Senior running back Jalon Luque (right) of Rancho Cotate has been on a tear in the last few weeks. He is standing next to wide receiver and teammate, senior Thomas Sory. Rancho Cotate plays Clayton Valley in NCS D2 final on Friday.
We collect these highlights in support of the Cal-Hi Sports state record book, which is the exclusive home for state records and has been published seven times since 1980.
These highlights are for games played from the last two weeks Nov. 15-17 and Nov. 22-24.
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FOOTBALL
Cruise Adams & Reed Robertson (Garces, Bakersfield)
Adams, a senior quarterback, had one his finest passing games as he passed for 300 yards (completing 14 of 19) and four touchdowns against Kingsburg when Garces beat Kingsburg 73-14 two weeks ago. Robertson, a senior, tied a school record by making all 10 PATs and also kicked a field goal for 13 kicking points and another school record. In Garces’ big win last week against Sunnyside of Fresno, Adams had 287 yards passing and five more scores.
Grif Amies (Corona del Mar, Newport Beach)
With one more field goal, Amies will tie the state record of 22 field goals for a season that was set in 1994 by Chris Sailer from Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks. He made two in last week’s 25-0 win against Woodbridge of Irvine in the CIFSS Southern Division semifinals. Amies, who has made at least one field goal in every game this season except two and made four in one game, will be kicking in Saturday’s title matchup against Garden Grove at Anaheim Stadium.
Aaron Baltazar (Eastlake, Chula Vista)
The power-packed senior surged for 267 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored four touchdowns to lead his team past Grossmont of La Mesa 59-37 in the CIF San Diego Section Division I semifinals. Baltazar also had 197 yards rushing the week before in the quarterfinals.
Tyler Baty & Patrick Laird (Mission Prep, San Luis Obispo)
Making the most of his eight completions, Baty passed for 186 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a score while Laird carried the ball 12 times for 198 yards and two touchdowns during a 54-26 win over Salesian of Los Angeles in the CIFSS Northeast Division semifinals. For his career, Baty now has 90 TD passes and will gain entry into the state record book. Laird also caught a touchdown pass while senior Joey Hall caught four passes for 101 yards and three touchdowns.
Keilan Benjamin, Jalen Harvey, Derik Calhoun & Johnny Tolliver (El Cerrito)
You’re going to be hearing a lot about this set of juniors next season but this one is still going after they led the Gauchos to a 40-20 semifinal victory over Sebastopol Analy to propel the team into the NCS Division III title game against Marin Catholic. Quarterback Benjamin was 23 of 28 for 217 yards and three TDs, plus he ran for two more scores. His favorite target, Harvey, caught 11 of the passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Calhoun and Tolliver, a 6-foot-1, 275-pound nose guard, each had two sacks and a fumble recovery.
Jake Browning (Folsom)
Spreading the ball across the field to eight different receivers, the sophomore phenom completed 27 of his 43 pass attempts for 376 yards and five touchdowns without an interception in a 49-13 win over defending section champion Vacaville in the CIFSJS Division II quarterfinals. Browning added 240 yards and three TD passes last week against Buhach Colony and with 58 TDs has broken the state sophomore record of 57 TD passes set in 2004 by Jimmy Clausen when he played at Oaks Christian. There’s a good chance that Browning will get the state record for TDs of 63 set in 1999 by Robert De La Cruz of L.A. Cathedral. He also has a whopping 4,763 yards and could become the state’s second 5,000-yard passer this weekend. Folsom’s Tyler Trosin was the first last year.
Darren Carrington (Horizon, San Diego)
In his final game for the Panthers, the University of Oregon commit played quarterback (he’ll be a receiver for the Ducks) and passed for 406 yards and one touchdown. It wasn’t enough in a 49-35 loss last week to Santa Fe Christian of Solana Beach in the CIFSDS D5 playoffs but shows how versatile Carrington can be. He also scored four times on rushing plays. Darren’s father, of course, was a longtime player in the NFL and his little sister, freshman DiJonae Carrington, might be the best freshman girls basketball player in the nation.
Pierre Cormier (Madison, San Diego)
The senior running back who is headed to Arizona scored five touchdowns when Madison topped Mt. Miguel of Spring Valley 46-38 in the CIF SDS D4 playoffs on Nov. 17. Cormier also rushed for 252 yards on 19 carries. His TDs included jaunts of 63 and 53 yards.
Austin Connolly (Justin-Siena, Napa)
The Braves’ senior running back rushed for a career-high 324 yards and three TDs, including an 80-yard run on the game’s first play from scrimmage, and his team needed it all after blocking a pass for a 2-point conversion to preserve a 34-33 NCS Division IV semifinal win over visiting Arcata.
Kamari Cotton-Moya (Ridgeview, Bakersfield)
This do everything player became the first in school history to rush for 300 yards in a game. He had 322 yards on 13 carries with 261 coming in the first half in his team’s 56-35 CIF Central Section D3 playoff win against Delano. Cotton-Moya also set a school record by scoring six touchdowns on runs of 39, 70, 31, 30, 48 and 25 yards and passed for 148 yards.
Omar Duarte & Marcus McMaryion (Dinuba)
He rushed for a career high of 225 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns (50, 2) as the Emperors beat Porterville 35-21 in the CIF Central Section D3 playoffs. McMaryion passed for three touchdowns in the same game to give him a total of 41 for the season. Marcus is now tied with former Kingsburg star Tyler Bray for third best in section history.
Justin Ewing (Capuchino, San Bruno)
The two papers covering the Mustangs’ 56-21 loss at Seaside in the CCS Division IV playoff opener two weeks ago had different yardage and no carries reported for Ewing, so coach Adam Hyndman went to the film to get the numbers for the Cal-Hi Sports record book. After careful review, Hyndman reports the all-time leading single season rusher and carrier in the Central Coast Section carried 31 times for 207 yards. That gives him 396 carries for 2,956 yards to finish this season.
De Zhontaey Fletcher (Oak Hills, Hesperia)
He may be just a sophomore, but he sure didn’t look like one in his team’s 67-56 loss to Tahquitz of Hemet in the CIFSS Eastern Division quarterfinals. Fletcher carried 24 times for 244 yards and three touchdowns while also returning a kickoff for a score.
Robert Frazier & Wadus Parker (Elk Grove)
The Thundering Herd are headed to the CIFSJS Division II championship game this weekend and this talented tandem is a big reason why. Frazier rushed for 227 yards and two touchdowns and Parker rushed for 100 yards and two scores while also catching an 82-yard touchdown pass in Elk Grove’s 35-14 quarterfinal win over Del Campo of Fair Oaks.
Sty Hairston (Banning)
His performance in a 71-14 win over Linfield Christian of Temecula in the CIFSS East Valley Division quarterfinals is one that will go down in the history books. On just 15 carries, Hairston rampaged for 477 yards and seven touchdowns while also completing four passes for 58 yards and catching a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Eric Redwood has become the top rusher for a career in the history of San Mateo’s Junipero Serra High.
Hodge passed for 368 yards and three touchdowns with Young being on the receiving end for 12 catches and 182 yards and all three scores as the Hawks advanced to the CIFSS Eastern Division championship game with a 37-0 win over Tahquitz of Hemet. In their 54-28 quarterfinal win over Rialto, Young had six catches for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
Justin Huff (Downey)
Huffing and puffing his way to 268 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries, this sophomore back led the Vikings to a 35-3 win over Santa Fe of Santa Fe Springs in the CIFSS Southeast Division semifinals last week. In their 45-42 quarterfinal win over Norwalk, Huff ran for 156 yards and four scores on 28 carries.
Kirk Johnson (Valley Christian, San Jose)
Teammate and senior running back Ryan Severson gets most of the publicity and is currently at 1,927 yards rushing and 28 TDs this season, but this sophomore has been shining recently and is putting up some big numbers himself. In a 52-42 CCS Division III semifinal win over Morgan Hill Sobrato, the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Johnson ran for 241 yards and four TDs, on runs of 10, 65, 40 and 30 yards. He now has 1,288 yards rushing and 19 TDs heading into the final against Aptos.
Isaiah Jones (Porterville)
Just a freshman, he was brought up for the final two games of the season and rushed for a season-high of 260 yards on 23 carries and scored on a 88-yard run in Porterville’s 35-21 loss to Dinuba in last week’s CIF Central Section D3 playoffs. Jones also had 182 yards in his first game.
Sam Killpack & Alex Poksay (Marin Catholic, Kentfield)
With the Cal-Hi Sports Caravan roaming the sidelines of both the NCS D3 quarterfinals and semifinals, this duo came up big defensively. In the 59-6 quarterfinal shellacking of Orinda Miramonte, junior defensive back Killpack recorded his seventh interception this season, recovered a fumble and had two batted passes. Poksay was the defensive star in a 42-37 comeback victory over Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) in the semifinals. The 6-foot, 205-pound senior linebacker had an interception, a sack, and 14 tackles with two for loss.
Mike Lauck (St. Francis, Mountain View)
The Lancers’ all-time leading passer (2,326 yards, 25 TDs) threw for 177 yards and two TDs and ran for 130 yards and two more scores to lead St. Francis to a 41-7 semifinal win over San Mateo Aragon. The win earns the team a spot in the CCS Division II title game.
Anthony Lawrence & Michael Pettiford (Grossmont, La Mesa)
In Grossmont’s 55-34 triumph against Rancho Buena Vista two weeks ago in the SDS D1 playoffs, Lawrence shined by completing 21 of 26 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns. Pettiford, meanwhile, makes it into the state record book by scoring on a 99-yard fumble return.
Trent Little (Sutter)
Sutter’s defense is normally the reason for the team’s success, but the Huskies had to have Little leading the offense for them to get past West Valley of Cottonwood 38-31 in overtime in last week’s CIF Northern Section Division II championship. Little completed 10 of 19 passes for 164 yards and two scores and also rushed 12 times for 51 yards and another touchdown. Sutter finished 13-0 and hopes to play in next week’s CIF NorCal Division III bowl game.
Taylor Livingston (Nordhoff, Ojai)
Making sure the Rangers’ season would extend one more game, Livingston rushed for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in a 51-28 win against Whittier Christian of La Habra in the CIFSS Northwest Division quarterfinals. Nordhoff will for a section championship this week against North of Torrance after a 13-8 win over Centennial of Compton last week.
Matt Lopez (Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes Estates)
The Sea Kings now have a 10-game winning streak and will be headed to the CIFSS Northern Division finals after Lopez rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns in a 50-33 semifinal win over Valencia last week.
Jalon Luque (Rancho Cotate, Rohnert Park)
The Cougars rode the back of Luque right into the NCS D2 championship game. In a 30-17 semifinal win over Walnut Creek Northgate, the senior running back went over the 200-yard mark for the fourth time this season with a career best 278 yards and two touchdowns. He now has 1,945 yards and 24 TDs this season heading into a showdown with Concord Clayton Valley for the D2 title.
Ryan Martinez (Le Grand)
With the CIFSJS Division V championship on the line, the Bulldogs’ game plan was to hand Martinez the ball over and over as he carried 39 times for 225 yards and a score in a 30-12 win over Waterford.
Warren Miles Long (James Logan, Union City)
The Northwestern-bound Miles-Long picked the perfect time to have his career best game. In a 33-18 NCS Division I quarterfinal win over visiting Oakley Freedom, a game the Colts led 27-2 at the half, Miles Long rushed for 290 yards with three touchdowns and also recovered one of Freedom’s four fumbles. With the Cal-Hi Sports Caravan roaming the sidelines of a 40-7 shellacking of California of San Ramon in the semifinals, the 6-foot, 200-pound running back, who also shines as a linebacker, rushed for 143 yards and three scores. Entering the D1 finals against De La Salle, Miles Long now has 644 yards and 10 TDs rushing in three playoff games.
Brandon Monroe (Del Oro, Loomis)
Looking to lead the Golden Eagles into the CIFSJS D2 championship game, he carried 32 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns but their season came to an end with 35-32 loss to Elk Grove in the semifinals. In the quarterfinals, Monroe had 34 carries for 297 yards and three touchdowns while also catching three passes for 38 yards in a 21-10 road win over St. Mary’s of Stockton.
Ben Moreno (Tahquitz, Hemet)
Leading the Titans to a 67-56 CIFSS Eastern Division quarterfinal win over Oak Hills of Hesperia, Moreno completed 30 of his 42 pass attempts for 300 yards and seven touchdowns.
Jamal Morrow (Heritage, Romoland)
With the Patriots featuring the running game in their 35-7 win over Arlington of Riverside in the CIFSS Central Division quarterfinals, Morrow carried 26 times for 225 yards and a touchdown.
Darin Newman & Aaron Maher (Analy, Sebastopol)
In what was the greatest season in school history for the 12-1 Tigers, who lost to El Cerrito in the semifinals, senior quarterback Newman passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns in 38-34 NCS D3 quarterfinal win over Moraga Campolindo. His favorite target was Maher, whom the Contra Costa Times story said was “virtually un-defendable.” The 6-foot-2, 190-pound senior caught eight passes for 217 yards and two scores.
Brandon Powell & Terence White (Inderkum, Sacramento)
Their CIFSJS Division III quarterfinal game against Sierra of Manteca turned into a track meet. In the 69-47 win by Inderkum, Powell rushed for 202 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries while White rushed for 190 yards on 16 carries and scored four touchdowns. Teammate Josh Montes also rushed for 155 yards and two touchdowns in the victory that saw the Tigers rush for 572 total yards.
Joe Protheroe (Clayton Valley, Concord)
In a 47-7 NCS Division III quarterfinal demolition of visiting Dublin, the Eagles’ running back set a school record and gets his name in the Cal-Hi Sports record book list for most yards in a game. Despite coming off a bye week, Protheroe rushed for 427 yards on 25 carries with five touchdowns, including runs of 80 and 74 yards. Compared to his performance two weeks ago, his game against Concord in the semifinals last week was a downer for him and a career game for anyone else. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound senior ran for 261 yards and three scores in a 49-22 victory. He now has 2,779 yards and 31 touchdowns rushing heading into the semifinals.
Elijah Preston (St. Augustine, San Diego)
For the third time in four weeks, Preston has shown just how talented of a freshman he is by rushing for more than 200 yards in a game. In the Saints’ 38-21 win over Valley Center in the CIFSDS D4 semifinals, Preston had 13 carries for 203 yards and three scores. Two of his TDs took place on runs of 55 and 60 yards.
Eric Redwood (Serra, San Mateo)
The 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior got most of his team’s 500 yards rushing after finishing with 289 yards and four TDs in a 52-35 CIFCCS Open Division first-round win for the No. 5 seed over host and No. 4 seed Palo Alto. In a 17-12 loss to Bellarmine in the semifinals, he caught a 35-yard pass that got it to the 10-yard line but injured his collarbone and couldn’t finish the game as Serra was held on downs without him. He finished the game with 117 yards rushing. He also broke the school’s career rushing mark with 3,756 yards, passing Erich Wilson’s total of 3,361 yards set last season.
James Sams (Los Banos)
Two weeks ago in a 42-14 CIFSJS Division IV quarterfinal win over Capital Christian of Sacramento, Sams slammed his way to 319 yards rushing on 27 carries and scored three times. It ended up being the Tigers’ final win as they were eliminated by Escalon in last week’s semifinals.
Cody Styles (Strathmore)
He ended his career with a remarkable game of 480 total offense yards against Farmersville when Strathmore lost to Farmersville 27-22 in the CIF Central Section D5 playoffs. Cody rushed for 291 yards on 34 carries and scored three touchdowns, returned a kickoff for 87 yards, added an 87-yard interception, and 15 yards on a pass reception.
Nate Tayco (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia)
Coach Ken Drain’s Kares are headed to the CIFSS Northeast Division championship game after a 42-14 win over St. Monica that saw Tayco run for 248 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries.
Jacob Taylor (Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead)
One of the state’s leading rushers all season long, Taylor hasn’t slowed down in the postseason. He carried 51 times for 303 yards and four touchdowns in a 28-14 win over St. Margaret’s of San Juan Capistrano two weeks ago before running for 377 yards and seven touchdowns on 37 carries in a 69-20 win over Banning last week in the CIFSS East Valley Division semifinals.
Ray Vega (Central Catholic, Modesto)
In his best performance of the season, he carried 15 times for 231 yards and three touchdowns as the Raiders defeated Ripon 40-21 two weeks ago in the CIFSJS Division IV quarterfinals.
Robert Webber & Tre Watson (Centennial, Corona)
Despite allowing 35 points, the Huskies doubled up Murrieta Valley for a 70-35 win in the CIFSS Inland Division quarterfinals as Webber passed for 393 yards and six touchdowns. Watson rushed for 213 yards on 21 carries and returned a kickoff 96 yards for a score.
Errain Wingfield (Sunnyside, Fresno)
The senior back rushed for 278 yards on 34 carries, scored four touchdowns and pushed his total for the season to 30 when Sunnyside beat El Diamante of Visalia 37-29 two weeks ago in the CIF Central Section playoffs. Wingfield then had 35 carries for 208 yards and three scores in Sunnyside’s 61-33 loss to Garces of Bakersfield. He finished with 5,038 yards for his career, 11th best in section history.
Andrew Zolintakis (Campolindo, Moraga)
The Cougars’ signal caller, who took over at quarterback after starter Brett Stephens went out with a season-ending injury, completed 22 of 35 passes for 368 yards with four touchdowns, but his junior season ended in a 38-34 loss to Analy in the NCS D3 playoffs.
Aaron Zwahlen (Downey, Modesto)
He went down throwing as he completed 28 of his 49 pass attempts for 364 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-20 loss to Granite Bay in the CIFSJS Division I quarterfinals.
BOYS BASKETBALL
D.J. Hankins (Mountain Oaks, San Andreas)
He had a great game to start his junior season as he scored 38 points earlier this week in a 61-53 win over Tioga of Groveland.
Joe McGlaston (Dublin)
The 6-foot-4 senior had a double-double 31 points and 11 rebounds in a 75-63 win over Oakley Freedom in the opener of the NorCal Tip-Off Classic at Newark Memorial High.
Kavi Ram (Orland)
The 5-foot-11 senior guard began the season strongly with 33 points, eight rebounds and two assists to lead the Trojans past Anderson 79-70 in their season opener.
Kendall Smith (Deer Valley, Antioch)
The Wolverines’ 6-foot-3 senior that can play the 1, 2 or 3 position on the court scored a NorCal Tip-Off Classic record 48 points in a thrilling 97-96 double-overtime victory over Sacramento in the feature game last Saturday at Newark Memorial High.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Imani Littleton (Bishop’s, La Jolla)
She led coach Marlon Wells’ team to a couple of easy wins to start the season. She first had 29 points in the season opener, then came back with 26 points, eight steals, six rebounds and two blocks in a 84-19 triumph against Escondido.
Allyson O’Brien (La Habra)
The Highlanders opened the season with three straight wins before their first loss. O’Brien scored 39 points in a 61-57 win over South Hills of Covina and 36 points in a 61-51 win over Diamond Bar.
Sheyanna Wilder (Big Pine)
Kicking off her senior season with a dominant performance, she outscored Mammoth of Mammoth Lakeas on her own as she scored 43 points and grabbed 20 rebounds in the 52-25 victory for the Warriors.
3 Comments
Let’s hope some of these coaches realize that playing rec teams and racking up points against them doesn’t help their kids.
aren’t all of these teams playing playoff games at the moment. how is that “playing rec teams?” coaches cannot schedule playoff games.
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