Best of the rest: Here are some of the Stanislaus District’s best remaining football players
The CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Football Championships continue Friday night with the postseason semifinals. Games kick off at 7 p.m.
There are a number of talented Stanislaus District athletes taking the field Friday night with the hopes of sending their respective teams to section championship games on either Nov. 24 or Nov. 25.
Here are some of the must-watch players to see during Friday’s semifinals contests. The list of talented representatives includes quarterbacks, receivers, rushers, offensive linemen and defensive stoppers.
Note: Players and stats included are from MaxPreps. Players are listed in alphabetical order.
Joey Alcutt, RB, Central Catholic
A 39-carry, 325-yard game in the D-I quarterfinals proved what many already knew: in his first season as Central Catholic’s workhorse, Alcutt performs in the big moments. The junior has rushed for 1,176 yards and 13 touchdowns on 125 carries this season as the Raiders enter the semifinals for the second straight season.
Navi Arretche, OL, Hughson
The defending TVL’s Outstanding Offensive Lineman, Arretche leads a line that opens holes for leading rusher Alexander Villarreal and protects from one of the area’s best quarterbacks, Hughson’s Robert McDaniel.
Caden Bailey, RB, Hilmar
The Yellowjackets’ rushing leader, Bailey has 1,683 yards and 18 touchdowns. As a sophomore, he was forced to take over at quarterback and started the season as the team’s signal caller. A midseason change moved him to running back/slot receiver where he has thrived.
Wes Burford, RB/K, Oakdale
Just a sophomore, Burford has rushed for over 1,500 yards and more than 25 touchdowns for the Mustangs. He is also the team’s placekicker, connecting on more than 35 extra points this season.
David Burns, LB/RB, Hughson
The Huskies’ leading tackler for the second season in a row, Burns is four shy of his second straight 100-tackle season. He is one of five players with at least five tackles for loss and has an interception.
Logan Cardoso, RB, Hilmar
Hilmar’s second 1,000-plus yard back, Cardoso averages 97.1 yards per game and has 13 rushing touchdowns. He has four 100-plus-yard rushing games and four more with between 80 and 95 rushing yards.
Brooklyn Cheek, WR/DB, Central Catholic
The Cal-bound defensive back/receiver burst onto the scene as a sophomore with five interceptions and has not let up since. Cheek leads the Raiders in tackles (65) and has one pick this season. As a wideout, he leads the team on receiving yards (805) and touchdowns (13).
Noah Cozart, DB/WR, Patterson
Cozart led the Tigers in receiving yards, touchdowns and interceptions last season as a sophomore and is on pace to end his junior season in the same position. Through 11 games, he has 685 yards and nine touchdowns on offense and at defensive back has three interceptions, a pair of pick-sixes and a fumble recovery.
Juan Esquivez, RB/LB, Orestimba
Esquivez is the new Orestimba High single-season record holder for rushing yards. His 2,227 tops Austin Martins, who set the previous record in 2015. He has done it on 203 carries and has 38 rushing touchdowns this season. He is also second on the team in tackles (72), third in tackles for loss (14) and third in sacks (3).
Josh Graham, RB, Escalon
Graham leads the Cougars in rushing yards with 1,215 and touchdowns (13). He has eight 100-plus-yard rushing performances and rushed for a career-high 161 yards in a nonleague game against Windsor.
Brady Grondz, SB/DB, Ripon Christian
The best word to describe Grondz is playmaker. The senior leads the Knights in rushing touchdowns (20) and adds 839 rushing yards. He is also the team’s leader in receiving yards with 295. He has a pair of receiving touchdowns and has returned two punts for touchdowns.
Trace Hernandez, WR/DB, Central Catholic
Hernandez might be the fastest football player in the area and his ability to run deep routes suggests that. As a receiver, he leads all Raiders receivers with 10 or more receptions in yards per catch (21.5) and has caught 35 passes for 751 yards and nine touchdowns. He is also one of two Raiders who have returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Mana Itete, OL/DL, Central Catholic
After transferring in from Modesto Christian, Itete has continued to improve since joining the Raiders and becoming eligible in late September. The 6-foot-7, 270-pound lineman has committed to play at Florida State next season.
Sam Jimenez, WR/DB, Escalon
In just his third year playing football, Jimenez has had an impact on both sides of the ball. He is the team’s leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, tallying 842 and 14, respectively. Jimenez is also one of the area’s best ball hawks, recording seven interceptions with one pick-six.
Troy Leota, OL/DL, Central Catholic
Leota was a first team all-VOL lineman in his junior season and has continued to dominate in his senior season, making life easy for teammates TP Wentworth and Alcutt.
Jeremiah Lugo, RB/DB, Patterson
Lugo averages 109.5 yards a game, picking up where last season’s dominant running backs Lolo Mataele and Sean Hansen Jr. left off. In his junior season, he has 1,205 yards and 19 touchdowns for the No. 3 seed in Division IV.
Robert McDaniel, QB, Hughson
McDaniel’s 27 passing touchdowns this season are a new Hughson High single season record. He set that record Friday night just one game after setting the school’s single-game record for touchdown passes (7). He has passed for 2,390 yards on the season.
Max Medina, QB, Patterson
A super sophomore, Medina has passed for nearly 2,300 yards in 11 games. He has increased his touchdown passes (31) and decreased his interceptions (3). The Patterson signal caller averages 208.8 yards per game and has five 4-plus touchdown games.
Jamin Miller, RB/LB, Escalon
Miller has 708 yards and six touchdowns on the ground and has made an impact on the defensive end as well. He is second on the team in tackles, tallying 69 and is one of four Cougars with a pick-six for the top seed in Division IV.
Tresor Mulumba, DE/TE, Patterson
One of the CCC’s best defensive linemen set up shop in opposing backfields all season. Mulumba has 20 tackles for loss and nine sacks entering the Division IV semifinals. He also has a forced fumble and returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown.
Donovan Rozevink, QB, Escalon
A three-year starter now in his senior season, Rozevink already has thrown a career high in touchdown passes in a season with 28. He is averaging career highs in completion percentage (61.1), passing yards per game (146.9) and completions per game (9.3) in a primarily run-first offense.
Malakai Sumter, WR/DB, Hughson
After a limited role on last season’s section and state championship teams, Sumter has had a breakout junior season. One of the Huskies’ best two-way players, he is second on the team in receiving yards (564) and touchdowns (6) and is the team leader in interceptions (4).
TP Wentworth, QB/DB/DE, Central Catholic
A starting quarterback who also mixes it up in the defensive backfield and on the defensive line, Wentworth makes his impact felt. He has passed for 1,919 yards and 25 touchdowns. Defensively, he had the game winning tackle against Manteca and leads the Raiders in sacks (4.0) and interceptions (2). He is headed to Clemson on a baseball scholarship.
