Originally Published January 28th
National Signing Day is on February 2 and High School Football has been done for 2 months, but we will know where all the top players in the Class of 2022 are going to college. The Early Signing Day Period, which started on December 15th, brought some shocking commits, signings and switches. 247 Sports Top Recruit in the 2022 Class, Athlete Travis Hunter out of Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia was committed to play College Football at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, but at the last second, switched to NCAA Division 1-AA (FCS) school Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. He has signed to play for the Tigers who finished their 2021 Regular Season at 10-1 before beating Prairie View A&M in the SWAC (Southwestern Athletic Conference) Championship to make the Celebration Bowl. Normally, if you’re in the Top 25 in the FCS, you make a bracket that ends in a Championship (Like a 24 team March Madness), but if you’re in the SWAC or MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), you don’t normally go to the bracket. If you win the SWAC or MEAC, you are sent to New Orleans for the Celebration Bowl, a bowl that celebrates the historical HBCUs (Historical Black Colleges and Universities). The game was started in 1892 with a football that was bought by both teams that played, Biddle College and Livingstone College, and it started the great tradition of HBCU Football that has created 27 Hall of Famers, including Jerry Rice, Walter Payton, Shannon Sharp and Michael Strahan. The SWAC and MEAC hold the HBCUs of America and the teams who play in the Celebration Bowl are the top two HBCUs in America. South Carolina State, the winners of the MEAC, faced JSU and beat them 31-10, but JSU had the start of a new era, the Primetime Era, behind Head Coach and NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders.
The 2021-22 Season of High School Football was an interesting one with Covid-19. Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, CA was the preseason National Champion choice and it was a great prediction because they had the top recruits in the nation like 5 star CB Domani Jackson (Class of 2022), 4 star RB Raleek Brown (Class of 2022), 4 star WR CJ Williams (Class of 2022), 3 star LB Malaki Te’o, 4 star EDGE David Bailey (Class of 2022), 4 star QB Elijah Brown (Class of 2024), 4 star DL Aydin Breland (Class of 2024) and 5 star Kicker Chase Meyer (Class of 2022). Mater Dei has been a producer of great talent in all sports, but most noticeably, football. They are the only high school to have produced 3 Heisman trophy winners, John Huarte at Notre Dame (1964), Matt Leinart at USC (2004) and Bryce Young at Alabama (2021). Mater Dei was ready to try to capture their 5th National Championship.
#1 Mater Dei faced the #20 ranked team in the nation, Duncanville High School, in the opening game to the 2021 season. Elijah Brown threw for 264 yards and 3 TDs, and Raleek Brown ran for 84 yards and a TD. CJ Williams led the Monarchs in receiving with 6 catches for 102 yards and a TD. Domani Jackson had a Pick 6 in the game which he took back 38 yards. Chase Meyer started another incredible season 7 for 7, with 7 kickoffs for a total of 486 yards. In his Junior season, he was perfect on PATs and only missed 1 field goal. Mater Dei cruised to a 45-3 win to open the season despite losing Domani Jackson midway through the game due to a leg injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
The Monarchs faced the Liberty Patriots at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada in their second game of the season. Elijah Brown had 208 yards and 2 TDs passing with 1 TD rushing. Raleek Brown had 87 yards on the ground and 4 TDs and led the Monarchs in rushing. Williams led the Monarchs in receiving with 90 yards and a TD. 3 star WR Cooper Barkate had 29 yards receiving and a TD. David Bailey led the team with 2 sacks and Meyer stayed perfect, going 7 for 7 on PATs and having 7 kickoffs for 427 yards. The Monarchs cruised to another win, 49-7.
#1 Mater Dei had their home opener against La Mirada High School from La Mirada, California. Elijah Brown threw for 83 yards and a TD while Raleek Brown and Sophomore RB Ajon Bryant dominated on the ground. Brown had 108 yards rushing and 2 TDs while Bryant had 92 yards on the ground. Freshman Jordon Davidson had 31 yards rushing and a TD, Senior Matthew Vaca had 42 yards rushing and a TD and Senior Andrew Cervantes had 52 yards rushing and a TD. Barkate led the Monarchs in receiving with 1 catch for 49 yards and a TD. Mater Dei recovered 5 fumbles. Chase stayed perfect going 7 for 7 on PATs and 1 for 1 on FGs, and had 6 kickoffs for 392 yards. Mater Dei went to 3-0 with a 58-7 win over the La Mirada Matadores.
Mater Dei faced Saint John Bosco from Bellflower, California to open up Trinity League Play in a Top 5 matchup. Elijah Brown had 263 yards passing and 5 TDs. Raleek Brown had 21 carries for 93 yards while Ajon Bryant had 37 yards rushing and a TD. Cooper Barkate led the Monarchs in receiving with 4 catches for 126 yards and 2 TDs. CJ Williams had 4 catches for 70 yards and 2 TDs. Sophomore Jack Ressler had 3 catches for 36 yards and a TD. Chase stayed perfect going 6 for 6 on PATs and had 7 kickoffs for 462 yards. Mater Dei and Bosco were tied 21-21 at half, but the Monarchs blew out the Braves 21-0 in the second half to win 42-21 and go to 4-0.
Mater Dei faced Orange Lutheran from Orange, CA, in Trinity league play. Elijah Brown threw for 165 passing yards, 2 TDs and 3 picks, but the Monarchs still dominated. Despite not having Raleek Brown, the running game still dominated for the Monarchs. Ajon Bryant had 76 yards and 2 TDs, Jordon Davidson had 52 yards and a TD, Andrew Cervantes had 69 yards and a TD and 3 star senior Quincy Craig had 8 yards and a TD. Quincy Craig also led the Monarchs in receiving with 3 catches for 64 yards and a TD. CJ Williams had 3 catches for 38 yards and a TD. David Bailey had 2 sacks, 7 tackles, a pass deflection, a forced fumble and 2 TFL (tackles for loss). Chase Meyer went 6 for 7 on PATs, with a miss that broke his perfect streak due to a bad hold. He also had 9 kickoffs for 552 yards. Mater Dei moved to 5-0 on the season, beating the Lancers 55-16
Mater Dei faced Santa Margarita from Rancho Santa Margarita, California in Trinity League play for their 6th game of the season. Elijah Brown bounced back, throwing for 328 yards and 5 TDs, and rushing for 5 yards and a TD. Quincy Craig had a rushing TD and Matthew Vaca had one, too, with 18 rushing yards. Ajon Bryant led the Monarchs with 83 yards and Raleek Brown was back with 40 yards on the ground. Barkate led the Monarchs in receiving with 3 catches for 97 yards and 3 TDs. CJ Williams had 7 catches for 90 yards and a TD. 3 star Junior TE Spencer Shannon had 2 catches for 67 yards and a TD. Malaki Te’o had 5 tackles, a sack, 1.5 TFL, a pass deflection and 2 QB Hurries. Chase Meyer went 7 for 7 on PATs and had 8 kickoffs for 510 yards. Mater Dei won 56-3 and went to 6-0.
Mater Dei had another top 5 matchup against Servite from Anaheim, California, and it was the toughest matchup Mater Dei had during the 2021 season. Elijah Brown had 247 yards passing and a TD. Raleek Brown led the Monarchs on the ground with 162 yards and a TD. Quincy Craig had 15 yards rushing and 4 rushing TDs. CJ Williams had 135 yards receiving and a TD. Chase Meyer went 5 for 5 on PATs and 1 for 1 on FGs. He also had 8 kickoffs for 514 yards and 2 punts for 72 yards. Despite a hard matchup, the Monarchs pushed through and won by 9, 46-37.
Mater Dei had their final Regular Season game against JSerra Catholic from San Juan Capistrano, California. Elijah Brown had 172 passing yards and 2 TDs. Raleek Brown led the Monarchs in rushing with 98 yards and a TD while Ajon Bryant had 64 yards on the ground and 2 TDs. Jordon Davidson had 36 yards on the ground and a TD. Quincy Craig had 2 receptions for 92 yards and a TD and led the Monarchs in receiving. CJ Williams and Cooper Barkate both had 2 catches for 24 yards, but Williams had a TD. Sophomore Joshua Clark recovered a fumble and returned it 9 yards for a TD. Junior RJ Fineanganofo picked off JSerra’s QB Zander Singh and returned it 60 yards for a TD. Chase Meyer went 7 for 7 on PATs and had 8 kickoffs for 496 yards. He also had 1 punt for 29 yards. Mater Dei dominated and won 56-14 to go perfect on the Regular Season.
Mater Dei went 8-0, earning the #1 seed in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 Football Playoffs and faced Norco High School from Norco, California in the first round. Elijah Brown threw for 369 yards and 6 TDs. Raleek Brown had 70 yards on the ground while Quincy Craig had 34 yards and a TD. CJ Williams had 158 yards and 3 TDs while Cooper Barkate had 113 yards and 2 TDs. Jack Ressler had 24 yards and a TD. On defense, Senior Joshua Hunter, Freshman Daryus Dixson and Sophomore Zabien Brown each had a pick. Chase Meyer went 7 for 7 on PATs, had 8 kickoffs for 533 yards and 2 punts for 87 yards. Mater Dei moved on with a 49-14 win.
Mater Dei faced Centennial from Corona, California in the semifinals. Centennial did great limiting the pass, holding Elijah Brown to 152 yards and an interception. Raleek Brown had 158 yards rushing and 2 TDs, and Quincy Craig also had 2 yards and a TD. Senior Samurai Staten led the Monarchs in receiving with 2 catches for 71 yards. David Bailey had 2.5 sacks, 5 tackles, a forced fumble and 2.5 TFL. Senior Ta’itai Uiagalelei recovered Bailey’s forced fumble and Uiagalelei also had a QB hurry. 3 star Senior Cameron Sidney had 2 pass deflections and 2 tackles for the Monarchs. Chase Meyer had 3 punts for 125 yards and 4 kickoffs for 261 yards. He missed a field goal, but went 3 for 3 on PATs, and Mater Dei moved on to the Finals, winning 21-16.
Mater Dei faced Servite in the CIF-SS Final. Coach Rollinson got the Monarchs ready to play the team that had almost knocked them out of a chance at a 5th National Championship. Mater Dei won the game on the ground, accumulating 209 rushing yards. Elijah Brown had 110 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks, but the running game saved him. Raleek Brown had 162 yards and a TD, Ajon Bryant had 33 yards and a TD and Quincy Craig had 12 yards and a TD. CJ Williams led the Monarchs with 54 yards and a TD. Sophomore Tanner Williams led the defense with 7 tackles, 4 TFL, 2 sacks and a QB hurry. David Bailey had 1.5 sacks, 5 tackles and 1.5 TFL. Sophomore Jelani Davis had a pick that he returned for 26 yards. Quincy Craig forced a fumble that was recovered by Cameron Sidney. Chase Meyer had 5 kickoffs for 315 yards and 2 punts for 61 yards. He went 3 for 3 on PATs. Mater Dei went on a 27-0 run to close out the game and win the game and the CIF-SS Championship, 27-7.
Mater Dei faced Serra High School from San Mateo, California in the CIF Open Division State Championship Bowl Game at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, California. Serra is the alma mater of Tom Brady and had won the CIF Central Coast Section Division 1 Championship with a 16-12 win over St. Francis from Mountain View, California. Serra came in 11-1 and ready to face the top team in the nation. Mater Dei came in very prepared and led 24-0 at halftime. Mater Dei didn’t stop and ended up winning 44-7.
Elijah Brown threw for 243 yards and 2 TDs. Raleek Brown led the Monarchs in rushing yards with 61 yards on the ground and 3 TDs. Cooper Barkate led the Monarchs in receiving with 2 catches for 86 yards and a TD. CJ Williams had 5 catches for 55 yards, and Quincy Craig had 4 catches for 31 yards and a TD. 4 star Junior LB Leviticus Su’a had 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL and forced a fumble. Joshua Hunter had a fumble recovery for 5 yards, a pick returned for 40 yards and 8 tackles. Malaki Te’o had 6 tackles, 1 TFL and a pick he returned 21 yards for a TD. Chase Meyer had 8 kickoffs for 471 yards and went 5 for 5 on PATs and 1 for 1 on FGs. Mater Dei had won the State Championship and the National Championship.
Mater Dei won the National Championship with almost perfection on all 3 sides of the ball. In passing, they almost doubled the National Average in everything other than Passing Interceptions, which they tied at 7. In Rushing, they topped the National Average in everything, most substantially in rushing TDs, where they rushed 40 TDs, and the Average was 20. In Receiving, they topped the National Average in everything once again, and had 30 receiving TDs, compared to the Average of 12. On defense, they beat everything except assisted tackles, because 423 of their 582 total tackles were solo tackles. They more than doubled the National Average for TFL, 115-42.8. In sacking stats, Mater Dei doubled the National Average in everything but QB hurries. In the pick category, Mater Dei beat the National Average in everything but blocked punts. Chase Meyer dominated the Special Teams category, beating everything in the kickoff category, most substantially touchbacks which he kicked 7x the National Average: 63-9. In punting, Mater Dei dominated the National Average, beating everything but punts inside the 20, which they tied 4-4. In Kickoff and Punt Returns, Mater Dei beat the National Average in everything except for Longest Punt Return and Punt Fair Catches.
Mater Dei faced a ton of tough teams and players in their journey to their 5th Natty. When they faced Duncanville, they faced 4 star Ohio State Commit EDGE Omari Arbor (#62 in the 2022 Class), 4 star Florida State Commit OL Jaylen Early and 4 star LB Colin Simmons (#46 in the 2024 class (Top 247)). When they played Santa Margarita, they faced 4 star Ohio State Commit DL Hero Kanu (#128 in the Class of 2022) and 4 star ATH Emmett Mosley (#15 in the Class of 2024 (Top 247)). When they played St. John Bosco, they faced top recruits like 4 star Georgia Commit OL Earnest Greene (#44 in the Class of 2022), 4 star Arizona Commit RB Rayshon Luke (#207 in the Class of 2022), 4 star Michigan State Commit QB Katin Houser (#228 in the 2022 Class), 4 star louisville Commit QB Pierce Clarkson (#111 in the 2023 Class), 4 star Safety RJ Jones (#207 in the 2023 Class), 4 star CB Jshawn Frausto-Ramos (#231 in the 2023 Class), 4 star ATH Jahlil McClain (#292 in the 2023 Class), 4 star LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (#10 Top 247 (not 247 Composite) in the 2024 class), 4 star Safety Peyton Woodyard (#20 in the Class of 2024 (Top 247)), 4 star CB Marcelles Williams (#70 in the 2024 Class (Top 247)) and 5 star EDGE Matayo Uiagalelei (#19 in the 2023 Class). When they faced Norco, they faced 4 star Cal Commit RB Jaydn Ott (#291 in the 2022 Class). When they played Centennial, they faced 4 star Notre Dame Commit CB Jaden Mickey (#214 in the 2022 class) and 4 star WR Malachi Riley (#275 in the Class of 2023). When they played Servite, they faced 4 star Arizona Commit TE Keyan Burnett (#229 in the 2022 class), 4 star Michigan Commit DL Mason Graham (#257 in the 2022 Class) and 4 star Arizona Commit WR Tetairoa McMillan (#50 in the 2022 Class).
Many of the Monarchs were featured on the MaxPreps All American First Teams, with Elijah Brown winning Sophomore of the Year and headlining the Sophomore All American 1st Team. RB Jordon Davison and OL Sione Tohi made the Freshman 2nd Team All American Team. Elijah Brown and OL DeAndre Carter made the Sophomore All American 1st Team. OL Brandon Baker, LB Tanner Williams and DB Zabien Brown made Sophomore All American 2nd Team. OL BJ Tolo made the Junior All American 1st Team. Raleek Brown and David Bailey made the Senior All American 1st Team, and Cameron Sidney made the Senior All American 2nd Team. Coach of the Year went to Todd Dodge of Austin Westlake and Player of the Year went to QB Cade Klubnik of Austin Westlake.
Mater Dei dominated this year with many incredible players including their 5 star kicker Chase Meyer. Chase joined Mater Dei heading into his junior year and was an instant hit. In his junior year, Chase played in 5 games, was perfect in PATs and only missed one field goal. He knew he had to work harder in his senior year and did so, going 70 for 72 on the year, earning a 5 star recruit rating from Rivals. Over 2 years, he had become the top kicker in the country. As a senior, he had 85 kickoffs for a total of 5,419 yards and 63 of the kickoffs were touchbacks. He only had to punt 10 times over 12 games because Mater Dei scored a lot and punting was a rarity. Over those 10 punts, Chase had 376 yards with 2 being inside the 20. Chase won 2021-22 Trinity League Most Valuable Kicker, is an Eagle Scout and has a 4.3 GPA.
Chase said this about his 5 star rating:
“That was amazing. I think it was October of my Junior year. I was so excited because I had been working for it. I wanted that 5 star. I came in as a 4 and a half star. I won the Polynesian Bowl Combine and All American Kicking Tournament my Freshman year so that was my goal always, to be ranked #1 in the nation. When I saw I was a 5 star after that, I was so excited. I knew all my hard work had paid off. But that wasn’t an end goal, it was just a milestone. It’s cool and all to be a 5 star recruit, but the end goal is college and it’s set me up for some great opportunities for next year.”
Chase had this to say about the feeling around the team going into the 2021 season:
“All of our guys were super excited. We got cut short in the Spring and we had just played March, April, May, and we had only gotten a 2 week break so we had been training together for over a year. We had a goal in mind. All of the Seniors met before the season and we talked about what we wanted our season to end with, how we wanted to walk off that field. That’s where we started. Our north star was Honor the Brotherhood, Protect the Brotherhood. Honor the Brotherhood meant that if we did our things respectfully, if we respected each other, if we went to practice and treated it like a job, went to every weight session, went to every practice with the same intensity, same mindset, good things were going to happen. All of us knew that we were coming in as Preseason Ranked #1 and Preseason National Champions so we just wanted to continue that and just work hard for each other. For the Seniors, that was special for us. Any of those playoff games could’ve been our last. Could’ve been Norco, could’ve been Centennial, could’ve been Servite, and it even could’ve been Serra in the State Finals. Each Senior went out and did their thing and the underclassmen and the juniors really stepped up, too. There were a lot of guys who stepped up, especially on the Offensive Line, BJ Tolo, Brandon Baker, DeAndre Carter, a lot of these guys that are younger guys that really had to play an influential role this year, Leviticus Su’a, these guys were stepping up, making plays for us. Zabien stepped up when Domani went down. A lot of guys weren’t very sure when Domani went down, but we all just came together and made sure we stuck to our goal of Honoring the Brotherhood and making sure we would make this a season to remember.”
Chase had this to say about the feeling of winning the National Championship:
“I was so excited. I told our Special Teams Coordinator Coach Duran who said ‘We might get a few field goals in this game’, and I said ‘Coach, I don’t care. I just want to win. I’ll do whatever we need to do to win. If we need to onside kick the ball, do a pooch kick. I’ll do anything.’ Even some of the guys I wasn’t close with were all giving me hugs. We were all celebrating. It was an amazing experience. It was something you could only understand if you were in that locker room. We had little light up rings in the locker room. We were so excited. They already had our rings made up so we saw the poster (A poster with a picture with their ring on it). They took a sheet off of it and said ‘Boys, look at what you guys just got!,’ and I was just like ‘That is the greatest thing ever. That is so cool.’ We all knew what we had to do and this was our end goal. It was kind of bittersweet that this was our last game. We would’ve all liked to play more. We got cut short a few games. I think it was 2 or 3 games, but you know, it is what it is and the 2022 class was definitely a class of perseverance and grit. It was great to show the younger guys that anything is possible with hard work. You never know when that next opportunity is going to come. Coach Rollinson always says it. You never know the next time you’re going to be in a state title game, you never know the next time you’re going to be in that CIF title game. Take that opportunity and cherish it.”
Chase Meyer is still undecided and will make his decision on Monday, January 31st.
A major part of High School Football these days is travel. Certain teams like Mater Dei and Collins Hill travel out of state a couple times a year which is cool for the athletes but can scare the coaches who think their players might get jet-lagged and won’t perform well. The coaches are also scared of distractions that might throw off their players. David Joyce is the Head Coach of the Jackson Hole High School Broncs in Jackson, Wyoming. The Broncs travel long distances for every away game they play. They traveled 1,442 miles during the 2021-22 season. 23 hours, 19 minutes by car! The Broncs went 4-1 in league, with their only loss coming on the road at Cody, the team they rematched in the State Championship. They finished 7-2 in the Regular Season and faced Buffalo at home in the first playoff. They beat Buffalo 75-27 and advanced to face Douglas in Douglas. They beat Douglas 28-20 and advanced to the State Championship. They lost to Cody at War Memorial Stadium, 41-24, but it was a big season for the Broncs. The team had been 0-9 just 4 years before and had rebuilt from scratch to make the State Championship in just 4 years. 3 star Senior QB Sadler Smith set a new state record for passing yards in a season with 3,459 yards, and also had a 65% completion percentage, 654 rushing yards and 30 total TDs. Coach Joyce has rebuilt this team and is going to be around for a long time.
Coach Joyce had this to say about keeping the team alive while traveling:
“We have 5 principles on the team. #1 is free will. I don’t recruit, so all the kids that are there want to play which takes care of a lot of the motivational things of showing up, working hard and wanting to finish it. If you are having to poke and prod kids to play, you are probably not going to be any good, so we stick to that, stick to those guns and it seems to always go well.”
LOCAL
In the NBL Oak League, Rancho Cotate went undefeated and beat Windsor in their last regular season game, 28-27, to win the Oak League. They finished at 9-1 in the Regular Season and 5-0 in League play. Due to their canceled game, Cardinal Newman and Windsor finished tied for 2nd in League with a League record of 3-1. Newman finished 6-3 in the Regular Season and Windsor finished 8-1. Despite a 3-7 regular season, Ukiah finished 4th in league with a 2-3 league record. West County dropped behind Ukiah in League, going 1-4 in League play, but finished 4-6 in the regular season. Maria Carillo finished last with a 0-5 League record and a 1-9 regular season record.
Windsor’s Senior 2 star QB Chase Vehmeyer led all QBs, throwing for 2,920 yards, 25 TDs and 6 picks over 13 games. Following him were Rancho’s Liam Keaney, Newman’s Lucas Knechtle, West County’s Sammy Long. Keaney had 2,254 yards, 21 TDs and 10 picks in 10 games. Knechtle had 1,389 yards, 12 TDs and 8 picks in 12 games. Long had 1,383 yards, 14 TDs and 9 picks in 7 games. In rushing, Windsor’s Senior RB/MLB Damian Escarcega had 1,196 yards and 21 TDs in 13 games, averaging 92 yards a game. Newman’s Junior 3 star Running Back/MLB and NBL Oak Player of the Year, Santino Acevedo had 1,153 yards and 23 TDs in 11 games, averaging 104.8 yards per game. Chase Vehmeyer had 896 yards and 19 TDs in 13 games. Windsor’s 3 star Senior and Cal Poly Commit WR Makhi Johnson led the Oak League in receiving with 1,127 yards on 52 receptions and 13 TDs in 13 games. Windsor Freshman Hayden Anderson had 50 catches for 998 yards and 9 TDs in 13 games. Rancho’s 3 star Junior ATH Sailasa Vadrawale had 61 catches for 941 yards and 8 TDs.
On the defensive side, Rancho’s Junior Tyler Nixon led the league in tackles with 78 tackles in 11 games. Newman’s Sophomore Kaize Steverson had 77 in 12 games while his teammate Santino Acevedo had 76 in 11. Santino led the league in solo tackles with 57 and Kaize came in third with 53 while Windsor’s Junior Kaeden Timmins came in second with 55. Cardinal Newman’s Freshman Jesse Myers led the league in sacks with 10 in 12 games, and won Freshman of the Year. Windsor’s Senior Cayden Homan had 6 sacks in 11 games, and Newman’s Sophomore Zack Homan had 5.5 sacks in 12 games. Sailasa Vadrawale, Windsor’s Junior Nick Fa’agata and Hayden Anderson all tied for first in the Interception category with 4 picks.
In Special Teams, Newman’s junior kicker Will Lui went 8 for 9 with a long of 40 yards, leading the league in field goals made and longest field goal. Windsor’s Senior Kicker Fynn Stokeld went 66 for 73 on PATs and led the league in PATs made with Will Lui coming in second, going 35 for 37. Stokeld lead the kick scoring category with 81 points with Lui coming in second with 59 points. Newman’s Senior Punter Julian Cortina led Punt Yardage with 32.2 yards per punt, punting 26 times for 836 yards. Newman’s Junior Nick Ayre led the league in punt returns, going 16.7 yards per return, returning 15 punts for 251 yards. Stokeld led the league in kickoff yardage with 4,224 yards, kicking off 89 times with 11 touchbacks for an average of 47.5 yards per kick. Sailasa Vadrawale led the league in kickoff returns with an average of 24.9 yards, returning 11 kickoffs for 274 yards. Nick Ayre led in total yardage, returning 24 kickoffs for 490 yards (Average of 20.4 yards).
In the NBL Redwood League, the St. Vincent de Paul Mustangs went 3-1 in league and finished with a Regular Season record of 9-1, capturing the Redwood Title. Despite beating St. Vincent, Montgomery finished 2nd in league with a record of 3-1 and a regular season record of 7-3. The season was a big bounce back and showed Coach Vertis Patton was going to bring Viking football back. Santa Rosa beat Montgomery, but finished in 3rd with a league record of 3-1 and a Regular Season record of 6-4. Piner finished in 4th with a league record of 1-3 and a regular season record of 2-6. Healdsburg got their first ever win in 3 years with a non league win over Fort Bragg, but they finished 3-6 in the regular season and 0-4 in league.
Montgomery Senior Mason Hallin and St. Vincent Senior Dante Antonini won co-MVP. St. Vincent 2 star Junior RB Kai Hall finished with 1,474 rushing yards and 20 rushing TDs, and won Offensive Player of the Year. Montgomery Sophomore DL Sam Valenti finished with 55 tackles and 7 sacks, and won Defensive Player of the Year. Santa Rosa Junior DB Nolan Frost finished with 5 interceptions and 32 tackles, and won DB of the Year. Lineman of the Year went to St. Vincent Senior Lineman Dominic Minton. RB of the year went to Carlitos Padro who rushed for 1,136 yards and 13 TDs. Specialist of the Year went to Santa Rosa Senior Kicker Daniel Escutia.
In the CIF North Coast Section Playoffs Division 7, #1 seed St. Vincent de Paul swept competition and won the the Championship over #2 seed St. Helena 54-32. In the CIF NCS Playoffs D6, #1 seed Salesian College Prep beat #3 seed Justin-Siena in a nail biter, 28-26, to win the championship. In CIF NCS Division 5, #1 seed San Marin made it to the championship and shut out #2 seed Del Norte, 36-0 to capture the championship. In CIF NCS D4, #2 seed Cardinal Newman made it to the championship to face longtime rival #1 seed Marin Catholic. Marin Catholic beat Newman, 42-7 to capture the championship. In CIF NCS Division 3, #7 seed Montgomery lost to #2 seed Las Lomas in the first round, but #1 seed Windsor made it to the championship to face #3 seed Benicia who beat Las Lomas to make it to the championship. Windsor beat Benicia 38-14 to capture the D3 Championship. In the CIF NCS Division 2 Playoffs, #2 seed Rancho Cotate was knocked out by #3 seed Foothill in the semifinals, 35-7, but Foothill was knocked out by the #4 seed Campolindo in the Championship. In the CIF NCS 8 man Division, the Branson Bulls dominated competition and beat Stuart Hill, 58-16, in the championship.
CIF State Championship Bowl Game Results:
7AA: Fall River 43, Morro Bay 13
7A: Balboa 43, Taft 0
6AA: Argonaut beat St. Vincent in the Semifinals, 42-12
Championship Score: Argonaut 47, Quartz Hill 14
6A: Salesian College Prep 42, Arlington 21
5AA: San Marin 20, Independence 14
5A: Sacred Heart Prep 16, Righetti 0
4AA: Marin Catholic 33, Central Valley Christian 14
4A: Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep 48, Northview 29
3AA: Vanden beat Windsor 56-28 in Semifinals
Championship Score: Vanden 14, Aquinas 13
3A: McClymonds 54, Birmingham 7
2AA: Mater Dei Catholic 34, Central Catholic 25
2A: Scripps Ranch 31, Wilcox 28
1AA: Cathedral Catholic 33, Folsom 21
1A: Serra (Gardena, CA) 21, Liberty 16
Open Division: Mater Dei 44, Serra (San Mateo, CA) 7
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