Cal FB Recruiting, Friday Night Lights: Catching Up

We have a lot to catch up on as far as the previous three weeks of high school football goes since the last edition of Friday Night Lights was on September 4th. Anyways, let’s get started!

Braxten Croteau, a defensive end from Liberty High School in Peoria (AZ), helped his team improve to 6-0 following wins over Desert Ridge (21-14), Leland (56-7), and Mountain Ridge (56-20). He notched 7 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry against Desert Ridge, while he managed 2 tackles for a loss, ¹⁄₂ sack, and a blocked punt against Leland. Finally, he recorded 6 tackles, 1 for a loss, and 4 quarterback hurries against Mountain Ridge. Croteau has 35 tackles, 6 sacks, and 8 quarterback hurries through 6 games this season.

Croteau’s teammate, Ryan Puskas, has been patrolling the secondary for Peoria and has performed fairly well over the course of the season. He terrorized Desert Ridge with 8 tackles, 3 for a loss, and 1 interception in their dominating victory. Puskas followed that up with 3 tackles, 2 for a loss, and 1 sack against Leland. In Liberty’s most recent game, Puskas wrecked Mountain Ridge with 11 tackles, 3 for a loss, ¹⁄₂ sack and a blocked field goal. Puskas has totaled 50 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 interception through 6 games this season.

The beat goes on for offensive lineman Ben Coleman and his Linfield Christian teammates as they recorded wins of 35-0 against Lakeside, 55-6 against Excelsior Charter, and 62-0 against Arrowhead Christian. Linfield Christian has recorded a shutout in 5 of its 6 games this season and stand at 6-0.

Linebacker Blake Antzoulatos and Chaminade College Prep have dropped three consecutive games to fall to 2-4 this season. They suffered defeats to Folsom (70-34), St. John Bosco (56-20), and Bishop Amat (28-27). Against Folsom Antzoulatos recorded 8 tackles and 1 quarterback hurry. He picked it up a bit against St. John Bosco with 12 tackles, 1 for a loss, and 2 quarterback hurries. Meanwhile, he notched 11 tackles, 5 quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery against Bishop Amat.

Torrey Pines offensive lineman Brian Driscoll helped his team to a 6-0 start this season following victories over San Pasqual (35-0), El Camino (36-14), and Carlsbad (35-28 OT).

Running back Decarlos Brooks and the Chandler Wolves, Arizona’s top-ranked team, improved to 5-1 with wins over Faith Lutheran (35-21), Desert Ridge (48-13), and Perry (45-34). Faith Lutheran managed to bottle up Brooks on the ground as he amassed just 67 yards rushing on 20 carries, but he was explosive in the passing game as he caught 6 passes for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns. He got back to dominating on the ground against Desert Ridge, though, as he picked up 137 yards rushing on just 15 carries while adding two touchdowns. Brooks put up an absolutely monstrous performance against Perry as he ran for 246 yards and 2 touchdowns on 43 carries. Brooks has run for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns on 125 carries through 6 games this season.

Wide receiver Malik Bradford made his season debut in Milikan’s third game of the season in the previous edition of Friday Night Lights and his squad were 2-1 after that game. They are now 4-2 following a loss to Long Beach Poly (46-15), and victories over Lakewood (28-24) and Compton (25-22). Bradford caught 4 passes for 29 yards against Poly, which is the exact statline he had against Aquinas with the only difference being that he caught a touchdown against Poly. He wasn’t listed in the box score against Lakewood, but he did catch 3 passes for 36 yards and a touchdown against Compton. In just 3 games this season, Bradford has caught 11 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

Orange Lutheran tight end Elijah Mojarro has seen his team go 4-2 to start the seaon following a win against Heritage (35-16), a loss against Mission Viejo (37-35), and a win against Santa Margarita (39-37). Mojarro caught just 2 passes for 5 yards against Heritage, but he did manage to find the endzone once. He caught just 3 passes for 11 yards against Mission Viejo, while tallying 34 yards and 1 touchdown on 3 catches against Santa Margarita.

Quarterback Spencer Brasch and his Higley teammates have split their last 4 games to start the season 5-2 after a loss to Moorpark (35-7), wins against Milennium (57-22) and Maricopa (63-14), and a loss to Casteel (56-24). Brasch struggled to complete passes against Moorpark as he found the target on just 17 of 49 passes for 239 yards with a touchdown and interception a piece. He also managed to rush for 41 yards on 14 carries in that game. Brasch found it a bit easier against Milennium as he completed 16 of 28 passes for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns while rushing 16 times for 65 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brasch had a short night in the blowout victory over Maricopa as he completed 8 of 14 passes for 145 yards and 1 touchdown (he added 2 more on the ground). In the loss against Casteel Brasch completed 18 of 26 passes for 258 yards to go along with 2 touchdowns and interceptions a piece. He also ran for a touchdown in that contest. So far this season Brasch has thrown 25 touchdowns to 4 interceptions while averaging 281.4 yards per contest.

Los Gatos linebacker Kyle Smith has finally hit the field after missing out on the first few games of the season. In his first game action of the season, Smith recorded 2 tackles, 1 for a loss, and 1 sack in a 48-7 win versus Saratoga. In his most recent game, Smith recorded 5 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss in a 17-7 loss at the hands of Milipitas. Los Gatos are 4-2 this season.

Perry (AZ) offensive lineman Brayden Rohme has helped his squad to a 5-2 record and a top 5 ranking in their state so far this season following victories over O’Connor (75-68!), Chavez (70-40), Boulder Creek (66-32), and a loss to Chandler (45-34).

Defensive back Zahran Manley and his Upland teammates are 5-2 this season after a 35-7 win over La Mirada, a 41-8 loss to Mission Viejo, a 49-0 shutout victory over El Diamante, and another shutout victory against Damien (35-0). Manley recorded 2 tackles in the win over La Mirada, while he notched 3 tackles and 1 pass breakup against Mission Viejo. Manley recorded an interception, 2 pass breakups, and a fumble recovery in the victory over Damien. Manley has 5 pass breakups and 1 interception through 7 games.

Defensive back Miles Williams and his Mansfield teammates are having a rough season in the win-loss column. They’re 1-4 after losses to Bowie (34-7), Mansfield Summit (27-17), and South Grand Prairie (27-17). Their lone victory came in week 3 when they beat Mansfield Legacy 14-7.

The Woodlands offensive lineman McKade Mettauer has helped his squad to a 3-2 record after opening the season with 2 consecutive losses.

Rainier Beach and linebacker Orin Patu picked up where they left off from their season opening victory with a 61-7 win against Battle Ground, but it’s all been downhill since the second week of the season. Their third game was cancelled due to a threat made against the opponent school, and they’ve lost their two games since: 48-22 against Eastside Catholic, and 24-22 against Bishop Blanchet.

Hendrickson (TX) linebacker Curley Young Jr. have gone 2-1 since their season opening victory against Texas, and are now 3-1 following wins against Round Rock Westwood (64-14), and Leander (45-0). Their only loss has been to Vandegrift (29-20).

Tight end/linebacker Bradley Archer and his Livermore squad are in a bit of a rut right now as they’ve dropped their last 3 games to slip to 2-4 on the season. They beat Irvington 49-0 about a month ago, but have since lost 23-13 to Alhambra, 45-13 to Monte Vista, and 34-0 to Eureka. They have to find a way to get the offense going or it’s going to be a long season. Archer had a whale of a day against Irvington as he caught 5 passes for 106 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Defensive tackle Brett Johnson and Desert Vista are off to a good start as they’ve tallied 5 wins to just 1 loss so far this season. They went 3-1 in September, with their only loss coming against Highland (45-24), while they beat Valley Vista (48-20), North (63-7), and Desert Ridge (51-3).