Running back J.R. Hardy had a huge outing in a victory over Terra Nova of Pacifica that made Sacred Heart Prep fans want to party. Photo: Courtesy of school.
Presented by LE BOULANGER bakery, this is the latest in a new feature highlighting the most outstanding players from the South Bay/Peninsula region of the CIF Central Coast Section. This week’s three honorees are J.R. Hardy from Sacred Heart Prep of Atherton, Devaun Crittle from Homestead of Cupertino and Walker Sedgwick of Los Gatos. CLICK HERE for details on how South Bay/Peninsula football fans can win 2 free San Francisco 49ers tickets.
For details on San Francisco 49ers ticket giveaway at Levi’s Stadium, CLICK HERE
Le Boulanger South Bay/Peninsula
Offensive Player of the Week
J.R. Hardy (Sacred Heart Prep, Atherton) Sr.
With Washington-bound star Ben Burr-Kirven sidelined the first five weeks, there have been several players stepping it up to fill the void and get the Gators to 5-0 entering their game last week to open Peninsula Athletic League – Bay Division play. It then became Hardy’s turn despite Burr-Kirven returning to supposedly only play defense.
Prior to last week, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior had a season best 59 yards on seven carries with one touchdown. This past week, however, he responded with a career game after he rushed for 194 yards on 19 carries with two TDs in an important 49-28 victory over league rival Terra Nova of Pacifica.
Hardy got a little help. When SHP head coach Pete Lavorato thought the game was too close after a 28-point lead was cut to seven in the third quarter, he inserted Burr-Kirven on offense and on only four carries he had 143 yards and two touchdowns. Led by Hardy and Burr-Kirven, the Gators piled up 529 yards on the ground.
For details on S.F. 49ers ticket giveaway for Levi’s Stadium, CLICK HERE
Le Boulanger South Bay/Peninsula
Defensive Player of the Week
Devaun Crittle (Homestead, Cupertino) Jr.
This 6-foot-1, 200-pound linebacker had another stalwart game on defense in a 54-14 win over San Jose Lynbrook that gets the team to 4-2 overall and 2-0 in the El Camino League. Crittle had two interceptions and returned one for a 22-yard touchdown, and also batted down a pass. Crittle also corralled a fumble and returned it 12 yards to paydirt. Of his four tackles, one was a sack.
The four tackles was actually a season low for Crittle with a high water mark being the 10 tackles with two sacks he had in a season-opening win over San Jose Evergreen Valley.
LeBoulanger South Bay/Peninsula
Special Teams Player of the Week
Walker Sedgwick (Los Gatos) Sr.
For the first time in the history of this new feature, a Los Gatos player from the Bay Area No. 8 ranked Cats gets into the mix by receiving one of the weekly honors. So far in a 5-1 season (2-0 De Anza League) the senior kicker, who is one of the top kickers in the CCS, has only failed to split the uprights once and that was on a long field goal attempt in an easy win over Hollister San Benito.
Last week, he was 9-for-9 on PATs for the second-straight week in a 63-7 win over Santa Clara that was preceded by a 63-13 win over Cupertino Monta Vista. We don’t want to put the kibosh on Sedgwick for this week’s game against Palo Alto but we do want to point out that with the consecutive 9-for-9 performances on PATs he’s now 34-of-34 this season.
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
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
