Coachella Valley's Aaron Ramirez is The Desert Sun Offensive Player of the Year

Coachella Valley High School put together one of its most successful high school football seasons in school history this year, and Aaron Ramirez played a large part in that. A sophomore running back, Ramirez was the engine of the Desert Valley League champions' high-powered offense that scored 42.2 points in the nine games that he played.

In his record-setting season, Ramirez rushed for 1,873 yards, which was the most by a Coachella Valley player in a single season in at least the last 25 years. Ramirez topped the previous recordholder Tony Carreon (1,242) by more than 600 yards. In addition to breaking the school rushing yardage record, Ramirez also set the school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 30. He added three receiving touchdowns, bringing his total to 33 touchdowns in 2022.

For the success and numbers that Ramirez produced, Ramirez has been recognized as The Desert Sun's Offensive Player of the Year.

"You knew he was gonna be special from the beginning," Coachella Valley head coach Bill Johnson said. "His first practices as an Arab showed everyone that. I had heard good things about him coming into his freshman year. He was on the smaller side, but everyone was raving about him so I was excited to see what he could do.

"Early on in a practice, he caught a ball and hit a second gear, and then hit a gear even higher than that," he said. "I was like 'Woah, you don't see that in a lot of people.' He's got that Orlando Wallace, Angelo Fitzgerald kind of speed in terms of potential."

Standing at 5-foot-7 and no more than 150 pounds, Ramirez not only led the valley in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, but he led all sophomores in California in both categories despite missing two games with a sprained ankle. In those two games that he missed, it was obvious how important he was to the Arabs offense as they averaged just 23.7 points.

Ramirez put together four 200-yard rushing performances, and that number could have been higher if he wasn't pulled out of the second half in several lopsided games. Another impressive stat that illustrated the worth of Ramirez was that he averaged 12 yards per carry, which was near the top of the state in his class.

Ramirez knew he was in for a big year, and he credits the hard work by himself and his teammates as well as the Arabs coaching staff for his success.

"I want to give credit to Coach Roy (Rosales) and Coach Jose (Luis Espinoza) for helping me become stronger, faster, and overall giving me opportunities to be a better version of myself," Ramirez said. "During the offseason, me and the boys would be up working at 6 a.m. getting better and thriving for our goals.

"Huge shoutout to my linemen -- a.k.a. the Pancake Platoon! Rene Vidana, Reymundo Peña, Bryan Loaiza, Aiden Cano, Marcus Ceja and Hector Guerrero. Without those guys and the great coaching staff, none of this would have been possible!"

While some may have considered Ramirez's record season a surprise, coaches and teammates in the Arabs locker room knew early on that he was a special player who was in for a big year.

Coachella Valley senior All-Desert Sun offensive lineman Bryan Loaiza is among the players not surprised by Ramirez's monster season.

"We knew Aaron was going to be that guy since his freshman year," said Loaiza. "During summer practices, he would come in with the mindset that he was playing varsity already, and he earned his spot. He got his reps with the varsity and just dominated."

When asked what made Ramirez so special as a runner, everyone's answer was nearly identical.

"He's just so explosive," Johnson said. "His straight line speed is great, but his acceleration is even better. The way he sees the field and holes developing is just as impressive, but what really sets him apart is how quick he's able to move laterally. He moves laterally as lighting fast as he moves forward, which is just crazy."

Added Loaiza: "Aaron's x-factor is his speed and shiftiness. On top of that speed, he knows how to read holes the linemen made and always had great communication with us. Most of all, his mentality is what really makes him special. Even though he is a sophomore, even though he's smaller than other guys, it didn't stop him from wanting to be the best out there."

Ramirez said that it's the small things that set him apart.

"I feel like what sets me apart from other running backs is that I'm always looking to get positive yardage, not just touchdowns," he said. "The big plays will come, but I always make sure to gain positive yardage and not put my team in a hole. Another thing is that I don't let the little things get to me. If me and my team mess up, we move on to the next play and fix our mistakes."

Ramirez produced many statement games during his special season, but none were more impressive or important than what he did in a 47-22 win against the La Quinta Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks, who were the DEL co-champions and the last valley team to exit the playoffs, had no answers for Ramirez in the game. He carried the ball 33 times for 295 yards and four touchdowns in the blowout. The 295 rushing yards are the most in school history in a single game.

In two years, Ramirez has scored 40 rushing touchdowns, which is 12th most in valley history. With two years remaining, Ramirez could challenge the valley record of 86 rushing touchdowns set by former La Quinta star Frederick Collins.

"Aaron did great things against every team we played, but the La Quinta game was just on a whole other level," Johnson said. "You're talking about a La Quinta team that was a co-champ in the DEL, and it was that night that he broke the school record for yards in a night. It was against a quarterfinalist in the Division-9 CIF-SS playoffs, who lost to the eventual division champions.

"That was the night that showcased what Aaron can do. He showed everyone in a big game on a big stage that he is that good."

Ramirez by the numbers

Rushing yards: 1,873

Rushing yards per game: 208.1

Rushing yards per carry: 12

Total touchdowns: 33

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Aaron Ramirez is The Desert Sun's 2022 Offensive Player of the Year