Antoine Custer's sophomore football season ended prematurely on an overcast night in Carson.

The De La Salle running back tweaked his Achilles tendon on the opening kickoff in a 20-14 loss to St. John Bosco-Bellflower. The setback came in the CIF-State Open Division bowl game.

It's unknown how much of a difference Custer's absence meant in the outcome. Spartans coach Justin Alumbaugh said after De La Salle had a lot of special things set up for Custer. Suffice it to say, his absence did not help as St. John Bosco had the luxury of keying on Spartan back John Velasco in a bruising state title game.

"It was hard," Custer said. "There was a lot of stuff we could have done. I think my speed would have come in handy. And I would have given the team more fire. I feel like I could have made the difference."

Before that kickoff everything had gone swimmingly for Custer and De La Salle, which entered the game with a 14-0 record. Custer had more than done his part, rushing for 1,141 yards and 107 carries and scoring 14 touchdowns while catching 13 passes for 208 yards and two scores.

Custer emanates from a unique background of almost all women. He's the only male besides his dad in a household that has also included his mom, grandmother and four sisters.

However, the De La Salle star has a cousin, Terrance Kelly, who played for the Spartans and so there's the sports background. Custer started playing youth football at age 6 with the Berkeley Cougars, dutifully taking his spot at running back and cornerback.

The Spartan standout has never lost his love for the game.

"I just like the feeling of the games," he said. "Stepping out there and hearing the fans screaming. I love the hype of it."

Custer also participates in track and field, running the 100 and 200 and two relays.

It's football that really gets his heart pumping, though.

"I just catch the ball and run," Custer said. "I don't think too much and I can't hear anything when I'm carrying the ball. When I get to the end zone it feels great. My team is happy and I can hear the crowd yelling."

Custer didn't get to enjoy that sensation in Carson, but he'll have two more chances. After all, he's only a sophomore.

Also considered: Boss Tagaloa, OL/DL, De La Salle; Darius Peterson, QB/RB/WR, Marin Catholic; Joe Sweeney, QB, Freedom; Gunner Mefferd, QB, Rancho Cotate; Ryan Anderson, WR, Miramonte; Shurod Thompson, DB, Pittsburg.

NOTE: We would like to thank our readers for all of the nominations you sent in for the season-ending NCS football awards. It is a daunting task to narrow down our selections to just the top few as we recognize there are lots of great players who make contributions on the football field that are not necessarily well-documented but mean a great deal to the success of their teams. We salute all of the players that have made this a wonderful season of NCS football.