All-State FB 2023: 1st Team Offense

It’s time to finally reveal the best of the best for the 45th annual Cal-Hi Sports All-State Football Teams. Go inside this post for writeups of the 11 players on offense plus a kicker and three of six multi-purpose players who have been selected First Team Overall. These players are being honored regardless of school size or year in school.

For this year’s First Team Defense plus three more multi-purpose players,
CLICK HERE.

For this year’s Second & Third Team (Gold Club post), CLICK HERE.

MORE OF OUR 45TH ANNUAL ALL-STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS:
Medium Schools | Small Schools | Juniors (Gold Club) | Sophomores (Gold Club) | Players of Year by region (NorCal/SoCal) | Players of Year by positions QB, RB, WR/TE, Line, LB, DB | FINAL All-State Nominations for CIFSS plus LA, SD & Central plus NorCal

If you are not a Gold Club member and want to see the already announced All-State Junior & Sophomore Teams plus many, new updated state record files and more exclusive content, please sign up today. Some of the most promising freshmen will be listed next week in separate feature (also Gold Club). You can now join for one-month rate of just $3.99. For subscription info, CLICK HERE.

FOR ARCHIVE OF ALL-TIME ALL-STATE TEAMS BACK TO THE 1970s, CLICK HERE.

To order a commemorative, official All-State Football patch for those who’ve been named to one of our all-state teams for the 2023 season, go to this link from our friends at Billy Tees, which has been the official merchandiser of the CIF for many years.

FIRST TEAM ALL-STATE OFFENSE (ELITE)

WR Trent Mosley (Santa Margarita, Rancho SM) 5-10, 170, Soph.
With older brother Emmett having to miss the season with an injury, it was time for Trent to step up despite being a sophomore and it’s safe to say that he did. He primarly played receiver, but also was used as a Wildcat formation quarterback. Despite being a sophomore, he was voted Trinity League MVP by the league’s coaches and yes that is the same league as Mater Dei and St. John Bosco. Mosley wound up with 81 receptions for 1,282 yards and 11 TDs. He also had 15 rushing touchdowns so he could have been multi-purpose all-state but fit best on first team as one of three receivers. Emmett will be at Stanford as a freshman this fall while Trent will be in his junior season at Santa Margarita.

WR Shane Rosenthal
(Newbury Park) 5-11, 175, Jr.
The honors season has been fun to follow for Shane. He is on a team, after all, that has one of the top sophomore QBs in the nation with Brady Smigiel and while Smigiel passed for 4,000 yards there’s no question that Rosenthal was the team’s No. 1 honors candidate. He just had to be after a record-breaking season in helping the Panthers reach the CIF Southern Section D5 championship game. Rosenthal led the state with 122 catches for 1,947 yards (also led the state) and 21 TD catches. He set a new Ventura County receiving yards record. On top of that, Shane led the state with 12 interceptions on the defensive side of the ball. He was the L.A. Daily News Player of the Year and the Ventura County Defensive Player of the Year (Brady Smigiel was named on offense). For all-state, Rosenthal checked in as someone who almost was State Junior of the Year and it also was decided to list him on offense so he also could be selected as the State WR/End of the Year.

WR Jordan Ross (Warren, Downey) 5-11, 180, Sr.
One of the huge reasons that Warren advanced through the CIFSS D3 playoffs to the title game (just the second CIFSS title game appearance in school history) was the monster senior season that Ross had. He led the state in reported touchdown catches with 31 and was second behind Newbury Park junior Shane Rosenthal for receiving yards with 1,633. It’s not just the stats, but Jordan also has been among the highly-ranked WR recruits in the state since his sophomore year. He had 12 offers, including those from Notre Dame and Washington, but settled on signing with Colorado State.

OL Brandon Baker (Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-5, 290, Sr.
He and teammate DeAndre Carter have been two of the most impressive linemen in the nation from the Class of 2024 since they were sophomores. Brandon was on the first team all-state as a junior. Not only does he follow that up as a senior, but is adding an additional selection in our all-time all-state files by being the State Lineman of the Year. The last two from Mater Dei have been Myles Murao for 2019 and Tommy Brown for 2017. You have to go back to Brad Williams for 1995 and Larry Williams for 1980 for the only other two on the all-time list since 1960. Baker hopes to continue on a path to the NFL at the University of Texas.

OL DeAndre Carter
(Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-5, 335, Sr.
It was hard to miss DeAndre even as a freshman starter for the Monarchs during that spring pandemic season. He’s gone on to become one of the best offensive linemen in school history along with teammate Brandon Baker. While Baker was on first team all-state last year, Carter was on second and now of course they’re both first team. Carter is more of a true big, huge anchor tackle while Baker has moved around more. Texas (where Baker is at) offered Carter as well, but the two will now be on different player development paths since DeAndre has signed with Auburn.

OL Paki Finau
(Oak Hills, Hesperia) 6-5, 265, Sr.
After landing on first team juniors for all-state last season, Finau kept up his outstanding play as a senior with multiple local and All-CIFSS honors. He therefore gets to make the jump to first overall. Oak Hills also has had back-to-back seasons of 10-2 and 11-1 and he’s been a big part of that. Finau signed with the University of Washington in December, but entered the transfer portal after head coach Kalen DeBoer took the Alabama job. Some others headed to Washington have decided to stay as we’re writing this. There’s nothing official yet from Paki.

OL Mana Itete (Central Catholic, Modesto) 6-4, 290, Sr.
The upside for this lineman is off the charts. He’s only been playing football full time for a little over one year and many of us who follow basketball will never forget him scoring 10 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a CIF Open Division state final in which Modesto Christian nearly upset favored Corona Centennial. Manasse switched schools for his senior season to a school more known for football and he continued to develop as an offensive lineman. He’s already been named to several All-NorCal and All-Sac-Joaquin Section teams. Itete will play next at Florida State and he had offers from everywhere.

OL Mark Schroller (Mission Viejo) 6-6, 290, Sr.
Prior to the overall all-state squads being announced, the CIF D1-AA state champions from Mission Viejo have had players on the sophomore all-state first team and junior all-state first team. We didn’t place any of them on the overall teams, but the Diablos did get two first teamers regardless. Schroller is one of them along with kicker/punter Michael Salgado-Medina. He already has been All-Orange County first team and all-state from other sources. Mark is the son of former UCLA lineman Karl Schroller and he also will be headed to Westwood for college football.

QB Elijah Brown
(Mater Dei, Santa Ana) 6-1, 195, Sr.
The 2023 season winner of Mr. Football for the state (already announced) goes on to this year’s top 11 first team on offense and also has officially been added as the QB of the Year. Brown didn’t add many rushing years to the 2,950 yards passing and 39 TDs he had as Mater Dei’s quarterback. He not only helped the Monarchs win the CIF Open Division state title, but also made 3-for-4 for his four-year career in terms of No. 1 in the state finishes. For his career, Elijah also passed for 9,289 yards and 115 touchdowns (44 games) and he had a remarkable 70.5 career completion percentage.

RB Bryson Donelson (Cental Valley Christian, Visalia) 6-0, 205, Sr.
There’s more big news attached to Bryson’s selection as one of two running backs on this year’s first team offense. He already was named as State Medium Schools Player of the Year, but now he can add landing on our list of NorCal Players of the Year that goes back to 1950. Yes, this is because we consider the CIF Central Section part of the north (always have, always will). Donelson is the first from the section to be the NorCal POY since QB/RB/DB Asauni Rufus of Bakersfield in 2013. The more fun one to mention is that he’s the first NorCal POY from Visalia since the legendary lineman Don Mosebar of Mt. Whitney in 1978. In leading CVC to the CIF D2-A state title, the Fresno State-bound Donelson led the state with 3,297 yards rushing and led in scoring with 58 touchdowns and 366 points.

RB Cornell Hatcher (Centennial, Corona) 5-11, 205, Sr.
Following a junior season when he wasn’t always the No. 1 option for carries in the Huskies’ offense, Hatcher ran like a mad man in 2023. Despite many games in which back ups played for much of the second half, Cornell rampaged for 2,257 yards rushing in 12 games. He also scored 42 touchdowns. He had 221 yards in the team’s 43-42 loss to St. John Bosco in the CIFSS D1 semifinals, the most yards the Braves have given up since head coach Jason Negro joined the school in 2010. Hatcher already has been named L.A. Times Back of the Year and Back of the Year by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. His recruiting options also picked up as the season rolled along and he eventually signed with Oregon State.

PK Trey Coleman (Del Norte, San Diego) 6-2, 190, Sr.
There was a junior in this spot on last year’s all-state first team, but sometimes there are players that just do too much and can climb higher. At least that’s true for one season’s worth of outings. Coleman is that player as the place kicker for 2023. He connected on a state-leading 17 field goals for a team that won the CIF San Diego Section D2 championship. Coleman also had a longest field goal of 54 yards. He will play next at the University of Utah.

FIRST TEAM
ALL-STATE MULTI-PURPOSE (ELITE)

RB/WR/LB Sire Gaines
(Orange Vista, Perris) 6-0, 195, Sr.
With Shane Rosenthal of Newbury Park on first team overall, it only makes sense that the leader of the Orange Vista team that beat Newbury Park in the CIFSS D5 championship also is on first team overall. And besides, Gaines also has the added distinction of being the Riverside Press-Enterprise IE Varsity Player of the Year (which is the same coverage area as Corona Centennial and many other top programs). Sire was the epitome of multi-purpose. This season, he had 2,036 yards from scrimmage with 31 touchdowns. He also had nearly 60 tackles on defense. For his career with the Coyotes, Gaines had 3,050 rushing yards, 1,928 receiving yards and 70 touchdowns. Defense does seem to be more for his future, however, and that will be starting next season at Boise State.

QB/RB Ryder Lyons (Folsom) 6-4, 205, Soph.
Santa Margarita’s Trent Mosley couldn’t be the only sophomore on first team overall. The State Sophomore of the Year, Ryder Lyons, also had to be on first team and it wasn’t difficult including him. In addition to that honor, he also was the Sacramento Bee All-Metro Player of the Year and he was regarded as one of the top three NorCal Player of the Year candidates on our board. Lyons led the Bulldogs to the CIF D1-A state championship with 3,578 yards passing and 38 TDs. He also had 929 yards rushing with 23 rushing TDs. Ole Miss, Georgia and Florida State are the three most recent offers he’s tweeted about. USC head coach Lincoln Riley also has visited the school. USC also is the program that older brother Walker (a tight end) signed with, but he is currently serving his two-year Mormon mission.

RB/LB Jabari Mann (Serra, San Mateo) 6-0, 200, Sr.
The San Jose State-bound Mann doesn’t have a plethora of statistical reasons to get him on first team overall, but there are lots of honors already doled out in his direction. The list includes San Mateo County Player of the Year by both the San Francisco Chronicle and Bay Area News Group plus NorCal Defensive Player of the Year by SportStars Magazine. He’s also been Player of the Year two times in a row in the West Catholic Athletic League, perhaps the premier league in Northern California. Mann was the team’s QB in Wildcat formation, usually took a few carries every game on offense and was a defensive leader. We count the CIF Central Section as Northern California so Jabari wouldn’t be our NorCal Player of the Year, but if we didn’t he’d be right up there and perhaps higher than either Charles Williams, Ryder Lyons and anyone else.

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