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Cal's offensive recruits supplied the fireworks while the recruits on the defensive side of the ball applied the boom to opposing offenses this past week on Friday night.
Let's start with the offensive fireworks:
Zion Echols: HB, Covina (Ca.) Charter Oak
Echols accounted for three touchdowns Charter Oak's 49-0 away victory against Bell Gardens (Ca.) Bell Gardens. One of Echols' touchdowns was a receiving TD and the other was courtesy of a Tony Dorsett-like run from the shadow of his own endzone. The win brings Charter Oak's record to 3-1. Highlights of Echols' performance can be found here.
Jordan Duncan: WR, Hattiesburg (Ms.) Oak Grove
Duncan caught four passes for 69 yards and one touchdown as Oak Grove defeated Hattiesburg (Ms.) Hattiesburg 38-22 away from home. Oak Grove is now 3-1 this season. Click here for highlights.
Derrick Clark: HB, San Diego (Ca.) Mission Bay
Clark's Mission Bay squad soundly defeated San Diego (Ca.) Clairemont by a score of 36-7. Highlights of Clark's contributions are here. He does a fair amount of blocking for his teammates in this highlight. Mission Bay is 4-0 this season.
Max Gilliam: QB, Thousand Oaks (Ca.) Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks picked up a road victory against Valencia (Ca.) West Ranch by a score of 43-7 to bring their record to 4-0 this season. Gilliam completed 9-12 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Gilliam contributed 13 yards rushing on four carries. Here are the highlights.
Drew Kobayashi: WR, Honolulu (Hi.) St. Louis
St. Louis defeated Honolulu (Hi.) Iolani 31-27 and Kobayashi added about seven receptions. One of the things I've noticed about Kobayashi is that he does well at making himself available when his quarterback is forced out of the pocket. This is always a good trait to have as a receiver as it means he has earned the quarterback's trust. Highlights can be found here. St. Louis is now 4-0 this season.
Logan Gamble: WR, Long Beach (Ca.) St. Anthony
Gamble and St. Anthony lost 36-20 to San Luis Obispo (Ca.) Mission Prep 36-20, which brings their record to 1-2. Gamble made a few catches, but the performance was nothing special. The highlights are here.
Matt Laris: WR, Sammamish (Wa.) Eastside Catholic
Eastside Catholic smoked Arlington (Wa.) Arlington 61-6. Eastside Catholic has been unchallenged thus far as they continue to steamroll opponents on their way to being 3-0. Laris hauled in three catches for 75 yards and one touchdown.
Now, for the defensive side of the ball:
Josh Drayden: CB, Dallas (Tx.) Bishop Dunne
Bishop Dunne won by a ridiculous 90-0 scoreline at home against Dallas (Tx.) Roosevelt. What I have seen from Drayden so far in his highlight videos is that the quarterbacks are generally afraid to test him downfield. Apparently he is the Richard Sherman of private school football in Texas. Ironically, that changed a bit this week and might be why Roosevelt lost 90-0. Drayden made his normal amount of tackles on short passes out in the flat, but was also able to breakup two deep passes downfield. Good stuff from Drayden. Highlights are here. Bishop Dunne is 3-0.
Markus Wright: LB, Columbus (Ga.) Jordan
Wright made his season debut this season after recovering from a knee(?) injury. It looked like he was never gone as he flew around the field and impacted the game on both sides of the ball. Wright made six tackles, two tackles for loss and two quarterback pressures. Wright also added two receptions as a tight end and narrowly missed scoring a touchdown. Highlights are here. Wright's impressive debut performance was not enough to get Jordan the victory as they lost 42-27 to Macon (Ga.) Southwest.
A few days before his debut, the Ledger-Enquirer wrote a story about his impact on the team:
Wright, who is committed to play college football at California, missed the team's first three games with a slight meniscus tear that required surgery before the season. Last season Wright recorded 95 tackles, 13 for loss, and seven sacks for the Red Jackets. He is expected to make those kinds of statistical contributes, but coach James Brown said the biggest impact is in his leadership.
"It's going to make a big difference," Brown said. "He'll make the other kids around him better just for the mere fact that they know he's out there and they've got a senior leader. It'll make a tremendous difference."
Evan Weaver: DE, Spokane (Wa.) Gonaga Prep
Gonzaga Prep dominated Spokane (Wa.) Mead with a 30-7 road victory. Eastside Catholic improved to 3-0 this season. Weaver lived in the Mead backfield and terrorized the opposition for the duration of the game. Here are the highlights.