Vincenzo Granatelli of Oak Park was a stat star last season on defense with interceptions and forced fumbles and will be this year on offense as a quarterback. Photo: vincenzogranatelli.com.
Racing toward the top of various leaderboards is senior QB Vincenzo Granatelli of Oak Park, who had seven TD passes and 328 yards in his first game. We also have a couple of sophomores out to strong starts, including Arcadia’s Jahlique Stephens and Sacramento Capital Christian’s D’Marcus Ross.
Note: We will collect totals from MaxPreps, newspapers, tweets and from those sent in to us. We also will compile single-game highs from this post throughout the season and of course we use our weekly State Stat Stars collection as an aid for the Cal-Hi Sports State Record Book. That is the only state record book anyone has ever done and we have published it seven times with full copyright protection. To report totals to us for this feature and for the record book, email markjtennis@gmail.com or call 209-463-9050. You can also text to 209-608-1317.
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(All players listed in alphabetical order)
(For games played through Saturday, Aug. 27)
(Thanks to CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett for contributions)
Jared Adelman (Poway)
In a 33-14 victory against Bonita Vista of Chula Vista, Adelman was a busy man. He carried 45 times for 291 yards rushing and scored twice, helping give the Titans some hope they’re in for a strong season.
Isaiah Baker (Ramona, Riverside)
Rushing for more yards in game one this season than he did in all of his sophomore season, this junior rushed for 279 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries for the Rams, who are now 1-0 after a 48-6 win over Indian Springs.
Jamire Calvin and team at Cathedral of Los Angeles have high hopes for this season. Photo: Twitter.com.
Jamire Calvin (Cathedral, Los Angeles)
The Phantoms opened the season with a 40-15 win over Santa Fe of Santa Fe Springs with Calvin catching eight passes for 231 yards and one touchdown.
Bret Clemetson (Charter Oak, Covina)
The Chargers began their season by doubling up Northview of Covina 44-22 behind Clemetson, a senior quarterback who passed for 314 yards and six touchdowns in a 44-22 win.
Matt Corral (Oaks Christian, Westlake Village)
All of the preseason attention heaped on Corral looked justified when he passed for 419 yards and two TDs and ran for another score during the Lions’ wild-and-crazy 65-55 win vs. Chaminade of West Hlls.
Quinn Commans (Whittier Christian, La Habra)
Common would not be a word to describe this junior captain’s season opening performance. He passed for 443 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for a score during a 48-29 win over Bishop Union of Bishop.
Robert Cozine (Taft)
This team used a combo of running backs to beat Golden Valley of Bakersfield 47-7. Cozine and Setefano Maui combined for 420 yards for the game, as Cozine led the way with a career high of 262 yards on 17 carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 28, 35 & 81 yards. Maui rushed for 158 yards on 13 carries and scored three touchdowns on runs of 11,12, 49 yards.
Joe Curry (Folsom)
If there was a high school version of fantasy football, whoever is the quarterback for the Bulldogs would be among the first players picked. Curry is the latest to fill the bill. In his first start, the senior completed 35 of his 42 pass attempts for 564 yards and six touchdowns during a 55-36 win over Coeur d’Alene of Idaho.
Michael Davis (St. Vincent, Petaluma)
The senior captain, who last year played receiver, has moved to running back and in the Mustangs’ season opener he recorded the most rushing yards by a Mustang since 1997 with 274 yards on 19 rushes and three touchdowns in leading his team to a 48-13 win over Elsie Allen of Santa Rosa. Davis also topped 100 yards receiving with three receptions for 134 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown reception from his sophomore brother Will Davis.
J.T. Daniels (Mater Dei, Santa Ana)
Nearly perfect during the Monarchs’ 63-14 season opening win at Bishop Amat of La Puente, the super sophomore completed 19 of his 22 pass attempts for 360 yards and six touchdowns.
Dusty Frampton (St. Mary’s, Stockton)
Just a junior, he put on an impressive performance on the road against a Top 25 state ranked team as he rushed for 265 yards and six touchdowns during the Rams’ 63-35 defeat of San Mateo Serra last Saturday.
Eric Gaona (Grant, Van Nuys)
Half of Gaona’s eight receptions ended with him in the end zone as he caught eight passes for 177 yards and four touchdowns when the Lancers defeated Bernstein of Hollywood 46-12.
Jeremiah Galaviz (Farmersville)
The senior quarterback had a nice game passing against Strathmore in a 52-27 loss as he passed for 390 yards on 23 of 35 with three touchdowns.
Austin Garber (Paradise)
He had a start to his senior season last week that must have felt like paradise as he rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns on 28 carries during a 42-27 win over Red Bluff.
Joseph Garcia (Strathmore)
Farmersville had to be asking for no more of this junior running back as he rushed for 261 yards and five touchdowns on 21 carries during a 52-27 season-opening win for the Spartans. Garcia’s six touchdowns ties him with two other players for 2nd most in school history.
Kian Ghelichkhani (Saratoga)
Despite catching nine passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, it came in a losing effort as the Falcons lost to Half Moon Bay by a 27-26 final score.
Vincenzo Granatelli (Oak Park)
Setting a school record for touchdown passes in a game, nearly half of his completions during a 54-0 win over Beverly Hills went for six points as he completed 16 of his 19 pass attempts for 328 yards and seven touchdowns. Reece Smith also caught six passes for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Granatelli is part of the famous Granatelli auto racing family and has told family members he wants to concentrate on playing football instead of driving a race car. Vincenzo was an all-league defensive back last season and had nine interceptions plus 17 forced fumbles.
Najee Harris (Antioch)
We had hoped the game would be a close one and he would get more carries but he did rush for 219 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carrries while also catching a pass for a 35 yard score and getting an interception on defense in a 67-38 win vs. Lincoln of Stockton.
Jullen Ison (Moreau Catholic, Hayward)
He’s someone we expected to have a strong senior season after he rushed for over 3,000 yards last season and he’s off to a strong start. Ison rushed for 282 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries as the Mariners defeated St. Mary’s of Albany 34-7.
Lucas Lopez (Yucca Valley)
Leaving a bad taste in the mouth of Riverside Prep of Oro Grande, Lopez had an 85-yard touchdown run and rushed for 318 yards and three touchdowns on just 14 carries in a 45-6 victory.
Javier Luna (Heritage, Menifee)
He is listed on MaxPreps as having six sacks while also rushing for 77 yards and one touchdown as the Patriots defeated Great Oak of Temecula 21-0.
In addition to Folsom quarterbacks getting huge totals each year, so do Folsom receivers. The team’s top receiver this year is senior Drake Stallworth. Photo: Twitter.com.
Given the rock for 13 carries, he turned it into 214 yards and five touchdowns during a 58-14 win over Thousand Oaks. Broc also contributed on special teams by returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
Kareem Myles (Santee, Los Angeles)
The Falcons’ game plan in their season-opening 26-20 win over Contreras was handing him the football and he responded. Myles carried the ball 34 times for 345 yards and three touchdowns.
Tyler Nevens (Los Altos, Hacienda Heights)
Making it easy to figure out his yards per carry average, Nevens carried the football just 10 times but rushed for 287 yards and four touchdowns during a 38-6 win over San Marino. That’s the same San Marino that went 15-1 last season, losing to Central Catholic of Modesto in the CIF Small Schools Open Division state final.
Alex Puga (Caruthers)
The junior running back opened the season with 252 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored two touchdowns on runs of 40 & 65 yards in a 44-7 win over Tranquillity. He’s the top returning rusher in the CIF Central Section.
Miles Reed (Centennial, Corona)
Seemingly trying to run miles during the football game, he rushed for 302 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries as the Huskies defeated Chandler of Arizona 56-49. Reed’s running also was more than complimented from QB Tanner McKee, who passed for 377 yards and two TDs and rushed for 94 yards and two TDs. For the game, Centennial also was reported with 784 yards of offense.
Jared Rice (Central Catholic, Modesto)
A key player for the Raiders, he rushed for 272 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries during a 42-16 win over Marin Catholic of Kentfield.
D’Marcus Ross (Capital Christian, Sacramento)
A sophomore athlete who plays on both sides of the ball for the Cougars, he rushed for 245 yards and three touchdowns on 11 carries while also recording eight total tackles during a 63-19 win over Rosemont of Sacramento.
Drake Stallworth (Folsom)
With one of the biggest receiving performances of the opening week, he caught 10 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns during Folsom’s 55-36 win against Coeur d’Alene of Idaho.
If first games are an indication, Arcadia’s Jahlique Stephens is a unique talent. Photo: @UTRScouting/Twitter.com.
Jahlique Stephens (Arcadia)
Yet another sophomore to watch this season, he nearly matched his rushing total from all of last season in game one this year. Stephens rushed for 324 yards and five touchdowns on just 11 carries as the Apaches defeated Bell Gardens 51-6.
Carson Strong (Wood, Vacaville)
Making sure his junior season would get off to a strong start, he passed for 444 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Wildcats past Concord 27-26.
Koa Todd (St. Margaret’s, SJ Capistrano)
In a season-opening game played two weeks ago by The Tartans in Hawaii, this sophomore to watch broke loose for 243 yards in 20 carries and scored twice in a 41-7 win over Hawaii Prep KaMakani.
Sal Tovar (South El Monte)
Rushing for 1,179 yards and seven touchdowns just as a sophomore, he looks to be set for a monster junior season. Tovar opened the year with 312 yards and four touchdowns on 26 carries during a 40-7 win over Gladstone of Covina.
Ben Tui (Fremont, Sunnyvale)
While he is listed at just 5-foot5 on the roster, this senior was hard for James Lick of San Jose to bring down as he carried the ball 15 times for 243 yards and five touchdowns during a 48-0 win.
C.J. Verdell (Mater Dei Catholic, Chula Vista)
Valley Center had no answer in bringing him down before he racked up big yardage carrying the football. Verdell, a preseason All-State second team overall pick, averaged 17.3 yards per carry and finished with 276 yards and five touchdowns as the Crusaders opened the season with a 35-0 win.
Brevin White (Chaminade, West Hills)
In his first game starting for the Eagles, the former QB at Alemany of Mission Hills shined with 317 yards passing and three TDs in a 65-55 loss to Oaks Christian. White also scored on an 83-yard TD run in which he scrambled out of the pocket. Teammate Michael Wilson also had seven catches for 200 yards.
Scotty Young (Helix, La Mesa)
It looks like a player who’s mostly been known for defense is going to be a huge performer on offense this season. In Helix’s 28-21 loss to Timpview of Utah last week, Young caught 10 passes for 234 yards. Highlanders’ QB Carson Baker also went 18 of 28 for 350 yards.
Paul Muyskens is the Stockton office assistant editor for CalHiSports.com. 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
