Preseason All-San Gabriel Valley

This is the 13th and final preseason all-section or all-area football team we have compiled and covers schools from the Pasadena Star-News and San Gabriel Valley Tribune coverage areas plus additional private schools in L.A. County.

Note: This squad isn’t quite the same as the one recently done by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. It’s a combination of teams done by that newspaper plus the Pasadena Star-News with players from Loyola, Cathedral and Salesian also considered. Players from St. Francis (La Canada) already were chosen for our San Fernando Valley team since St. Francis was in a league last season with many of those schools.

Attention all San Gabriel Valley football fans: We have just posted the most complete, up-to-date all-time state football team records ever compiled. It is for Gold Club members only. This is the best time of the year to sign up for a one-year subscription so you can check out everything we do. To sign up, CLICK HERE.

MORE PRESEASON HONORS SQUADS: CIFSS/Inland Empire | Central Section | L.A. City Section | Central Coast Section | San Diego Section | Northern Section | |CIFSS/San Fernando Valley | CIFSS/South Bay & Long Beach | CIFNCS/Redwood Empire | CIFNCS/East Bay (plus Oakland) | CIFSS/SLO-Ventura-Santa Barbara | Sac-Joaquin Section

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

WR Jeremy Kelly (Salesian, Los Angeles) 6-1, 170, Sr.
With offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Washington and others, he led the Mustangs in receptions last season as he caught 40 passes for 842 yards and four touchdowns. Also playing some on defense during their 12-2 season, he had 30 tackles and two interceptions.

WR Octavius Spencer (Monrovia) 6-1, 170, Sr.
He’s been a sensation all through the spring and summer and tested well at the L.A. Nike events. Instead of putting a third running back on this team, we went with Spencer as a third receiver.

WR Tyler Vaughns (Bishop Amat, La Puente) 6-2, 175, Jr.
Ranked at No. 14 in our Cal-Hi Sports Class of ’16 Hot 100 player rankings he has offers from Colorado State, UCLA and USC. He caught 27 passes for 395 yards and four touchdowns for the Lancers last season. In its season preview, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune called Vaughns one of Amat’s two biggest impact players along with Trevon Sidney.

OL Andrew Lopez (Bishop Amat, La Puente) 6-2, 235, Sr.
Blocking up front for graduated QB Koa Haynes, Lopez earned a second team selection on the Tribune All-Area team. He is one of several key returners for the Lancers, who along with some young talent look to improve on last year’s 6-4 record.

OL Ben Northup (Glendora) 6-6, 300, Sr.
Named to the All-Baseline League postseason team last year, Northup is not easy to miss when he’s blocking for QB Matt Fink. With those two back and others, the Tartans look the favorite in the Baseline League this season.

OL David Tolmachoff (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights) 6-1, 230, Sr.
A versatile athlete who also plays basketball and will be a defensive end for the Conquerors, Tolmachoff earned All-CIFSS Southeast Division honors last season and also has been preseason All-SGV by the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

OL Ve’ehala Tuihalamaka (Cathedral, Los Angeles) 6-5, 315, Sr.
We have to put Cathedral, Loyola and Salesian in one of our preseason teams and this one makes the most sense. Tuihalamaka was a standout last season for the Phantoms and has offers from Miami, Washington State and Kansas.

OL Angel Villanueva (Duarte) 6-4, 300, Sr.
Northern Arizona and UTEP are among those that have offered this big lineman, who had a nice summer at camps and could be a force for the Falcons.

QB Eli Snyder (Maranatha, Sierra Madre) 5-10, 175, Sr.
We wanted to make an attempt to get Snyder along with QBs Matt Fink, Damion Wright and Tyler Peterson all onto this team and did it because the other three could be multi-purposed. Snyder doesn’t have the size to attract college scouts, but is one of the top returning QBs in the state. He ranked among the state leaders with 3,187 yards and 22 TDs passing last season. On a side note, he is the son of movie director Zack Snyder, whose credits include Man of Steel and 300.

RB Zion Echols (Charter Oak, West Covina) 5-10, 175, Jr.
Veteran coach Lou Farrar already was raving about Echols at the beginning of last season and he does tend to know what he’s talking about. Echols was on the all-state sophomore team and has only gotten better since the end of last season. He should be a major college prospect next year.

RB Jose Moreno (Mountain View, El Monte) 5-9, 175, Sr.
Choosing the other RB spot along with Echols was a task. Moreno ended up as the choice over two others with similar totals from last year. He rushed for 207 and 232 yards in his last two games from 2013 and finished with 1,697 yards with 17 touchdowns.

PK Caleb Watkins (Glendora) 6-0, 170, Jr.
As a sophomore last season, Watkins made 23 extra points and 11 field goals for the Tartans.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

DL David Jimenez (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights) 6-2, 280, Sr.
Describing himself as a defensive tackle who plays the three technique, Jimenez was named to the All-CIFSS Southeast Division team after a season that included 65 tackles and 8.5 sacks.

DL Christian Rector (Loyola, Los Angeles) 6-5, 240, Sr.
He also plays tight end for the Cubs and is probably the school’s top senior honors candidate for this season. Rector received All-Serra League recognition last year and has more than 15 college offers.

DL Robert Sanchez (Arroyo, El Monte) 6-1, 285, Sr.
In a story by MidValleySports.com on this talented defensive standout, Arroyo head coach Jim Singiser said, “Sanchez is not only the best lineman on the team, he might be the best lineman in the valley.” He was in on 102 tackles to go with nine sacks last season.

LB Anthony Camargo (Bishop Amat, La Puente) 6-3, 225, Sr.
Listed just yesterday as one of the top 15 linebacker prospects in the state, Camargo had 72 tackles for the Lancers last season and has offers from Washington, Boise State, Fresno State and others. He also will be a key running back this year.

LB Josiah Erickson (San Dimas) 6-1, 210, Jr.
Despite being just a sophomore, he had a huge season for the Saints last year with 140 total tackles and four sacks. He was named all-area first team by the SGV Tribune and was all-state sophomore by Cal-Hi Sports.

LB Kyahva Tezino (Salesian, Los Angeles) 6-1, 200, Sr.
Three-year standout had 122 tackles and four interceptions last season en route to all-state underclass honors. Tezino also is one of the state’s top uncommitted prospects with offers from the Pac-12 and Big Ten.

DB David Long (Loyola, Los Angeles) 6-1, 175, Jr.
Major colleges such as UCLA, Miami (Fla.), Washington and Arizona State have already offered Long. He also will play wide receiver for the Cubs.

DB Taeon Mason (Muir, Pasadena) 6-1, 180, Sr.
Committed to USC, he was ranked 35th in our Cal-Hi Sports Class of ’15 Hot 100 player rankings. He plays on both sides of the ball for the Mustangs and some colleges want him for offense as well as defense but it’s on defense as a shutdown corner that he shines the most.

DB Dexter Myers (Maranatha, Sierra Madre) 6-0, 175, Jr.
Named to the All-Area first team by the Pasadena Star-News and All-CIFSS Northwest Division, Myers had a huge sophomore season. He had 50 tackles and six interceptions for the Minutemen.

DB Trevon Sidney (Bishop Amat, La Puente) 5-11, 170, Jr.
A no brainer pick for this team, Sidney is quite simply one of the top junior DBs in the nation. He had eight interceptions for the Lancers last season and probably will be used in a myriad of other ways to highlight his skills this season.

DB Shawn Wilson (Pomona) 6-2, 180, Sr.
Another versatile talent who also plays receiver, Wilson is a returning All-Inland Valley choice. He has committed to Oregon State but has indicated through his coach that he will continue to take visits. He looks like he’ll be a Pac-12 recruit for sure, however.

P Chris Rabine (La Salle, Pasadena) 6-2, 180, Sr.
In addition to netting 37.5 yards per punt last season, Rabine also put most of his kickoffs into the end zone.

FIRST TEAM MULTI-PURPOSE

WR/DB Miles Bryant (Loyola, Los Angeles) 5-9, 170, Jr.
Like teammate David Long, he’ll be used in different ways on offense to get the ball in his hands this season. Bryant was chosen to our all-state sophomore team last year and has offers from D1 colleges.

QB/P Matt Fink (Glendora) 6-3, 180, Jr.
He’s got the look of being a QB that can play at the next level. Fink passed for 1,449 yards and 12 TDs last season and also averaged 36 yards as a punter. The punting allows us the choose him for this team on multi-purpose.

DB/ATH Antonio Hull (Diamond Bar) 5-10, 180, Sr.
His transfer from West Covina has been controversial since it was challenged by the Bulldogs. The latest ruling is that Hull will have to sit the first five weeks of the season. Still, there’s no doubt that he’s an electric talent. He was an all-state sophomore two years ago at West Covina.

QB/ATH Darreon Lockett (Pomona) 5-10, 175, Jr.
Despite being an underclassman last season, he was a headache for opposing teams as he passed for 1,171 yards and 19 touchdowns while rushing for 995 yards and seven more touchdowns. Named the All Valle Vista League MVP, Lockett also played defense and returned kicks.

QB/RB Tyler Peterson (Diamond Bar) 6-2, 180, Sr.
A starter since his sophomore year, he passed for 1,969 yards and 18 touchdowns while rushing for seven touchdowns last season. With over 4,000 career passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns over the last two seasons, he was named to the Hacienda League second team last year.

QB/RB Damion Wright (Salesian, Los Angeles) 6-3, 190, Sr.
Transferring for his senior season after two years at Jurupa Hills of Fontana, Wright passed for 2,512 yards and 22 touchdowns while rushing for 1,000 yards and 18 more touchdowns. Committed to Boise State, he was No. 66 in our Cal-Hi Sports Class of ’15 Hot 100 player rankings.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE, DEFENSE & MULTI-PURPOSE
(10 who almost made it)

RB/DB David Cooper (Loyola, Los Angeles) Sr.
QB Brian Gadsby (Crescenta Valley, La Crescenta) Sr.
LB Zach Lewallen (Glendora) Sr.
RB Tenny McFarlane (San Marino) Sr.
RB Isaac Mendibles (Montebello) Jr.
LB Michael Sahagun (Rosemead) Sr.
RB Justin Torres (Sierra Vista, Baldwin Park) Sr.
OL Charles Townsend (Muir, Pasadena) Sr.
DL Chris Walton (Monrovia) Sr.
LB Christian Wiley (Bishop Amat, La Puente) 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