SoCal/NorCal Players of the Week

Our two offensive honorees are standout quarterbacks Mitch Daniels of Concord (left) and Braxton Burmeister of La Jolla Country Day. Photos: Hudl.com & LJCDS.org.

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 La Jolla, Ontario, Palm Springs, Concord, Tracy & Stockton.

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 Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week

Braxton Burmeister (La Jolla Country Day) Soph.

He’s the younger brother of two-time all-state grid-hooper Sage Burmeister and last week he led the Torreys to the CIF San Diego Section Division V championship.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pounder who played as a freshman for LJCD completed 26 of his 41 pass attempts for 421 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-0 win over Vincent Memorial of Calexico. Burmeister also rushed for a score.

With the Torreys at 7-6 overall unlikely to be selected for a CIF regional bowl game, Burmeister finished his season with 3,112 yards and 30 touchdown passing while rushing for 553 yards and 13 more scores.

It’s also already safe to say that Braxton will be one of the top college prospects as a QB for the Class of 2017. He recently committed to Arizona and had an offer from Florida.

Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week

Khalil Dorsey (Colony, Ontario) Jr.

With a trip to the CIF Southern Section Central Division championship game on the line, Dorsey had a big game catching passes while on defense he finished with three interceptions during a 35-26 win over Charter Oak of Covina.

Not content with just intercepting the pass and falling down, he returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown and had a total of 136 yards on interception returns on the night.

Dorsey is now listed with 11 interceptions on the season, which includes a four-pick performance just two weeks ago in a 49-22 playoff win over Alta Loma.

The Titans (11-2) meet Los Altos of Hacienda Heights (8-5) in the section title game on Saturday.

Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams Player of the Week

Brandon Montano (Palm Springs) Sr.

Not only did Brandon have a perfect night kicking the ball but his success earlier in the night played a part in the Indians being able to pull off a fake field goal for a game-winning touchdown when they defeated favored Oak Hills of Hesperia 27-23 in the CIFSS Eastern Division semifinals.

All six of Montano’s kickoffs went for touchbacks during the game and he was 3-for-3 on PATs. More importantly in the four-point win was him nailing field goals from 28 and 41 yards out.

The 41-yard field goal also tied a season best for distance and gave Montano nine field goals made on the season.

Palm Springs (11-2) will now play Serrano of Phelan (12-1) in the championship game.

Tracy DB Jacob Alvarado goes up to make leaping interception in team’s section semifinal win against Granite Bay. Photo: Wayne Thallander/TracyHighFootball.com.

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week

Jacob Alvarado (Tracy) Sr.

If there’s a player who is about as typical as you can get being from Tracy, it’s Alvarado. He’s not big – only 5-foot-7, 160 pounds – but plays with a relentless motor and just finds a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Tracy players have been that way since the 1960s.

Alvarado led the Bulldogs with 15 tackles and also intercepted a pass when they once again pulled off a win on the road in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section D1 semifinals. Tracy defeated Granite Bay 27-21 in overtime to advance to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship game opposite Folsom.

On the season, Alvarado now has 107 tackles and nine interceptions while also seeing some action on offense with 322 yards rushing and five scores.

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week

Mitch Daniels (Concord) Sr.

It was actually one of Mitch’s lowest passing totals of the season for yards but he hit for six more TD passes when the Minutemen clobbered Pinole Valley of Pinole 56-28 in the CIF North Coast Section Division II semifinals.

Daniels, a two-year standout, completed 24 of his 33 pass attempts for 248 yards and six TDs (his third 6-TD pass game of the season.

Daniels’ season totals are now moving up among the best in section history. Heading into this week’s NCS D2 final against unbeaten Clayton Valley of Concord, Daniels has passed for 3,714 yards and 54 touchdowns.

If the Minutemen win and get a NorCal D2 bowl game, Daniels could finish the season with more TD passes than anyone in state history other than Folsom’s Jake Browning.

Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Special Teams Player of the Week

Nicholas Hall (St. Mary’s, Stockton) Sr.

Despite the weather being far from ideal to kick the ball with much power and accuracy, Hall had three field goals and two extra points when the Rams defeated Elk Grove 23-15 in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I semifinals.

Hall’s 30-yard field goal opened the game’s scoring in the first minute of the second quarter. He then added a 26-yard field goal on the final play of the first half to make it a 13-0 game at halftime and hit for another three-pointer in the second half.

St. Mary’s (12-1) will play Grant of Sacramento (13-0) in the SJS D2 title game on Friday night at Sacramento State.

Paul Muyskens and Harold Abend 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