Take your pick, any pick, but here are 10 players that Mitch Stephens has his eyes on heading to Carson for the seventh CIF Bowl Championships.
CARSON, Calif. — Ten teams from throughout the Golden State will be represented in the 2012 CIF Bowl Championships at the Home Depot Center. If you want to see how those team matchups shape up,
click here.
If you want to see 10 of the top players in the two-day event, check out these blue chippers.
Michael Hutchings, De La Salle
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
Side-to-side he's relentless, an extremely hard hitter who is now a great student of the game. Hutchings is De La Salle's leading tackler by a wide margin and last week had the largely pro-Folsom fans groaning with his beastly hard hits. {PAGEBREAK}
Jared Goff, Marin Catholic
Photo by Dennis Lee
Forget that he can make any throw, what makes the son of former MLB catcher Jerry Goff so exceptional is his poise under pressure. Whether a big rush is in his facemask or the game is one the line, Goff delivers. He's thrown for 3,430 yards and 36 touchdowns and gone 39-3 in his career as a starter. {PAGEBREAK}
Pierre Cormier, Madison
Photo by Steven Silva
After rushing for 1,471 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior, Cormier has stepped up those numbers with 1,976 and 26 this season. A true game-breaker who was held in check last week, don't expect a quiet performance on Saturday against Marin Catholic.{PAGEBREAK}
Johnny Mundt, Central Catholic
Photo by Mark Bahrenfuss
Terrific athlete with a big vertical leap and strength to match, Mundt has hauled in 32 passes for 583 yards and eight touchdowns in Central Catholic's largely run-oriented offense. Chip Kelly can't want to get him into Oregon's wide open attack.{PAGEBREAK}
Cameron Hunt, Centennial (78)
Photo by David Hood
He paves the way for the state's most prolific offense that averages 50 points and 542 yards per game. Like the Huskies themselves, who have rushed for 4,140 yards and passed for 3,993, Hunt protects and run blocks equally well. {PAGEBREAK}
Austin Hooper, De La Salle
Photo by Dennis Lee
An absolutely dominating defensive end who last week sacked Folsom record-breaking quarterback Jake Browning three times in the first half. Hooper is also a big factor at tight end after catching two TD passes in DLS's 21st straight NCS title win followed by two catches for 100 yards that set up two short TD runs in the 49-15 win over Folsom. Stanford, Notre Dame and Washington are on his short list.{PAGEBREAK}
Jayon Brown, Long Beach Poly
Photo by Heston Quan
In a secondary with the ultra-talented
David Price (6-2, 200), Brown has been more productive with a team-high 88 tackles. Brown and Price will need to tackle well from the DB spot against Granite Bay's prolific running game.{PAGEBREAK}
John Cooley, Granite Bay
Photo by Gary Jones
He may not be as highly-touted as many of the Poly players he'll be going against Friday night, but Cooley has great feet, vision and he's much stronger than he appears. He bounced off tacklers and rushed for 215 yards and four touchdowns in a regional final 45-17 win over St. Ignatius.{PAGEBREAK}
Jalen Greene, Serra
Photo by John Downey
The definition of a dual-threat quarterback, Greene has thrown for 2,302 yards and 23 touchdowns and rushed for 1,025 yards and nine more scores. Look for him to keep up the running trend — he has three straight 100-yard rushing games in the playoffs.{PAGEBREAK}
Tre Watson, Centennial
Photo by David Hood
Watson only plays about half the game because he splits time with Austin Renken, but he's still rushed for 1,450 yards and 22 carries. When push comes to shove, one of the nation's most coveted junior tailbacks will likely be in there against De La Salle.
