Stanford-bound Erica McCall and her team posted a historic win last week over Hanford, which had not lost to another CIF Central Section team for 97 straight games. Photo courtesy of school.
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 Nov. 28-Dec. 1.
To send in a stat star of your own, email highlights to markjtennis@gmail.com.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
Hashima Carothers (Eastside College Prep, East Palo Alto)
The 6-foot University of San Francisco-bound senior opened her season in style after recording a triple-double 28 points, 12 rebounds and 10 steals in a 56-35 win over Moreau Catholic of Hayward. A lot of Carothers’ points came from the 11 assists of junior guard Charmaine Bradford.
Geraldynn Leaupepe (Camarillo)
Named the Athlete of the Week by the Ventura County Star, she was also named the MVP of the Camarillo Tournament as she had 28 points, 17 rebounds and nine steals against Calabasas while also coming up short of a triple-double against Westlake as she scored 28 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had nine steals.
Erica McCall (Ridgeview, Bakersfield)
All good things come to an end. That’s want happened last Friday night at the Central Valley Showdown in the Clovis West gym when McCall and the Ridgeview girls snapped Hanford’s winning streak of 97 games against Central Section teams dating back to the 2007 season. McCall, the 6-foot-3 center who has signed with Stanford, led Ridgeview to the 73-49 triumph with a triple-double — 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 blocked shots.
Marissa McDuffy (Gregori, Modesto)
In leading the Jaguars past Riverbank 55-38, McDuffy outscored the entire Riverbank team with 39 points. She was averaging 27.3 ppg after Gregori’s first six games, all of which were wins.
Coco Miller (JSerra Catholic, San Juan Capistrano)
During the Lions’ run to capture the Vernie Ford Tip-off Classic championship, she scored 32 points, had seven steals and grabbed six rebounds during an 85-12 win over Godinez of Santa Ana.
Mariya Moore (Salesian, Richmond)
She has led the team to a 4-0 start with a double-double in two of the games and a triple-double 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in an 84-45 win over crosstown Kennedy. She had 28 points and 10 rebounds against Sacramento West Campus.
Kelsey Plum (La Jolla Country Day)
The 2012 State Junior of the Year was fantastic in leading the Torreys to the title of their own Sweet 16 tournament last weekend. Plum averaged 30.3 points in the team’s four tourney wins, including a school-record 51 points in a 87-50 romp past Dobson (Mesa, Ariz.) in the championship. Plum also had eight rebounds in that game and was the obvious pick for tourney MVP.
Natalie Romeo (Carondelet, Concord)
As expected, the junior guard has started the season hot for the 2-0 Cougars. In a 90-51 rout of San Jose Presentation, she had a double-double 20 points and 11 assists, with eight rebounds and eight steals. In an 82-61 victory over Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco, Romeo made more than a cameo appearance, finishing with 30 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and seven steals.
Cherie Ryden (Fort Bragg)
She’s only 5-foot-4 but she can pour in the points, like 35 in a 72-49 win over Round Valley of Covelo.
Cassidy Sanders-Curry (Santa Teresa, San Jose)
She registered a double-double 32 points and 11 rebounds (six steals) and her team needed it all in a 66-61 win over crosstown Notre Dame.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Payton Banks (Orange Lutheran, Orange)
Top returnee from CIFSS title team from last season earned MVP honors at the Hoops Kickoff Classic. The Penn State-bound senior scored 29 points as the Lancers defeated Canyon of Anaheim 72-53 in the finals.
Justin Beskeen (Bear River, Grass Valley)
With back-to-back impressive performances, the Bruins moved to 4-0 and captured the championship at the Winter Wolf Classic as he scored 35 points in a 69-46 win over American Canyon and 34 points in a 55-52 win over San Rafael in the finals.
Ramon Chavez (Kerman)
He scored a career high of 35 points, which is also the sixth best in school history, in the finals of the Kerman Kiwanis Classic as the Lions beat Sanger 60-46.
Andre Chetverikoff (El Cajon Valley, El Cajon)
Putting together impressive performances last week, he scored 50 points and had 12 rebounds in a 85-57 win over Ramona before scoring 40 points the next day along with 16 rebounds in a 94-52 win over High Tech.
C.J. De La Fuentes (Buena Park)
He scored a game-high 30 points as the Coyotes defeated Santa Fe of Santa Fe Springs 80-69 at the Coyote Classic.
John Fenton (Central Catholic, Modesto)
While the Raiders’ football team was busy capturing a section championship, he was a double-double machine as the Raiders captured the Modesto City Tournament championship. Fenton scored at least 20 points and grabbed at least 13 rebounds in all four games and he saved his best performance for the finals with 22 points and 27 rebounds in a 79-65 win over Grace Davis.
Silas Gaines (Webb, Claremont)
Making three three-pointers and knocking down 16 free throws helped him score 51 points, but the Gauls were unable to move to 3-0 on the season as they lost 68-64 to Excelsior Charter of Victorville.
Adam Gotelli (Elliot Christian, Lodi)
The junior guard made 8 of 11 three-point shots and finished with 39 points in Elliot Christian’s 76-65 triumph over Delta of Clarksburg. Gotelli also has had a game of 44 points scored so far this season.
David Hightower (Monte Vista Christian, Watsonville)
Behind 16 of 26 shooting, this senior guard finished with 34 points as the Mustangs defeated San Lorenzo Valley 73-59 on Saturday.
Kendall Smith & Marcus Lee (Deer Valley, Antioch)
After pouring in 48 points against Sacramento, Smith came back with 35 points with six rebounds and five assists, but it wasn’t enough in a 91-86 loss to Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland. He followed that up with a triple-double 16 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds (five steals) in a 74-57 win over Benicia. Lee, a 6-foot-10 power forward who has committed to Kentucky, has had a double-double in all four games of the Wolverines’ 3-1 start. He had 22 points and 25 rebounds, with eight assists and seven blocks versus Sacramento, 16 points with 18 rebounds (six blocks) against O’Dowd, and 13 points with 22 rebounds (eight assists, seven blocks) in the Benicia win.
Michael Smith (El Camino, South San Francisco)
The Colts’ 6-foot-3 senior had a double-double 34 points and 11 rebounds in a 79-63 win over San Ramon California.
Kushbir Thind (Caruthers)
Thind wasn’t kind to the opponents from Firebaugh when Caruthers beat that team 90-51 last week. The 6-foot-4 junior forward had 32 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and three blocks.
David Thoresen (San Luis Obispo)
With the Tigers feeding him the ball, he knocked down 14 field goals while connecting on 11 of 13 free throws to finish with 42 points but it wasn’t enough to prevent their second loss of the season 76-71 against Moorpark.
Isiah Warren (Cloverdale)
He had 34 points, six rebounds four steals and three assists to lead his team to a 69-37 win over Tulelake in the consolation championship of the Redwood Classic.
Taelin Webb (La Mirada)
The son of former Washington of Easton coach Vonn Webb lit it up for 30 points and had three assists to lead the Matadors past La Serna of Whittier 72-44.
Derek Wrenn (Justin-Siena, Napa)
On the same night the Braves’ football team was busy winning a CIFNCS D4 football title last week, Wrenn wasn’t resting, dropping in 31 points in a 69-52 win over Santa Rosa Elsie Allen. He came back the next night with a double-double 27 points and 12 rebounds (five assists) in a 68-61 win over Woodside.
Kris Yanku (Taft, Woodland Hills)
Committed to Northern Arizona, he should be a key part to the Toreadors’ offense this season as he scored 32 points in their season opening win on Monday over George Washington Prep of Los Angeles.
FOOTBALL
Cody Cameron (San Benito, Hollister)
The Haybalers’ faithful were doing a lot of hooting and hollering after their boys won the CIFCCS D1 title in a 35-28 victory over Milpitas, and the defense of Cameron was a big factor. The senior defensive back had an interception he returned 70 yards for a touchdown, and a fumble he rumbled 24 yards to pay dirt. Cameron also was in on six tackles.
Austin Connolly & Brandon Weaver (Justin-Siena, Napa)
Connolly didn’t have his grandfather, Ted Connolly, blocking for him at guard, like the elder Connolly did in the 1950s and 60s for the San Francisco 49ers famed “Million-Dollar Backfield,” but he had enough help from the Braves’ front line to rush for 279 yards on 29 carries with two touchdowns in a CIFNCS Division IV 27-13 title game victory over Novato San Marin. Weaver got into act on both sides of the ball. On offense, he caught a 36-yard TD pass. On defense, he had three sacks and a fumble recovery.
Kamari Cotton-Moya (Ridgeview, Bakersfield)
The senior quarterback ran for 265 yards and two touchdowns, passed for 130 yards with two scores and had 395 total yards in his team’s 55-14 win over Dinuba in the CIF Central Section Division III championship. Cotton-Moya also set another school record by scoring on a 97-yard run in the third quarter.
William Gulley (Oceanside)
This rugged fullback-linebacker scored four touchdowns and led the Pirates in tackles with nine during their 32-10 win against Poway that decided the CIF San Diego Section Division II title. Gulley’s TDs were on runs of 1, 2 and 2 yards and he also caught a 14-yard scoring pass. Oceanside won its eighth San Diego Section title in the last nine years.
Justin Huff (Downey)
Standout sophomore scored all five of touchdowns for the Vikings in their 33-25 win over La Serna of Whittier in the CIFSS Southeast Division finals. Huff also carried 22 times for 224 yards and two scores.
Mike Lauck (St. Francis, Mountain View)
The Lancers have had some great quarterbacks in winning 15 CCS titles, but Lauck is now the school’s all-time leader in TD passes for a season with 26. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Charlie Clarke broke a scoreless tie midway through the third quarter and was all the Lancers needed in a 17-0 victory over Los Gatos in the D2 title game.
Tayler Livingston (Nordhoff, Ojai)
Finishing his junior year in a big way, he ran for 264 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries as the Rangers captured the CIF-SS Northwest Division championship with a 31-14 over North of Torrance.
Jay MacIntyre & Kirk Johnson (Valley Christian, San Jose)
Junior quarterback MacIntyre, son of San Jose State head coach Mike MacIntyre, threw for three touchdowns, returned a fumble 45 yards for a TD, and intercepted a pass in the end zone. Sophomore running back Kirk Johnson, son of former NFL player Johnny Johnson, had just seven carries but rushed for 180 yards and two TDs on runs of 68 and 74 yards.
Taft Partridge (Granite Bay)
With Partridge leading the way, the Grizzlies’ running game couldn’t be stopped in their 35-23 win over Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game. He finished with 235 yards and scored twice on just 11 carries. Tony Ellison nearly rushed for 200 yards as well as he carried 15 times for 195 yards and a score.
Joe Protheroe (Clayton Valley, Concord)
The Eagles’ defense dominated, so with mostly short fields and an early lead, they ground it out in a convincing 35-7 win against Rancho Cotate that secured the team’s first ever NCS championship. Protheroe didn’t have his biggest day, but he rushed for 113 yards and two TDs and took the second half kickoff 94 yards to the house. Grant led the defense but also had a touchdown catch on offense and a two-point conversion to go with an interception and fumble recovery. Going into a CIF Division II Northern Regional against Oakdale on Saturday, Protheroe continues to climb the Cal-Hi Sports state record lists with 2,892 yards to go with 33 touchdowns.
Nate Tayco (Rio Hondo Prep, Arcadia)
Handed the ball 29 times, he rushed for 171 yards and four touchdowns as the Kares captured the CIF-SS Northeast Division championship with a 28-21 win over Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo.
Jacob Taylor (Rim of the World, Lake Arrowhead)
Just because it was the CIF-SS East Valley Division championship game and Ontario Christian was set out to stop this talented senior back, that doesn’t mean it was enough to prevent him from leading the Fighting Scots to the win. Taylor rushed for 264 yards and three touchdowns on 44 carries in a 34-31 victory. According to the Press Enterprise, it was the school’s first championship since 1976. Taylor also became just the second running back in state history to go past 4,000 yards rushing for one season. State record holder Tyler Ebell of Ventura was the first with 4,495 in 2000.
Vita Vea (Milpitas)
The Trojans tried to ride the shoulders of the 6-foot-4, 280-pound senior running back/defensive end from a 28-0 deficit, but the young man with six solid D1 offers for his defense couldn’t quite get them over the hump in a 35-28 loss to Hollister San Benito in the CCS Division I title game. He did rush for 205 yards and two touchdowns, and had 14 tackles and a sack on defense.
K.J. Young (Citrus Hill, Perris)
Not only did he catch 13 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-24 win over Serrano of Phelan in the CIFSS Eastern Division finals, but his 57-yard touchdown catch was also featured nationally on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.
