Two of this week’s NorCal/SoCal Players of the Week are Chico quarterback Clayton Welch (left) and Serrano of Phelan linebacker John Mackesy. Photos: Student Sports.
Only one is named from each region for offense, defense and special teams and we’re going to do our best to spread it around as much as possible. This week’s honors go to Valencia, Phelan, Costa Mesa, Chico, Loomis and Sacramento.
Note: For purposes of this feature, we are considering the CIF Central Section to be in the north.
To nominate a player for next week, email markjtennis@gmail.com by Monday at 12 noon and be sure to include a photo that we can use (which means it’s not from the local newspaper or from another web site). Please feel free to call at 209-463-9050 as well both for nominations or to see if your business or small company would like to become a sponsor for this weekly content.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Clayton Welch (Chico) Sr.
Leading the Panthers to a six-game winning streak to end the regular season, he completed 27 of his 37 pass attempts for 438 yards and four touchdowns while also running for two touchdowns during a 43-22 win over Shasta of Redding. Both teams came into the game at 7-2 and Shasta actually led 22-14 at halftime.
Welch, who passed for 2,571 yards and 33 TDs as a junior, also completed a pass for a two-point conversion and had a two-point conversion run. According to T.J. Holmes of the Redding Record-Searchlight, the 438-yard total was the fourth-highest in CIF Northern Section history.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Trey Udoffia (Del Oro, Loomis) Jr.
We have seen this junior make some outstanding catches on both sides of the ball for the Golden Eagles and he came up big on Friday to help the Golden Eagles defeat Granite Bay 20-7 and earn a trip to the postseason.
On offense, he caught five passes for 132 yards with one touchdown, on a 70-yard reception, but it was his play on defense that was the main factor in him earning this honor as he intercepted two passes and helped hold the Grizzlies to their lowest point total in over a month.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Larry Hardy (Inderkum, Sacramento) Jr.
Ending the season in a great way, this multi-purpose player scored in two different ways when the Tigers ended the regular season with a 55-0 win over Pioneer of Woodland to extend their winning streak to eight games.
Hardy first found the end zone in the first quarter when he returned a punt 86 yards for a score to make it 12-0 and he would find the end zone two quarters later while playing defense on a 25-yard interception return for a score.
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Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Jay Jay Wilson (Valencia) Sr.
With the Vikings trailing Hart of Newhall 27-0 late in the third quarter, Wilson played a huge role in an improbable 28-27 win that gave Valencia its sixth straight Foothill League title.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound senior and major college prospect caught seven passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns while carrying the ball 11 times for 55 yards and one score.
While normally a receiver and strong safety, it was his rushing touchdown in the closing seconds that tied the score before an extra point gave Valencia the lead. Wilson then came up with an interception on defense with 10.5 seconds remaining to clinch the win.
Wilson and his team defeated a Hart squad that featured receiver Trent Irwin, last week’s SoCal Offensive Player of the Week.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
John Mackesy (Serrano, Phelan) Sr.
Following his 20-tackle performance from the week before, Mackesy continued to be all over the field 21 tackles last Friday night as the Diamondbacks improved to 9-1 on the season with a 40-14 win over Burroughs of Ridgecrest.
Before this impressive two-game stretch to end the regular season, Mackesy’s previous season-high for tackles in a game was 19. He ended the regular season with 144 total tackles along with 5.5 sacks. He also has forced two fumbles, recovered two fumbles and blocked a punt this season.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams Player of the Week
Dylan Laurent (Estancia, Costa Mesa) Soph.
Just a sophomore, he had a performance that will be hard to top the rest of his high school career as he scored five touchdowns in a variety of ways during a 44-13 win over Saddleback of Santa Ana.
On special teams, Laurent returned two kickoffs for scores on returns of 86 and 98 yards for his first kickoff return touchdowns of the year. On offense, he caught just two passes but they went for 115 yards and two touchdowns which were also his first receiving touchdowns this season. While he didn’t rush for 200 yards and three touchdowns like he did earlier this season, he did rush for 32 yards on nine carries and scored a touchdown and has now rushed for 723 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year.
Laurent also followed up his three-interception performance from the week before with his 7th interception of the season to go along with six tackles on defense.
Paul Muyskens contributed to this content item. Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle: @CalHiSports
