ALL-CENTRAL COAST SECTION
Player of the Year RASHAAN FONTENETTE, RB, OAK GROVE
By RYAN SILAPAN Prep2Prep
Oak Grove High senior football player Rashaan Fontenette had quite the senior season.
Fontenette won the BVAL-Mount Hamilton Most Valuable Player award and helped lead Oak Grove to the Central Coast Section Open Division II title.
Now the senior can add one more award to his trophy case for the 2015 season as Fontenette has been named the Prep2Prep CCS Player of the Year.
“It was awesome; it really felt like a movie,” Fontenette said. “It starts off losing to a person then beating them at the end. At first we lost to St. Francis and then Valley (Christian) but this time we back and beat them both. It was just beautiful.”
Fontenette rushed for 2,538 yards and 29 touchdowns and also had 15 receptions for 242 yards and five touchdowns.
Along with outstanding numbers, Fontenette took tremendous pride in his team rallying from an 0-2 start.
After opening the year with those back-to-back losses, Oak Grove won 11 consecutive games, including the wins against Valley Christian and St. Francis in the playoffs.
“Just beating both of them and taking the CCS title was just amazing,” Fontenette said.
Beating St. Francis was extra special for Fontenette since he hadn't beaten the Lancers in any of his previous four meetings.
“It was the perfect win,” Fontenette said of beating St. Francis, which has won 16 section titles. “Losing to them four times in my high school career (and then) finally taking that last game for the win — that was probably the best game I ever played.”
That’s saying something for a guy who was almost unstoppable this season.
If there was one signature play that cemented Player of the Year honors for Fontenette, look no further than the Open D-II title game.
With the game tied 21-21 with 40 seconds left, Oak Grove had the ball its own 40-yard line facing a 4-and-1.
Eagles coach Jay Braun decided to gamble and go for it and got the ball into Fontenette's hands and he took care of the rest.
Fontenette took a direct snap and went left, breaking a tackle and then was gone for a 60-yard touchdown run that proved to be the game-winner for the Eagles in a 27-21 win.
“Rashaan is a very special player,” Braun said. “The line trusted him to make a play and he did and it won us the title.”
Initially Braun was planning to punt on the play but was talked into going for it.
Said Fontenette: “I asked the line if they think I could get the first (down) they said ‘no’ and I was a little shocked,” Fontenette said. “They said ‘We could get more -- let’s take it to the house. Why stop at a first down? Let’s get as much as we can.’ That play I just knew the line was ready to go -- they wanted nothing less. I saw the hole and was running for my life.”
With the win, the Eagles advanced to a NorCal Bowl game for the first time in program history.
It didn't go as planned as the Eagles fell 21-3 the next week to Clayton Valley Charter, but to Fontenette that game didn't matter because he said the team reached all its goals of winning the BVAL-MH and CCS titles.
“After beating Mitty, Valley and St. Francis we accomplished everything we were shooting for,” Fontenette said. “We didn't even think about playing in NorCal. It would've been nice for the season to end after the title game, but now things are different and it's going to make future teams aim past CCS.”
Fontenette will definitely be playing football next season; he’s just not sure where.
A Division I program hasn't offered him a scholarship yet but College of San Mateo and City College of San Francisco have been heavily recruiting him.
Whatever school lands Fontenette will be fortunate.
“Wherever he goes, he's going to do well,” Braun said. “He works extremely hard both in the classroom and on the field. It was an honor to coach him and this team this season.”
Coach of the Year JAY BRAUN, OAK GROVE
A gutsy decision by coach Jay Braun helped lead Oak Grove to a CCS Open Division II championship and our choice as Prep2Prep CCS Coach of the Year.
(Oak Grove Athletics)
By RYAN SILAPAN Prep2Prep
Jay Braun had said that this year's Oak Grove High football team was special.
Not just special for on-the-field accolades but for how close this team is off the field.
This year the Eagles made it even more special for their coach by capturing the BVAL-Mount Hamilton title en route to the Central Coast Section Open Division II championship.
After leading the Eagles to both a league and section title and the program's first NorCal Bowl, Braun has earned Prep2Prep CCS Coach of the Year honors.
“I’m honored to even be mentioned in the category,” Braun said. “To win this really puts the season together. I’ve been coaching for 18 years in the area and got plenty more to go, but this one is very special.”
It was a lucky seven for Braun and the Eagles as Braun led Oak Grove to his first CCS title in his seventh year as coach and the the Eagles won their seventh CCS title and first since 2007.
Braun said the Eagles had the team-first mentality from the beginning and it carried throughout the entire season.
“This group was fantastic,’ Braun said of this year’s team. “They sacrificed their own personal beliefs and goals for the betterment of the team. I’ve had my share of athletic and good teams here no doubt, but this team was more about team than anything else.”
After starting the year with consecutive losses to traditional CCS powerhouses St. Francis and Valley Christian Braun, Braun led the Eagles to 11 consecutive victories -- including three playoff victories over teams from the West Catholic Athletic League, the toughest league in the CCS.
The Eagles defeated Archbishop Mitty, Valley Christian and St. Francis in succession.
“He definitely deserved it,” said Oak Grove's Rashaan Fontenette of Braun of nabbing the honor. “He put in so much time and effort in this. He does so much for this program, I’m glad he won it.”
Braun’s defining moment came against St. Francis in the title game.
With the game tied 21-21 with 40 seconds left and the Eagles facing a 4th-and-1 from their own 40-yard line, Braun gambled.
The gamble paid off hugely as Fontenette, the CCS Player of the Year, took a direct snap, broke a tackle and raced 60 yards for the touchdown to give Oak Grove a 27-21 victory over the Lancers.
“My initial thought was to punt it,” Braun said. “Then somebody said ‘Let’s go for it’ and then I looked into the players’ eyes and they were excited so I said ‘let’s do it’ and I didn’t even second guess it.
“It was the championship game; you live on the line in those kind of games so we went for it.”
Even with a six-point lead, Braun said he couldn't get excited yet because he knows how good the Lancers are and that they were capable of perhaps coming back and winning.
Braun said once the game ended it was time to celebrate.
“In high school football anything can happen at any time. When the whistle finally blew I was kind of in shock. (The) St. Francis-Oak Grove (rivalry) goes back so it was great to win a CCS title but to do it against St. Francis makes it that much better.”
Even with so many titles and awards, Braun isn't just going to remember those but more so the bond that his team had this year.
“These guys were good friends, there was no issues with each other on the team,” he said. “These guys hung out and they are always quick to give credit to the other guy than themselves.”
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Mason Randall, Sacred Heart Prep
Position: Quarterback
Year: Senior
Randall (6-1, 185) led the Gators to state finals in two of his three years as the varsity quarterback. Sacred Heart Prep also won three section titles during that span, including defeating Bellarmine 14-0 in 2014 for the CCS Open championship. He completed 65.1 percent of his passes in 2015 for 2,894 yards and and 28 touchdowns. Also stars in basketball.
Andrew Daschbach, Sacred Heart Prep
Position: Tight End
Year: Senior
Daschbach (6-3, 210), a commit to Stanford for baseball, led the Gators to a third consecutive section title and their second state bowl title game in three years. He caught 62 passes for 1,286 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. He did not start on defense but also made an impact at linebacker when called upon. Now competing for Gator basketball team.
Sam Tofi, Archbishop Riordan
Position: Offensive Lineman
Year: Senior
Tofi (5-9, 203) led a strong offensive line that helped light up scoreboards all season long including scoring 66 points against long-time nemesis Serra as the Crusaders won the Baxter Trophy to go along with trophy game wins against St. Ignatius and Sacred Heart Cathedreal. Runs a 5.0 40-yard dash and was effective getting out on screen passes; didn’t yield many sacks.
Tyrell Johnson, Oak Grove
Position: Offensive Lineman
Year: Senior
Johnson (6-0, 220) was the best O-lineman on a team that pounded its way to BVAL-Mt. Hamilton and CCS Open II titles, defeating three WCAL teams along the way. Provided some of the key blocks for Prep2Prep CCS Player of the Year Rashaan Fontenette. Named his league’s most valuable offensive lineman.
Dontye James, Silver Creek
Position: Utility
Year: Senior
James (6-2, 215) rushed for 2,300 yards and led the surprising Raiders to the CCS Division IV semifinals where they fell to Hillsdale. He rushed for 91 yards against the Knights and drew praise from Hillsdale players. Also had a 300-plus-yard effort against Westmont. On defense he excelled at linebacker.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Christian Rebottaro, Monte Vista Christian
Position: Defensive Lineman
Year: Senior
Rebotarrio (6-2, 290), named the MBL-Gabilan’s MVP, had four fumble recoveries, three sacks, 12 hurries and an interception. Drew frequent double-teams as he helped the Mustangs to a 10-2 overall record, 5-1 in league. Played center on offense. Also the league’s defending heavyweight wrestling champ, he has a grappling scholarship to Michigan State.
Jack Harris, Aptos
Position: Linebacker
Year: Senior
Harris (6-2, 205) was Aptos’ leading tackler as he helped the Mariners to a fifth consecutive SCCAL title and third straight section crown. Also a tight end and fullback on offense, he was named the SCCAL MVP. On offense he rushed for 341 yards and three TDs on 26 carries (13.1 average) after moving to fullback from tight end. He returned a blocked punt for a TD and had an interception and a sack on defense. A star on special teams, he was on the kickoff squad and kickoff return. Is also a star wrestler and has committed to San Francisco State for baseball.
Kevin Glajchen, St. Francis
Position: Linebacker
Year: Senior
Glajchen was a tackling machine for the Lancers, managing 187 takedowns (57 solo) as he was named first-team All-WCAL after leading the Lancers to a WCAL co-title with Bellarmine and their first regional bowl title win and state bowl title appearance. He had five tackles for loss including two sacks and caused three fumbles. Nearly broke the St. Francis record for tackles set by Tim Rossovich (later of the Philadelphia Eagles) set in the 1960s.
Kelepi Lataimua, Serra
Position: Defensive Back
Year: Senior
Lataimua (5-8, 200) was a stellar cornerback on varsity as a sophomore and junior and then played full-time on offense and part-time on defense as a senior. He made 31 tackles on defense in 2015 and blanketed receivers and the Padre defense suffered when he was not on the field. After being inserted at DB after the 66-45 mid-season loss to Riordan, Serra’s only defeat was a tough one to St. Francis in which it led by two touchdowns late in the game.
Matt Spigelman, Half Moon Bay
Position: Utility
Year: Senior
Spigelman was a workhorse for Half Moon Bay out of its Wing-T and double-wing offenses, rushing for 1,313 yards. He ran for more than 160 yards and three touchdowns in a 54-7 section title-game victory against Pacific Grove and also had a 55-yard TD reception and intercepted a pass on defense. Plans to study engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and will try out for the football team.
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Troy Martig, Bellarmine
Position: Quarterback
Year: Senior
Martig led the Bells to league, section and NorCal titles and the school’s third state playoff bowl title game with his clutch play. Completed 108 of 176 passes for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns and rushed for 503 yards and nine scores.
Cameron Woodard, Valley Christian
Position: Tight End
Year: Senior
Woodard (6-4, 260) has five scholarship offers said Warriors coach Mike Machado, after helping the Warriors contend for the WCAL title. He caught 28 passes for 410 yards, helping to fill the void left by outstanding receiver Collin Johnson who was injured early in the season. Woodard is an outstanding blocker.
Justin Terra, Half Moon Bay
Position: Offensive Lineman
Year: Senior
Terra was a first-team All-PAL-Ocean pick in leading the Cougars to their second section title and first since 2005. Behind the blocking of Terra and other standouts such as Miguel Camacho and Kurt Katzenberger, Half Moon Bay scored 511 points for the season and dominated three Monterey Bay opponents in the post-season.
Ryan Moles, St. Francis
Position: Offensive Lineman
Year: Senior
Moles at 280 pounds paved the way for running back Cyrus Habibi-Likio and provided protection for quarterback Kamali’i Akina as the Lancers powered their way to a WCAL co-title, their first NorCal Regional bowl title and first state playoff bowl appearance.
Leki Nunn, Serra
Position: Utility
Year: Junior
Nunn spent the majority of the season at quarterback but also played some running back and scored a touchdown after taking a handoff. While operating Serra’s alternating spread and double-wing offenses, he led the WCAL during the regular season in rushing (1,068 yards) and passing (1,766) while earning the league’s most valuable player award.
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Laipeli Palu, Burlingame
Position: Linebacker
Year: Senior
Palu was the heart of a Burlingame team that knocked off Menlo-Atherton to win a PAL-Bay tri-title and nearly defeated Archbishop Riordan in the playoffs. Though he was not employed all of the time on defense, he still managed 45 solo tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Also rushed for 1,147 yards and 18 touchdowns and was named the PAL-Bay offensive player of the year.
HONORABLE MENTION:
ALISAL:
Julio Galeana, David Valencia
ALVAREZ:
Aldo Flores, Mikey Ramirez
APTOS:
Jason Bonsall, Ben Sheriffs
ARAGON:
Tomsilay Medan, Anthony Sandoval
ARCHBISHOP MITTY:
Sam Serra, Matt Tofano, Blake Flovin, Nick La Bruna, Matt Marani
ARCHBISHOP RIORDAN:
Raymone Sanders, Jason Greene, Mario Giusto, Daniel Norman, Stanton Thomas, Lasa Tofi, Jacky Luavasa
BELLARMINE COLLEGE PREP:
Devon Buenrostro, Antonio Garcia, Vincent Fernandez, Isaac Oshana, Josh Bringuel, Bobby Facchino, Cade Hall
BRANHAM:
Manny Magana
BURLINGAME:
Vinny Ferrari, Jeovani Garcia, Bassil Mufarreh, Charles Stephenson
CAPUCHINO:
Damien Jacobs
CARLMONT:
Jake Kumamoto
CARMEL:
Convosay Windham, John Stivers
CHRISTOPHER:
PJ Reichert
CUPERTINO:
CJ Pumphrey, Brenden Cote, Shawn Dumov
DEL MAR:
Connery Howery
EVERGREEN VALLEY:
Andrew Morgan
FREMONT:
Jeremiah Creamer, Bruce Fua
GILROY:
Noe Garcia
GONZALES:
Fabian Acosta, Isaac Madrigal
GREENFIELD:
Francisco Zavala
GUNDERSON:
Raul Villa-Letuligasenoa, Jake Spencer
GUNN:
Jeff Wilson, DJ Barnes, Evan Baird
HALF MOON BAY:
Pablo Gutierrez, Miguel Camacho, Phillip Anderson, Sean Baird, Chase Hofmann
HARBOR:
Nick Lynd
HILLSDALE:
Brett Wetteland, Isaiah Cozzolino, Siua Etu, Matt Roloff
HOMESTEAD:
Rajah Ward, Joe Kinderman, Dominic Faria
INDEPENDENCE:
Derje Blanks, Devin Ary, Jake Dominguez
JAMES LICK:
Noah Tirri, Johnny Covarrubias
JEFFERSON:
Damari Cual-Davis
KING CITY:
Jarrod Davis, Jacob Flores
LEIGH:
Jared King, Greg Le
LELAND:
Sam McCash, Bryce Anderson
LINCOLN:
Anastacio Prado, Aldin Besirenic, Juan De La Cruz
LIVE OAK:
Eric Ornduff, Paul Lomanto, Mitch Conforti, Ryan Quadros
LOS GATOS:
Jake Holton, Miles Beach, Hunter Bigge, Jordan Howell, Ryan Wilcox, Mark Shaheen, Make Tonges, Harry Hibberd
MARINA:
Angel Guevara
MENLO:
Charlie Ferguson
MENLO-ATHERTON:
Jordan Mims, Epeli Mataele, Marcus Gershenberg, Stavro Papadakis, Jack Gray, Dylan Calderon
MILLS:
Andrew Killibrew, Isi Mapa
MILPITAS:
Oliver Svirsky, Cros Chavez, Michael Pyle, DeJuan Crummie, Devin Crummie, Paolo Baquilod, Brent Baculi, Shawndre Smith, Jarred Green, D’Zhane Walker, Tai Nguyen, John Macaulay, Justin Scrempos
MONTA VISTA:
Golan Gingold
MONTE VISTA CHRISTIAN:
D’Shawn Hopkins, Chris Denning, Thomas Blocker, Seth Fletscher, Jason Morrell, Lucas Olgiati
MONTEREY:
Akili Jones, Andres Dorio
MT. PLEASANT:
George Landeros, Daniel Perez, Daniel Bocanegra, Elias Yanez
NORTH MONTEREY COUNTY:
Bobby Tovar, Gabriel Barajas, Manuel Gallardo
NORTH SALINAS:
Fabian Hunkin, Timothy Burkhardt, Ben Organista, Jose Antonio Rodriguez
OAK GROVE:
Damian Eason, Jelani Brown, Joel Gomez, Enrique Rivera, Grady Ryan
OVERFELT:
Bobby Henderson, DeVaughn Johnson, Stone Savea, Raymond Haro Jr.
PACIFIC GROVE:
Noah Cryns, Sione Fiefia, James Donlon
PAJARO VALLEY:
Santiago Aguilar
PALMA:
Drew Dalman, Jack Richardson, Jared Torculas, Liam McMillin, Zach Ralston, Angel Maldonado, Zachary Barry, Zachery Tamagni
PALO ALTO:
Justin Hull, Paul Jackson III, Riley Schoeben
PIEDMONT HILLS:
Marcus Romero, Richard Fedelin, Gabe Martinez
PIONEER:
Louis Coloumbe, Raul Villa-Letuligasenoa, Zach Matar, Jayce Clark, David Gonzalez
PROSPECT:
Terry Fitzgerald
SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL:
Jamar Williams-Sheppard, Ronan Murphy
SACRED HEART PREP:
Nick O’Donnell, Isoa Moimoi, Cameron Dulsky
SALINAS:
Matt Castaneda, Ryan Jensen, Adan Hernandez, Adrian Villalobos
SAN BENITO:
Hunter Nye, Kyle Cameron, Tristan Medina, Tyler Biersforff , Michael Camacho, Eli Sernas
SAN LORENZO VALLEY:
Nick Salibi, Brighton Hart, Jake Hampton
SAN JOSE:
Anthony Fagasau
SAN MATEO:
Josh Fakava, Joe Baker, George Qobti
SANTA CLARA:
Chris Brown, Pako Vehikite
SANTA TERESA:
Alec Calderon
SARATOGA:
Alex Hawks, Vinny Faylor, William Liddle, Alex Hawks, Kian Ghelichkani, Jesse Chung, Aaron Vogel
SCOTTS VALLEY:
Tristen Leonetti
SEASIDE:
Keishawn Robinson, TJ Mono, Jorge Sanchez
SEQUOIA:
Alan Pohauhau, Eli Frazier, Faavae Brown
SERRA:
Brandon Monroe, Billy Tuitavake, Rory Uniacke
SILVER CREEK:
Kevin Kelly
SOBRATO:
Darius Wheeler
SOLEDAD:
Enrqiue Pacheco
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO:
Tavaii Tuitasi, Angel Navarez
ST. FRANCIS:
Kamali’i Akina, Lutovika Ahoia, Darius Thomas, Thomas MacDevitt, Adam Poltrack
ST. FRANCIS CCC:
Ruben Ibarra, Ivo Lasich
ST. IGNATIUS:
Peter Katz, Spencer Sinclair, Xavier Tharpe, Jack McKeon, Julian Villavincencio
STEVENSON:
Casey Mornhinweg
TERRA NOVA:
Joey Pledger, Anthony Fretty, Angelo Pera
THE KING'S ACADEMY:
Markweese Smith, Josiah Maama
VALLEY CHRISTIAN:
Morian Walker Jr., Javon Sturns, Miles Kendrick, Dylan McCreery
WATSONVILLE:
JoJo Vargas, Alex Mosqueda
WESTMONT:
Nolan Berry, Prince Okoye, DJ Monroe
WILCOX:
Eduardo Andrade, Robbie Saulus, Hesekaia Finefeiiaki, Jake Kenney, Jonathan Tomoka, Rhodel Lacsamana, Joseph Bowles
WILLOW GLEN:
Clay Wilson, Anthony Navarro
WOODSIDE:
Sione Halaapiapi, Marcelous Chester-Riley
YERBA BUENA:
Shalom Filoiulii, Damen Evans, Ken Trong
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