First installment of this statewide feature for the 2012 season includes huge outings from other players at Folsom besides the quarterback plus monster totals from El Toro’s Conner Manning and Mendota’s Edgar Segura.
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Cruise Adams (Garces, Bakersfield)
It wasn’t a cruise for the Rams in their 21-20 victory vs. San Luis Obispo, but Adams had a fine game in the season opener by passing for 344 yards and three touchdowns. He completed 23 of 40 passes.
Marcus Armstrong-Brown (Justin-Siena, Napa)
This quarterback’s four combined touchdowns in a 47-14 victory over host St. Mary’s (Berkeley) usually wouldn’t make the list, but in his first game calling signals after playing wide receiver last year, and the way he got them has a nice twist. He ran for two TDs out of Coach Rich Cotruvo’s split-back veer offense, including a nifty 45-yard keeper, and although Justin doesn’t pass the ball very much the 6-foot, 180-pound senior had two TDs passing, on his only two attempts. An additional twist is Cotruvo hopes to get junior Stephen Lum up to speed behind center so that Armstrong-Brown can return to the wide receiver spot, where the coach feels he’s an even better performer.
Jake Browning & Phillip Carter & Lucas Owan (Folsom)
By know you have already heard about Browning tying a state record for touchdown passes in a game as he passed for 10 touchdowns and 689 yards in a 68-28 victory over Woodcreek of Roseville. In the same game, Carter caught 10 passes for 317 yards and five touchdowns to also earn himself a spot in our state record book for receiving yards. Owan caught 14 passes for 236 yards. It will be interesting to see how Browning and the Bulldogs do against stronger competition.
Teri Carter (San Juan, Citrus Heights)
Just 11 carries seemed to be a common number for some of the top running backs around the state during the opening week. Carter took his 11 carries for 242 yards and four touchdowns in a 60-13 win over Valley Christian of Roseville.
Andrew Celis (Marin Catholic, Kentfield)
One of the top small school sophomores last season showed why he’s one of the best multi-purpose players in Northern California. In a 31-14 victory over host Miramonte of Orinda, the 178-pound junior caught five passes for 73 yards, kicked a 28-yard field goal, booted four PATs, punted, kicked off for a touchback all six times, recovered a fumble, and played well at defensive back breaking up a couple of passes.
Zack Chang (Monte Vista, Danville)
Zack pretty much broke the back of Castro Valley in a 35-22 Monte Vista win. The senior running back rushed for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Zach Cuha (Canyon, Canyon Country)
In setting a school record for interceptions in a game, Cuha picked off three passes and returned the final one 38 yards for six points in a 49-12 win for the Cowboys over Morningside of Inglewood.
Brandon Douglas (Rincon Valley Christian, Santa Rosa)
Talk about a two-way standout performance in a big 62-0 home win over El Sobrante Christian in an eight-man contest. On offense the senior running back had 13 carries for 162 yards and three touchdowns with two 2-point conversions. On defense from his linebacker position Douglas had 16 tackles with six for losses. By the way, he has to go both ways since RVC only has 11 players.
Antjuan Farmer (Monroe, North Hills)
Despite catching nine passes for 193 yards and three touchdowns, it wasn't enough to prevent a 65-35 loss for the Vikings against Bell-Jeff of Burbank.
Jack Gregson (Bishop Diego, Santa Barbara)
On just 13 carries, he ran for 264 yards and three touchdowns as the Cardinals opened the season with a 54-3 win over Santa Maria.
Jalen Harvey (El Cerrito)
He scored three TDs in three different ways, a 61-yard punt return, a 19-yard scoring reception and an 82-yard TD run. El Cerrito defeated San Lorenzo 62-7.
Jahray Hayes (Santa Rosa)
Jahray has his way in a 42-21 home win over Petaluma. The Panthers’ running back rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns.
Johnny Hills (La Mirada)
In the first game in many years for St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs without longtime coach Marijon Ancich, Hills made the biggest plays to lift La Mirada past the Swordsmen 55-28. Hills rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns and caught a pair of passes for 60 more yards and one TD.
Corbin Jountti (Liberty, Bakersfield)
A player who impressed at the NorCal Nike Combine and Nike Football Training Camp last spring, Jountti opened the season with 255 yards on 16 carries and scored five touchdowns to lead Liberty past Delano 56-7. Jountti scored on runs of 48, 18, 40, 22, and 43 yards as the Patriots raced to a 50-7 halftime lead.
Patrick Kalvass (Campolindo, Moraga)
Kalvass harassed the Moreau Catholic (Hayward) passing offense, intercepting three passes in a 48-28 road win. It was a good start for Kalvass and team that played in last season's CIF Division III state bowl game.
Chad Kanoff & Clinton Hooks (Harvard Westlake, North Hollywood)
Despite Kanoff completing 33 of his 57 pass attempts for 448 yards and four touchdowns, it wasn't enough to prevent the Wolverines from starting the season on the losing end of a 42-27 final score against Loyola of Los Angeles. Kanoff’s 57 pass attempts in a game will earn him a spot in the Cal-Hi Sports state record book. Hooks caught 13 passes for 130 yards and a score.
Daniel Kohr (Santa Paula)
He did a bit of everything in the Cardinals' 60-47 win over Hueneme of Oxnard as he ran for a touchdown, caught two touchdown passes, returned a kickoff 88 yards for a score and tossed a touchdown pass.
Troy Kurtz (Canyon, Anaheim)
His number was called often in the Comanches’ 35-28 win over Fullerton as he rushed for 251 yards and scored five touchdowns on 23 carries. Canyon is trying to forget an 0-10 season in 2011 and with Kurtz leading the way that has already begun.
Trevon Lampley (Franklin, Elk Grove)
With Cal-Hi Sports in attendance, Lampley lit up the scoreboard by scoring in three different ways to lead Franklin past Thousand Oaks 38-28 in the first game of the Battle for Veterans at Del Oro. Lampley caught two touchdown passes, rushed for a score and returned a punt 81 yards for six points. He also shined on defense with a pair of interceptions.
Jamal Lockett (Pittsburg)
The Pirates' senior running back rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns and also scored on a 98-yard kickoff return to begin the game in a 40-27 win over Clayton Valley of Concord.
Conner Manning (El Toro, Lake Forest)
He just missed making the state record book for passing yards with 466 to go with six touchdowns, but will earn himself a spot in the book for completions and passing attempts in a game during El Toro’s 47-24 victory over Huntington Beach. Manning completed 46 of his 68 pass attempts in the win. The totals will be needing confirmation from the school, however, as some reports had him 44 of 66 for 454 yards.
Brandon Martinez (El Monte)
Passing for 407 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 69 yards, he led the Lions to a 44-41 win over Baldwin Park in their season opener.
Marcus McMarylon (Dinuba)
The junior quarterback passed for 363 yards, completing 20 of 38 with no interceptions and five touchdowns, to pace Dinuba past Madera 42-26. Teammate Aaron Taylor also had six receptions for 146 yards and three touchdowns.
Tucker Mendonca (Mt. Whitney, Visalia)
The Mendonca name is synonymous with success in Visalia and Tucker is the latest. He passed for 371 yards and ran for 82 yards as the Pioneers edged Porterville 30-28 on a field goal by Blake Aguiar with no time left on the clock.
Dominic Miroglio (Bishop O’Dowd, Oakland)
In early August as a catcher on the Oakland Athletics team at the Area Code Baseball Games in Long Beach, Dominic was written up for being one of the top hitters with a .600 batting average. As the Dragons quarterback, Miroglio started off the season in fine fashion. The third-year starter, who has committed to play baseball at UCLA, missed several football practices over the summer because of his time playing baseball but showed little rust against Walnut Creek Las Lomas in the season opener. Miroglio completed 23 of 30 passes for 372 yards, including five touchdowns, and led the team to scores on their first four possessions.
Dillon Paris (Foothill, Sacramento)
He only had 11 carries in a 43-34 loss to Oakmont of Roseville, but he did rush for 249 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Taylor Poyadue (Alhambra, Martinez)
He ran for 105 yards with two touchdowns, returned a kick-off 68 yards to pay dirt and had a late interception that sealed a 38-27 win over College Park of Pleasant Hill.
Matthew Reid (American, Fremont)
In a 12-0 win over San Lorenzo Arroyo, the senior defensive back helped set up the Eagles first touchdown with a 44-yard interception return. He then scored the game's final touchdown on a 67-yard pick six.
Andrew Rodriguez (Colusa)
Despite rushing for one of the state's top marks in the opening week with 271 yards on 24 carries, the Redhawks still were on the short end of a 42-14 loss to Durham.
Adan Salas (Hueneme, Oxnard)
Despite a wild 60-47 loss to Santa Paula, the Vikings had to be pleased with the play of this sophomore quarterback who completed 35 of his 54 pass attempts for 383 yards and four touchdowns without an interception while also rushing for a score.
Edgar Segura (Mendota)
After leading the Aztecs to a 12-0 record last year, Segura opened the 2012 season by scoring six touchdowns in a 48-14 win against Stellar Prep of Hayward. Five of Segura’s scores came on runs of 14, 15, 3, 20, and 49 yards that helped him rush for 294 for the game. He also scored on a 40-yard pass reception.
Haynes Stephens (Tamalpais, Mill Valley)
It’s a good thing Haynes got busy in the Red-tailed Hawks' 13-7 victory over St. Patrick St. Vincent of Vallejo. With his team trailing 7-0, he ran back a punt 80 yards to make it 7-7 in the second quarter. Then, with a second left in the half, the senior wide receiver/defensive back picked off a pass and returned it 58 yards for what ended up as the game’s final score.
Olito Thompson (Concord)
Headed to Washington State and with more than 3,400 yards rushing from last year, Thompson took his first carry of the season 39 yards for a score to lift Concord past Kennedy of Fremont 60-8. Thompson, who was shut down after halftime, finished the night with 251 yards on 11 carries and three scores.
Fred Tidwell (Newark Memorial, Newark)
Tidwell did pretty well on defense in the Cougars 40-19 win over San Ramon Dougherty Valley. He picked off three passes and returned one of them 45 yards for a touchdown, all in the first half.
Deangelo Torres (El Diamante, Visalia)
It was a more than an ideal start to his junior season as he rushed for 266 yards and three touchdowns in El Diamante’s 34-20 triumph over Tulare.
Nate Van Dusen (Yuba City)
Leading the Honkers' attack on offense, he ran for 230 yards and four touchdowns while also recording an interception on defense in their 48-21 win over Davis.
Clayton Van Duyn (El Dorado, Placerville)
With Van Duyn collecting 13 catches for 221 yards and two scores, the Cougars needed two overtimes to defeat South Lake Tahoe 40-34. Van Duyn also added a third score on a 64-yard kickoff return. The win was the first for new El Dorado coach Joe Volek, son of former Sacramento State coach John Volek and brother of former NFL quarterback Billy Volek.
P.J. Walker (Citrus Hill, Perris)
The junior transfer from Rancho Verde (Moreno Valley) made a splash in his first game at Citrus Hill. In leading the Hawks past Riverside Poly, Walker carried 23 times for 334 yards and scored five times.
Joey Witlake (South Fork, Miranda)
The junior quarterback from behind the Redwood Curtain threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 134 more and a third score, in a 22-19 win over visiting John Swett of Crockett.
Aaron Zwahlen & Richard Lopez (Downey, Modesto)
It will likely not be the only time this season Zwahlen concludes our weekly state star list as he passed for 357 yards and seven touchdowns in a 49-7 victory against Golden Valley of Merced. Lopez also had a strong outing with six catches for 158 yards and four scores.