State Football Players of the Week

Brodie Stump of San Diego Kearny (left) has been one of the state’s top stat star quarterbacks for the past two seasons. At right, Miramonte’s Carson Blair warms up before a game. Photos: Fox5SanDiego & Hudl.com.

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Notes: We will continue to have flexibility to one of the honorees by calling it Multi-Purpose/Special Teams. Multi-Purpose is already a category for All State honors. For these honors, we also consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com.

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week

Carson Blair (Miramonte, Orinda) Jr.

To find the Northen California Offensive Player of the Week, we head east from Oakland on Highway 24 and through the Caldecott Tunnel where we turn right just after the tunnel on other side of the Oakland Hills at Moraga Way in Orinda where we wind our way up to the top of those hills and arrive at Miramonte.

Miramonte has had a quality program for many years and has had some great quarterbacks going back to former award-winning University of Miami signal-caller and current Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.

With realignment, Miramonte was in Division 5 last year based on the CIF North Coast Section point system but despite a 3-3 record in the tough Diablo Athletic League – Foothill Division, the Matadors came alive in the playoffs and with Blair at the helm (at the time a 6-foot, 190-pound sophomore), Miramonte won the NCS D5 championship before bowing out to Pleasant Valley of Chico in the CIF NorCal playoffs.

Last season, Blair passed for a respectable 1,892 yards and 24 TDs with nine interceptions, but he didn’t have a game where he passed for 300 yards. However, after a 3-1 start this season, including a 52-7 shellacking of visiting Benicia last week, he’s gone over 300 yards twice, including last week’s performance that completes an excellent body of work to start the season and earns him a statewide honor to go with local accolades.

In the win over Benicia, Blair blasted the visitors for 334 yards passing on 19-of-30 with four TDs and no interceptions. Carson also had a TD rushing.

His other 300-yard performance came three weeks ago in a win over Martinez Alhambra when he had the exact same 334 yards passing with five TDs and one interception.

So far this season, Blair had passed for 1,113 yards and 14 TDs with five interceptions. He’s also rushed for 177 yards and five more scores.

Ayden Hernandez has gotten out to a great start this season for the Clovis High defense. Photo: Clovis HS Athletics / MaxPreps.com.

Ayden Hernandez (Clovis) Sr.

To find this week’s Northern California Defensive Player of the Week, we head to “the Valley” as the locals like to call the CIF Central Section, and whenever we visit the Valley we remind readers that for all players of the week features in all sports, boys and girls, the Central Section is considered Northern California.

This week’s stop in the valley is just northeast of Fresno in Clovis and it’s at Clovis High where we find Hernandez, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound senior safety who has had a big hand in a 5-0 start for the Cougars that sees them up to No. 30 in the most recent Cal-Hi Sports State TOP 50 rankings.

Last week, in a 53-0 blanking of Bullard of Fresno, and although it falls one pick six of making the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book Most Pass Interception TDs (Game) list, Hernandez set a school record by taking two interceptions to the house. He also recorded four tackles and batted down a pass.

Two weeks ago, in a 41-14 win over a decent Salinas team, Hernandez had nine tackles, he blocked a punt and two batted passes.

Going into a showdown with Cal-Hi Sports No. 50 and cross-town archrival Buchanan of Clovis, which will be in two weeks after both teams have byes this week, Hernandez has four interceptions.

In a bit of a twist, Hernandez is the second straight weekly award winner from the Central Section to set a school record with multiple TDs in a game with neither coming on offense. Last week’s Multi-Purpose/Special Teams honoree, Robert Garcia Jr. of Delano, set a school record for returning two punts for touchdowns, plus he scooped a punt his own team blocked and took it to the house for a third special teams score.

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Multi-Purpose/Special Teams Player of the Week

Trevor Sutton (Sierra, Manteca) Sr.

Our destination in the search for the Northern California Multi-Purpose/Special Teams Player of the Week has us around halfway between Stockton and Modesto where Highway 120 runs between I-5 and Highway 99 in Manteca.

Last year we expanded what had been a Special Teams Player of the Week to include Multi-Purpose since quite often we had difficulties finding an honoree from just the kicking game, but this week’s award winner is a kicker, and while there is no such thing as perfection in any human endeavor, this week’s honoree from Sierra High has come pretty close so far this season, and last week was a perfect, pardon the pun, example.

Sutton wasn’t the leading scorer for Sierra last week in a 44-32 victory last week over crosstown rival East Union, that honor went to teammate senior teammate Brock Felt, who himself was worthy of mention after rushing for 328 tards and four TDs on a whopping 36 carries, but Sutton had the equivalent of two TDs with his foot after registering 14 points.

Sutton was 5-for-5 on PATs and 3-for-3 on field goals with a longest of 27 yards.

Trevor also plays wide receiver and he had two receptions for five yards.

So far this season for the 4-1 Timberwolves and heading into a matchup on the road at Mountain House, Sutton hasn’t missed yet with his foot on field goals and is 6-for-6 with a longest of 34 yards out. He has missed two PATs but we don’t know if those were bad snaps. Trevor is still a very respectable 20-for-22 on points after.

Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week

Brodie Stump (Kearney, San Diego) Sr.

The far south and the CIF San Diego Section is where we find this week’s Southern California Offensive Player of the Week and it’s at Kearny High where this week’s record setting Komets’ quarterback plies his trade.

Yes, it was a 60-0 blowout of crosstown O’Farrell Charter, but Stump certainly had the Falcons’ defense stumped after going 22-of-37 passing for a whopping 428 yards and nine TDs, plus he was the only one to run the ball and he rushed for 24 yards.

Now, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior, who sports a 4.49 GPA, adds a statewide honor to some local awards for last week’s performance, including something called the “Gunslinger of the Week” award from San Diego Football.

While the 428 yards passing falls short of making the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book Most Yards (Game) list for passing, the nine TDs doesn’t miss and earns Brody a spot tied for third all time on the Most Touchdown Passes (Game) list. It also sets a new San Diego Section record, breaking the mark of eight TD passes in a game set in 2003 by Jake Santos of San Diego St. Augustine.

This is not the first time this season Stump has pumped out a 400-yard passing performance. In a 50-41 loss to Santa Rosa Academy of Menifee, Brodie was even closer to the 470-yard threshold it takes to make the record book after he passed for 453 yards in the loss.

So far this season for the 3-2 Komets and heading into a matchup with San Diego Southwest this week, Stump has passed for 1,638 yards and 23 TDs with eight interceptions. He’s also rushed for 124 yards and a score.

Last season, Brodie passed for 3,197 yards and 32 TDs with seven interceptions. In a win over San Diego Canyon Hills, Stump also came as close as you can to making the record book when he passed for 469 yards. Stump did make it into the state record lists last season when he went 39-of-62 in one game and 41-of-53 in another. None are records but the two completion totals and the 62 attempts are high in those categories.

So far in his 4-year varsity career Stump has passed for 7,474 yards and 82 TDs and 29 interceptions. On those two totals Stump doesn’t miss. With the 428 yards passing Brody gets on the Most Yards (Career) list for passing where the threshold is currently 7,507 yards, and the record nine TD passes gets him over the 79 TD passes required to make the Most Touchdown Passes (Career) list.

If Stump continues to pump out big numbers for the remainder of his senior season, he could make some significant movement upward on both of those record book lists.

Cole Hidalgo is a kicker, receiver and defensive back who contributes a lot in all three phases for Northwood of Irvine. Photo: Fernando M. Donado / For OC Sports Zone.

Cole Hidalgo (Northwood, Irvine) Sr.

Orange County and northeast Irvine on Portola Parkway just east of the 261 Toll Road is our destination in search of the Southern California Multi-Purpose/Special Teams Player of the Week, and it’s at Northwood High that we find our honoree.

Last week, in a 20-9 victory over crosstown rival and host Portola, Hidalgo, a 6-foot-1, 182-pound senior kicker, wide receiver and defensive back, had an impact in all three areas and wins this week’s honors as a truly Multi-Purpose/Special Teams star.

On special teams, Hidalgo booted home two field goals, and on defense he had a pick six, and on offense he had a pass reception for a touchdown.

We’re not sure if he also booted the two PATs after he scored both Northwood TDs, but if he did Cole had the whole enchilada with respects to the point total for the Timberwolves.

In an earlier 24-0 shutout of Garden Grove Pacifica, Hidalgo had an interception on defense, a leaping catch caught beautifully in a huge photo in the Orange County Register and he kicked a field goal.

Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week

Angel Barrios (Ramona, Riverside) Sr.

For this trip, we head out the 91 Freeway all the way to Riverside where we land a short distance north of the expressway and just up the street from Cal Baptist University on Magnolia Avenue at Ramona High.

It’s there where we find this week’s Southern California Defensive Player of the Week, and it’s a senior outside linebacker who’s helped lead Ramona to a 5-0 start this season that continues an 11-game winning streak, the longest active winning streak in the state. The Rams won the CIF D5-AA state title last season and are one of just four state winners from last season who have not yet lost this season (Mater Dei, Mission Viejo and Ferndale are the other three).

In a 21-17 victory last week over crosstown rival Poly and in a game Rams trailed 17-14 with under a minute left to play, and with the streak in jeopardy, Ramona came back to score on a TD pass from senior quarterback Kody Shiner in the final moments and Barrios and his teammates on defense were able to close things out.

Some of the Ramona fans might have thought Angel was heaven sent after the 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior linebacker, who is also a midfielder on the Ramona soccer team, was one of two Rams defenders to register double-digit tackles after he finished with 14 tackles with one for a loss.

A shoutout also goes to junior linebacker/wide receiver Troy Long, who had 11 tackles and 106 yards receiving with on TD in the victory vs Poly.

So far this season and heading into a showdown with visiting crosstown La Sierra, Barrios has been in double-digits for tackles in all five games and in fact last week was not his high water mark. That came three weeks ago when he registered 17 tackles in a win over Riverside Hillcrest.

All told, Barrios has 68 reported total tackles with seven for losses including a sack, plus he has a forced fumble. The 68 tackles are tied for the No. 5 reported mark in the state and No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section.

Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend