Cal FB Recruiting, Friday Night Lights: PLAYOFFS?!?!

Liberty finished its regular season with a 9-1 record after defeating Chaparral 51-21. Defensive end Braxten Croteau made four tackles and one quarterback pressure, while defensive back Ryan Puskas made five tackles and three pass breakups. The following week, Liberty won its first playoff game 56-21 against Westview to improve to 10-1. Croteau made five tackles, two for a loss, and one sack while Puskas made four tackles and an interception. Up next for Liberty is a quarterfinal playoff matchup with Highland.

Offensive lineman Ben Coleman and Linfield Christian finished off the regular season with a 9-1 record also after defeating Desert Christian Academy 78-0. Predictably, they started out the playoffs with yet another ridiculous obliteration of an opponent with a 40-0 win against Mary Star of the Sea to improve to 10-1. Next up is a quarterfinal playoff meeting with Bell Gardens.

Chaminade College Prep finished the regular season 4-6 with a 52-24 loss to Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Linebacker Blake Antzoulatos managed to outdo his insane performance from a couple of weeks ago with 20 tackles and one interception against Notre Dame. Their 2-3 league record was good enough for a playoff appearance, though, but it ended quickly with a 22-7 loss to Oaks Christian to finish the regular season 4-7. Against Oaks Christian, Antzoulatos registered 19 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one sack, three quarterback hurries, and one pass breakup. Antzoulatos finished the season with 152 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, 25 hurries, and two interceptions. I’m excited to see what he can do under the tutelage of Justin Wilcox and the rest of the defensive coaching staff at Cal.

Torrey Pines and offensive lineman Brian Driscoll finished the regular season 9-0 with a 38-0 victory against La Costa Canyon. Torrey Pines will take on San Marcos in a playoff game this weekend.

Chandler running back DeCarlos Brooks rushed 18 times for 192 yards and two touchdowns in a 49-7 victory against Hamilton to finish the regular season 9-1. Chandler opened the playoffs with a 64-14 win against Boulder Creek to improve to 10-1 on the year. Brooks rushed 10 times for 83 yards and one touchdown. Next up is a playoff matchup with Mountain Pointe.

Wide receiver Malik Bradford’s Millikan squad ended the regular season 7-2 after a 53-7 victory against Jordan. Millikan then won a first round playoff game 53-6 against Pacifica. Again, it appears as though Bradford did not play in what has been an injury-riddled season.

Orange Lutheran finished the season 5-6 after consecutive blowout losses. The first was a 45-7 loss to Mater Dei, while the second was 35-7 to Centennial. Tight end Elijah Mojarro has not played since October 5th, and finishes the season with a total of 18 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns in yet another injury riddle season for a future Golden Bear offensive player.

Quarterback Spencer Brasch and his Higley teammates took a thumping 51-14 loss against Williams Field to end the regular season with a record of 7-3. Brasch had a ROUGH game as he completed just 8 of 25 passes for 97 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Higley recovered to win their first playoff game 47-21 against Ironwood Ridge. Brasch completed 21 of 29 passes for 340 yards and four touchdowns. Next up for Higley is a quarterfinal playoff matchup with Casteel.

Los Gatos linebacker Kyle Smith piled up 17 tackles with three for a loss in a 35-10 defeat to Palo Alto which drops Los Gatos to 6-4 this year. Smith played in just six games this season and registered 49 tackles.

Offensive lineman Brayden Rohme and his Perry teammates finished the regular season 8-2 after defeating Basha 54-41. In an interesting turn of events, Perry and Basha then met the following week in the first round of the playoffs and featured a similar result. This time, Perry won 38-21. Up next is a quarterfinal playoff matchup with Desert Vista.

Defensive back Zahran Manley and his Upland teammates saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with a 34-21 loss to Rancho Cucamonga in the regular season finale, dropping their record to 8-2. They recoverd the following week with a 17-16 playoff win against Heritage. Up next is a meeting with Norco.

After the big win against Waxahachie, defensive back Miles Williams and Mansfield have dropped consecutive games against Lake Ridge (37-30) and Cedar Hill (10-7). Mansfield sits at 2-7 going into their final game of the seaso against Grand Prairie.

Offensive lineman McKade Mettauer and The Woodlands lost 21-17 to Klein Collins to drop to 6-3 this season. They will face off with Klein Forest in their regular season finale.

Rainier Beach and linebacker Orin Patu grabbed a 37-27 win over Kelso in their final regular season game of the year to improve to 5-3 heading into a playoff matchup with Lincoln this week.

Linebacker Curley Young Jr. and his Hendrickson squad have won three of their last four games to improve to 6-2 following wins against Stony Point (25-3), Vista Ridge (47-7), and Round Rock (56-35), with the only loss being 28-21 against Cedar Ridge.

Tight end Bradley Archer and Livermore lost their regular season finale to Granada 41-21 to drop to 4-6 on the season. The following week they once again matched up with Granada and suffered a first-round playoff exit 48-21.

Defensive tackle Brett Johnson and Desert Vista continued their great season with a 35-28 victory against Queen Creek in their regular season finale to improve their record to 9-1. They followed it up with a 40-14 win against Chaparral in the first round of the playoffs. Up next Johnson will take on fellow Cal commit Brayden Rohme’s Perry squad.