob Bower (Santa Margarita) LB Jr.
Elijah Brown (Mater Dei) QB Soph.
Raleek Brown (Mater Dei) RB Sr.
Deven Bryant (St. John Bosco) LB Jr.
Nate Burrell (St. John Bosco) DL Sr.
Eric Butler Jr. (Centennial, Corona) DB Sr.
DeAndre Carter (Mater Dei) OL Soph.
Pierce Clarkson (St. John Bosco) QB/RB Jr.
Lucas Conti (Centennial, Corona) DL Jr.
Quincy Craig (Mater Dei) RB/DB/KR Sr.
Kyle Crum (Norco) QB/RB Sr.
Ryan Ewing (Mission Viejo) PK Sr.
Noah Fifita (Servite) QB Sr.
Mason Graham (Servite) OL/DL Sr.
Grant Gray (Norco) WR Sr.
Earnest Greene (St. John Bosco) OL Sr.
Sione Hala (St. John Bosco) DB Sr.
Thomas Haney (Mission Viejo) OL Sr.
Katin Hauser (St. John Bosco) QB Sr.
Jake Higgins (Mission Viejo) DB Sr.
Josh Hunter (Mater Dei) DB Sr.
Chedon James (St. John Bosco) WR Sr.
Brian Jurado (Los Alamitos) LB Sr.
Hero Kanu (Santa Margarita) DL Sr.
Cash Koepke (Los Alamitos) OL Sr.
Jacob Kongaika (Mater Dei) DL Sr.
Josiah Laban (Servite) OL Sr.
Makai Lemon (Los Alamitos) WR/DB Jr.
Gavriel Lightfoot (Centennial, Corona) DL Sr.
Austin Logan (Norco) LB Sr.
Niko Lopez (Santa Margarita) WR Jr.
Ruben Lopez (Mission Viejo) DB Sr.
Reyshaun Luke (St. John Bosco) RB Sr.
Mikey Matthews (Mission Viejo) WR Jr.
Tetairoa McMillan (Servite) WR/DB Sr.
Chase Meyer (Mater Dei) PK Sr.
Jaden Mickey (Centennial, Corona) DB Sr.
Tyson Molio’o (St. John Bosco) OL Sr.
DeAndre Moore Jr. (Los Alamitos) WR Jr.
Malachi Nelson (Los Alamitos) QB Jr.
Kilian O’Connor (Santa Margarita) OL Sr.
Nygel Osborne (Los Alamitos) RB Jr.
Jaydn Ott (Norco) RB Sr.
Jaxon Potter (Santa Margarita) QB Jr.
Jairus Satele (St. John Bosco) DL Sr.
Kaden Semonza (Mission Viejo) QB Jr.
Cam Sidney (Mater Dei) DB Sr.
Levitius Su’a (Mater Dei) LB Soph.
Malaki Te’o (Mater Dei) LB Sr.
B.J. Tolo (Mater Dei) OL Jr.
Houston Thomas (Servite) RB Sr.
Adam Tomczyk (Los Alamitos) DL Sr.
Matayo Uiagalelei (St. John Bosco) DL/TE Jr.
A.J. Vaipulu (Centennial, Corona) OL Sr.
Darius Ward (Norco) DB Sr.
Ethan Wenzel (Centennial, Corona) LB Sr.
C.J. Williams (Mater Dei) WR Sr.
Blake Wilson (Santa Margarita) DB Sr.
Jalen Woods (St. John Bosco) LB Sr.
Keenan Eck of Apple Valley was a pain in the neck for quarterbacks as he finished with a reported state best 20 sacks. Photo: Facebook.com.
SOUTHERN SECTION (ALL OTHER DIVISIONS)
Tiumalu Afalava (Bishop Amat, La Puente) DL Jr.
Kian Afrookhteh (Dana Hills, Dana Point) P Sr.
Aiden Agnor (Quartz Hill) LB Sr.
Eddie Allain (Norte Vista, Riverside) RB Sr.
Taariq Al-Uqdah (Inglewood) LB Sr.
Caleb Alvary (Simi Valley) RB Jr.
Daniel Andrade (Bonita, La Verne) QB Jr.
John Aragon (Damien, La Verne) DL Sr.
Dominic Arango-Serna
(Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) WR Sr.
Anakin Aupiu (St. Anthony, Long Beach) LB Sr.
Sione Aupiu (St. Anthony, Long Beach) RB Sr.
Daylen Austin (Long Beach Poly) DB Jr.
Tiger Bachmeier (Murrieta Valley, Murrieta) WR Jr.
Luke Baklenko (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) OL Jr.
Emmanuel Barajas (Yucaipa) RB/LB Sr.
Jared Barlow (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) LB Sr.
Dieter Barr (St. Pius X-St. Matthias, Downey) QB Jr.
Chase Barry (JSerra, SJ Capistrano) P Sr.
Dane Benedix (Capistrano Valley, Mission Viejo) DB/WR Jr.
Derek Boyd (Lawndale) RB Sr.
Kobe Boykin (Orange) WR/DB/KR Soph.
Louis Brown (Inglewood) WR Sr.
Nico Brown (Edison, Huntington Beach) WR Sr.
Beau Bruins (Ramona, Riverside) RB/DB Sr.
Braydon Brus (Glendora) LB Sr.
Sheldon Canley Jr. (Lompoc) RB Jr.
Jessie Carmona (Ganesha, Pomona) RB/LB Sr.
Takhari Carr (Dominguez, Compton) DB Sr.
Zane Carter (Buena, Ventura) RB/QB Jr.
Tyler Chaffee (Serrano, Phelan) QB/RB/DB Sr.
Floyd Chalk (Alemany, Mission Hills) RB Sr.
Isaiah Chisom (Chaminade, West Hills) LB Jr.
Cole Clemmer (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) OL Sr.
Chris Cooper (Beaumont) QB Soph.
Chalin Crawford (Quartz Hill) RB/QB Sr.
Troy Crozier (Serra, Gardena) WR Sr.
Jack D’Ambra (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta) OL Sr.
D’Angelo Davis (Serra, Gardena) DL/LB Jr.
Jayden Denegal (Apple Valley) QB Sr.
Deville Dickerson (Lompoc) DB/KR Sr.
Ty Dieffenbach (Agoura) QB Jr.
Isaiah Dunn (St. Paul, Santa Fe Springs) QB/RB/DB Sr.
Keenan Eck (Apple Valley) DE Sr.
Jake East (Agoura) WR/DB Sr.
Norian Espadron (Etiwanda) KR/WR Sr.
Freddy Fletcher (Cajon, San Bernardino) RB Sr.
Troy Fletcher (Edison, Huntington Beach) RB Sr.
Aiden Flintoff (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) PK Jr.
Mekhi Fox (Pasadena) WR Sr.
Delano Franklin (Bishop Amat, La Puente) WR Jr.
Marquis Gallegos (Chaminade, West Hills) DB Soph.
Gavin Galzote (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta) RB Sr.
Andrew Garcia (Downey) LB Sr.
Max Garrison (St. Francis, La Canada) RB/WR Sr.
Samuel Gbatu Jr. (Temecula Valley, Temecula) WR/DB Sr.
Jake George (La Serna, Whittier) WR Sr.
Elijah Gipson (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) DB Sr.
Mikey Gorbea (Diamond Bar) Sr.
Kevin Green Jr. (Alemany, Mission Hills) Sr.
Logan Gonzalez (Lutheran, Orange) QB Sr.
Jonathan Goodloe (Norwalk) RB Sr.
Qu’ron Gossett (Bishop Diego, Santa Barbara) RB Jr.
Austin Grbic (Edison, Huntington Beach) DL Sr.
Zach Gross (Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead) RB Sr.
Jonathan Guerrero (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia) RB Sr.
Tui Hala (Aquinas, San Bernardino) DL Sr.
Ben Hall (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) LB Sr.
Gavin Hambrick (Apple Valley) LB Sr.
Tomarion Harden (Inglewood) RB Sr.
Caden Harman (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) DL Sr.
Damian Henderson (Jordan, Long Beach) RB/WR/KR Jr.
Kashton Henjum (Newport Harbor, Newport Beach) WR/DB Jr.
Carlos Hernandez (Monrovia) WR Sr.
Kevonte Henry (Leuzinger, Lawndale) DL Sr.
Xavier Hicks (La Mirada) DB Jr.
Cody Hoffman (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) TE/DE Sr.
QB Logan Gonzalez led Orange Lutheran to the CIFSS D2 title plus 62 points in a hard-to-believe 71-62 loss to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego in the regional finals. Photo: Kirby Lee / The Sporting Image.
Kai Honda (Serra, Gardena) PK/RB Sr.
Nicholaus Iamaleava (Warren, Downey) QB Jr.
Blaze Iglesias (Orange) DL Sr.
Desmin Jackson (Lutheran, Orange) RB/WR Sr.
Jack Jacobs (St. Francis, La Canada) QB Jr.
Brandon Johnson (Highland, Palmdale) RB Jr.
Jason Jones (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) RB Sr.
Jacoby Kelly (Loyola, Los Angeles) WR Sr.
Shea Kuykendall (Long Beach Poly) QB Sr.
Trey Kukuk
(Capistrano Valley, Mission Viejo) QB/RB Jr.
Trevor Lagarde (North, Torrance) QB Jr.
Ezekiel Larry (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) DL Sr.
Jake Long (La Serna, Whittier) QB Jr.
Michael Luckhurst (Bishop Diego, Santa Barbara) PK/QB Sr.
Jaylen Lynch (Lutheran, Orange) WR Sr.
Lewis Madrigal (Northview, Covina) DL Sr.
Nate Maier (Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead) OL Sr.
Bruce Mamea (Tustin) OL Sr.
Roman Marchetti (Foothill, Tustin) LB Sr.
Justyn Martin (Inglewood) QB Sr.
Maika Matelau (Upland) OL Sr.
Rashad McKenzie (Alemany, Mission Hills) DL Sr.
Jelani McLaughlin (Citrus Valley, Redlands) DB Jr.
Camdan McWright (St. Genevieve, Panorama City) RB/LB Sr.
Venasio Mikaeli (J.W. North, Riverside) RB Sr.
Kalim Mikhail (Bonita, La Verne) LB Sr.
Zack Miller (Lutheran, Orange) OL Sr.
Elijah Mitchell (El Rancho, Pico Rivera) QB Sr.
Wendell Moe (Long Beach Poly) OL Sr.
Matthew Morrell (Cypress) WR/QB Jr.
Wyatt Mosier (Yorba Linda) LB Jr.
Devin Munoz (St. Paul, Santa Fe Springs) DB Jr.
Maalik Murphy (Serra, Gardena) QB Sr.
Kade Musser (Chino Hills) LB Jr.
Sean Na’a (Westlake, Westlake Village) OL Jr.
Nico Narez (Pacifica, Oxnard) LB Sr.
Gabriel Nunez (Beaumont) WR Sr.
Tobin O’Dell (Bishop Amat, La Puente) QB/RB Sr.
Austin Overn (Foothill, Tustin) WR Sr.
Tahj Owens (Loyola, Los Angeles) RB Sr.
Tyler Palm (Damien, La Verne) OL Sr.
Nick Pasquarella (Alta Loma) PK Sr.
Casey Pavlick (Mira Costa, Manhattan Beach) QB Jr.
Braden Pegan (San Juan Hills, SJ Capistrano) WR Sr.
Buddah Peleti (Oak Hills, Hesperia) LB Sr.
Ryan Pellum (Millikan, Long Beach) WR Soph.
A.J. Poyer (Vista Murrieta, Murrieta) LB Sr.
Ephesians Prysock (Alemany, Mission Hills) DB Sr.
Raymond Pulido (Apple Valley) OL Jr.
Aiden Ramos (Bishop Amat, La Puente) RB Jr.
Kamari Ramsey (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) DB Sr.
David Razor (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) QB Jr.
Richard Reed (Silverado, Victorville) LB/P Sr.
Abel Renteria (Santa Barbara) QB/DB Jr.
Dustin Reynolds (Apple Valley) LB/RB Jr.
Keith Reynolds (Adelanto) QB/RB Sr.
Cincere Rhaney (Serra, Gardena) RB Soph.
Noah Rodriguez (Monrovia) QB Sr.
Cole Robertson (San Clemente) LB Jr.
Jason Robinson (Long Beach Poly) WR Soph.
De’Jon Roney (Etiwanda) DL Sr.
Brandon Rose (Murrieta Valley, Murrieta) QB Sr.
Justus Ross-Simmons (Inglewood) WR/DB Sr.
Carson Russell (Buena, Ventura) LB Sr.
Devin Samples (Long Beach Poly) RB Jr.
Gavin Scott (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach) DL Sr.
Isaiah Sepand (Campbell Hall, North Hollywood) QB Jr.
Lamont Shamburger (Serra, Gardena) DB Sr.
Jordan Shaw (St. Pius X-St. Matthias, Downey) DB Jr.
E.J. Smith (Warren, Downey) LB Jr.
JoJo Solis (Aquinas, San Bernardino) RB Fr.
Ryan Staub (West Ranch, Valencia) QB Jr.
Jake Steele (Murrieta Valley, Murrieta) OL Sr.
Clint Stephens (Inglewood) DB Sr.
Lane Sterling (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village) DL Sr.
Cody Stordahl (Chaparral, Temecula) LB Sr.
Trevor Sturdivant (Serrano, Phelan) WR/DB Jr.
Jack Susnjar (Loyola, Los Angeles) OL Jr.
Junior Ta’ase (Aquinas, San Bernardino) OL Sr.
Kaden Taylor (Pasadena) QB/RB Sr.
Delon Thompson (St. Bonaventure, Ventura) RB Jr.
Jason Thompson (Harvard-Westlake, Studio City) WR/KR Sr.
Jaylen Thompson (Alemany, Mission Hills) RB Sr.
Travis Throckmorton (Simi Valley) QB Sr.
Luke Toki (Etiwanda) LB Sr.
Niuafe Tuihalamaka (Alemany, Mission Hills) LB Sr.
Ashley Tucker Jr. (Leuzinger, Lawndale) QB/RB Sr.
Aitor Urionbarrenechea (Alemany, Mission Hills) OL Jr.
Logologo Va’a (Bishop Diego, Santa Barbara) OL/DL Sr.
Peter Vanis (Loyola, Los Angeles) WR/KR Sr.
Jacob Viger (Saugus) LB Jr.
Cooper Wallace (Simi Valley) WR Sr.
Xavier Washington (Rancho Cucamonga) QB Sr.
Damonic Williams (Alemany, Mission Hills) DL Sr.
Dylan Williams (North, Torrance) DB Jr.
Jordan Williams (Etiwanda) WR/RB Sr.
Trey Williams (El Toro, Lake Forest) DB Sr.
Reese Winchester (Camarillo) WR/DB Jr.
Anthony Woods (Palmdale) RB Sr.
Michael Wooten (Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth) OL Sr.
Donovan Poe Yandall (Long Beach Poly) DL Sr.
Sam Yoon (Loyola, Los Angeles) OL Sr.
Tate Zimmerman (Irvine) LB Sr.
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
5 Comments
Cooper ( Beaumont) Broke Every Passing record at his School this season and Stayed Top 5 in the State all season long. Made First team CIF , All league and is only a Sophomore.
Does anyone know when CIF will be announcing other section ALL CIF?
Jeremiah Claiborne for Citrus Valley beat out Freddy in league 2ed behind Yucaipa RB
Jacob “Jake” Viger was a true presence on the field. Dominated on both sides of the ball. Opposing coaches nightmare.
I am so happy to see my son Norion Espadron of Etiwanda on the list! He has amazing speed. Over 15 TDs longest being 96 yards and even a pick at DB in which he only played twice the whole season.