As we get deeper into recruiting season, recruits across the country are
taking official visits, and many are starting to receive post-season honors. This
past weekend, Mitchell Schwartz visited Virginia and Chike Amajoyi visited
Arizona State. Matt Conrath was named league defensive MVP and first team
all-state as a defensive lineman. Owen Marecic was also named league defensive
player of the year in his league. Matt Bentler, whose season ended short of a
playoff berth a few weeks ago, was named first team all conference both as an
offensive lineman and as a defensive lineman. Charlie Hatcher, another prospect
whose season is over, was named second team all-district as a defensive linemen. Many recruits are still playing and hope to lead their teams deep into the
playoffs….
* Oaks Christian won their first round playoff game with a 70-9 blowout. Notre Dame commit Jimmy Clausen broke the all-time California touchdown record
with a 14-yard pass to Stanford commit Sean Wiser. USC commit Marc Tyler's bid
to break the all-time California record for rushing touchdowns ended when he
suffered a serious leg injury, which puts a real damper on Oaks Christian's
continued dominance. They still are expected to run the table and finish the
season as a contender for the mythical national title. Tyler is truly special,
but his “backup” is Marshall Jones, another one of the best players in the
country and another USC commit.
* In the first round of the playoffs, Darrell Scott, George Halamandaris and
Moorpark did what Darrell Scott, George Halamandaris, and Moorpark do and
crushed Camarillo 51-21 behind Scott's unstoppable running. Camarillo, the team
of USC commit Samson Szakacsy and Cal commit Bryan Anger, had no answer for
Scott, who ran wild for 308 yards and six touchdowns on only 16 carries. Scott
only played a half of the game because the game was so out of hand. It's pretty
clear by this point that Scott, who averages over 230 yards per game, is one of
the top couple high school juniors in the nation, but Stanford fans can hope
that Halamandaris has been a quiet part of that success.
* Francis Parker, home of Tyler Mabry and Gino Gordon, finished their regular
season 7-3 with a 21-10 win. They play their first playoff game on Friday.
* Mission Viejo also won their first round playoff game in a laugher, winning
44-7. David Green made a 31-yard field goal.
* Thomas Keiser became the latest Stanford commit to see his season end, as
his team lost in the semifinals, 21-3.
* Kellen Kiilsgaard's utter dominance continued as he led Auburn to a 47-14
quarterfinal win. Auburn is undefeated, rarely plays close games, and has their
sights set square on a state championship. Kiilsgaard only attempted four passes in
the game, completing all of them for 128 yards and a touchdown. On the ground,
Kiilsgaard had five carries for 25 yards and two more touchdowns. On defense,
Kiilsgaard intercepted a pass. While Auburn will move to the state semifinals
next week, it was Kiilsgaard's last home game of his high school career. In his
words, “We as a group of seniors have never lost on this field. We knew we had
to finish the job here. We wanted to end our careers here with a win.”
* Chase Minnifield's team also advanced to their state's semifinals, beating
another highly touted team, 21-7. Henry Clay's final touchdown came on a drive in
which Minnifield moved to quarterback. On the drive, he either passed or ran for
73 yards of an 81-yard drive that was punctuated by a two-yard Minnifield
touchdown run. He also had a 37-yard punt that pinned the opponent on their own
one-yard line and set up a Minnifield interception to put Henry Clay at their
opponent's goal line for another touchdown. As a quarterback, Minnifield was 6-of-6
passing for 59 yards. Said Minnifield, "I like having the ball in my hands. I
think they've got to key on me, and I can get the ball out to my receivers and
let my running back, Dontey Gay, run. I think it's a real hard thing to stop
when you have that many playmakers on the field."
* Matt Conrath's team advanced to the championships with a 34-31 semifinals
win. Said Conrath, "The offense kept us in it, and the defense made the big play
when we needed it. This is quite an accomplishment. This is for all the St. Rita
teams that couldn't get down state." Conrath came into the game with an
extraordinary 117 tackles on the season as a defensive lineman.
* Baton Rouge Catholic, home of Jason Peters and Jeremy Stewart, stayed
undefeated by winning their second playoff game, 38-14. Peters typically leads
the defense, which was stifling in the second half of this game. Stewart is the
starting running back and rushed for 160 yards and one touchdown on 25 carries.
* Derrick Hallman's season ended in the semifinals with a 21-0 loss. Hallman
had a 71-yard catch and run for a touchdown called back due to a penalty. Also,
this
feature piece on Hallman will be very interesting to Stanford fans.
* Mitchell Schwartz also played his last high school game with Palisades,
losing a first round playoff contest, 42-14.
* Hoover advanced to the third round of the playoffs with a 31-0 win, giving
Brandon Clear and Byron Clear more opportunities for exposure.
* Jesuit, home of Jamaine Olson and Owen Marecic, stayed undefeated with a
48-14 second round playoff win.
* Aquinas won their first playoff game, 28-7. Chike Amajoyi scored three of
Aquinas' four touchdowns and now has 28 on the season.
* Matt Howe's team won their first round playoff game, 52-20.
* Cameron Collins' team came into the week hoping to secure an at-large bid
into the playoffs but was not selected, ending Collins' high school career. He
now begins the more serious phase of his recruitment, which looks to be hotly
contested.
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