Prep Football: Eleven area players receive All-CIF-Southern Section honor
Eleven local football players received All-CIF-Southern Section honors, including five earning the nod within a loaded Division 2 team.
Three players from Oak Hills earned a spot on the Div. 2 team, while two from Apple Valley, including a towering offensive lineman in Raymond Pulido, who will be attending the University of Arizona after graduation.
Pulido was a monster in the trenches for Apple Valley’s offensive attack, which racked up 2,300 rushing yards over 11 games.
Pulido was initially committed to the University of Alabama but announced he would instead be joining the Wildcats’ program. He, along with Dustin Reynolds, who also earned a spot on the Div. 2 team, signed a National Letters of Intent last month to continue their football careers.
Reynolds, who signed with Northern Arizona University, capped a tremendous career at Apple Valley by being named the Mojave River League and Daily Press Defensive Player of the Year honors.
The star linebacker led Apple Valley’s defense to holding opposing teams to about 16 points per game on the season.
Of the three Bulldogs that earned a spot on the Div. 2 team, just one is a senior — Semisi Faingataa. He’s joined by teammates Paki Finau, a junior, and Karson Cox, a sophomore running back that took 128 carries for 1,215 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The trio played key roles for the Bulldogs en route to the MRL title and a quarterfinals appearance in the Div. 2 playoffs.
Silverado’s Fredrick Hunter earned a spot on the Div. 5 team after leading his team to the Desert Sky League title. Hunter took 154 carries for 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games during his senior year.
Another area sophomore, Sultana quarterback Jacob Higgs, also made the cut in Div. 7. Higgs, who was named the Daily Press Offensive Player of the Year after leading Sultana to its first CIF-Southern Section playoffs appearance since 2018, has a bright future ahead of him.
Higgs ended his sophomore year with averaging 259.5 passing yards and 84 rushing yards per game. Higgs tossed 34 touchdowns and ran for another 14 scores.
In Div. 9, a pair of players from teams competing in the Desert Sky League made the cut. Adelanto’s Markai Shaw and Granite Hills’ Kameron Smith each played key roles in helping their teams to a playoff berth.
Smith, a junior, led the DSL with 1,393 rushing yards for the second consecutive season. Smith averaged 8.2 yards per carry and scored 14 touchdowns.
Two linemen also made the list in different divisions. Victor Valley’s Jayshaun Stone earned a spot on the Div. 12 team, while Silver Valley’s Devin Bolling received a nod in Div. 14.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Prep Football: Eleven area players receive All-CIF-Southern Section honor
