Two of this week’s honorees are Pai Polamalu from St. Augustine of San Diego (left) & Tyler Cunningham of Templeton. Photos: Saints Scene / sahs.org & templetonfootball_eagles / Instagram.com.
This week we cover all the bases, and that included finding hidden talent worthy of statewide recognition, entries for the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book, and have thanks to those who sent in nominations. Our stops this week are in San Diego, Encino and Thousand Oaks in Southern California, and in Northern California we visit Templeton, Danville and Visalia.
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Notes: We will continue to have flexibility to one of the honorees by calling it Multi-Purpose/Special Teams. Multi-Purpose is already a category for All State honors. For these honors, we also consider CIF Central Section players for Northern California. To nominate anyone, email markjtennis@gmail.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Paisios “Pai” Polamalu (St. Augustine, San Diego) Jr.
The CIF San Diego Section is our destination in the search for the Cal-Hi Sports Southern California Offensive Player of the Week and we land in “America’s Finest City” that’s better known as San Diego and we find our award winner just east of Balboa Park and the world famous San Diego Zoo at St. Augustine High.
Last week, in a 41-35 victory over La Jolla High, Polamalu, the son of NFL Hall of Fame member and Pittsburg Steelers defensive back Troy Polamalu, didn’t win a statewide honor for his defense in this game, although he was a major contributor in the win as a defensive back. He did it on offense after rushing 29 times for 316 yards and three touchdowns. Pai also had two catches for 21 yards receiving and a fourth score.
On defense, Pai had 12 tackles, two hurries and two passes defended. He also contributed on special teams with the Saints’ lone punt return.
The 316 yards rushing is a school record and that is pretty substantial for a school founded over 100 years ago and one that has a rich tradition of football.
So far this season, and heading into a Eastern League finale and a showdown with Cal-Hi Sports No. 43 and crosstown Point Loma, Pai has rushed for 1,093 of the Saints’ 1,383 yards rushing and 13 of the team’s 18 TDs on the ground. He also has 63 yards receiving and the one score.
On defense, Polamalu leads the team with 81 tackles with four for losses plus one sack, and leads the team with four interceptions, plus he has two forced fumbles and one recovery, six passes defended and a blocked field goal.
The 1,093 yards rushing checks in as the No. 9 reported mark in the San Diego Section.
Since this is a family affair with Troy getting a shout out, we’re fairly sure Pai would like to give a shout out to his little brother, Ephraim Polamalu, who despite only being a freshman has been a contributor this season for St. Augustine.
Somto Nwude of Encino Crespi will get a mention in the all-time state records for getting six sacks in game vs Harvard-Westlake. Photo: X.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Somto Nwude (Crespi, Encino) Sr.
It’s in Encino at the all boys Crespi Carmelite High in the San Fernando Valley where this week’s Southern California Defensive Player of the Week displays his defensive prowess to the home fans.
However, last week those fans had to make the trek south over the hill on the I-405 to just east of Los Angeles International Airport in Inglewood at SoFi Stadium to see Nwude perform, and perform he did like a one-man defensive wrecking crew.
In a 34-6 blasting of Harvard-Westlake of Studio City that pushed the Celts to 4-0 in the Del Rey League, 9-0 overall and cemented their spot in the Top 10 of the Cal-Hi Sports Small School State Top 10 Rankings, Nwude registered six sacks, 10 of his 14 tackles were solo, and he forced three fumbles. Quite a day’s work for the 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior two-way lineman who plays on the edge on defense.
The six sacks will earn Somto a spot in the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book on the Most QB Sacks (Game) list in the Football Individual Records: Single-Game Defense section.
So far this season, and heading into a Del Rey match-up on the road in a regular season finale in Montebello at Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary, Nwude has 56 total tackles with a team-high 38 solo and 22 for losses, including 13 sacks, plus five forced fumbles. The 13 sacks is tied for the No. 9 reported mark in the state and No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams/Multi-Purpose Player of the Week
Jordan Johnson (Thousand Oaks) Sr.
The search for the Southern California Special Teams/Multi-Purpose Player of the Week takes us to the far southeastern portion of Ventura County, and it’s at Thousand Oaks High where we find this week’s award winner who now snags a statewide honor to go with recent local recognition.
In a 17-7 Conejo Coast League win last week at home against neighboring Newbury Park, Johnson rushed 21 times for 161 yards and one TD, and he had one pass reception for five yards. On defense, he came up big with two pass interceptions.
Earlier this month, Johnson was named the L.A. Daily News Player of the Week after he rushed for 245 yards and four TDs in a 49-34 victory over Calabasas.
So far this season, and heading in a regular season Conejo Coast finale on the road at Santa Barbara High, Jordan has rushed for 937 yards and nine TDs and he has 117 yards receiving and two more scores. His defensive skills have been impressive as well.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Multi-Purpose/Special Teams Player of the Week
Tyler Cunningham (Templeton) Sr.
This week’s Cal-Hi Sports State Football Multi-Purpose/Special Teams Player of the Week comes from a nomination from longtime Cal-Hi Sports friend, contributor and CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett via his “Milestones” missive, only Barnett nominated him in his rushing section, but obviously Cunningham did a lot more to garner statewide recognition for more than just his running with the pigskin.
Last week, in a 56-31 Templeton victory over visiting Nipomo, Cunningham a 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior running back and wide receiver on offense, and a linebacker on defense, carried the ball 25 times for 253 yards and four TDs and he had four pass receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, he had a pass interception he took to the house for a pick six to give touchdown Tyler a seven-TD performance. He also had six tackles with one for a loss and on special teams Cunningham had 25 yards on kickoff returns.
The seven touchdowns falls one short of making the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book on the Most Touchdowns (Game) list in the Football Individual Records: Single-Game Scoring section, but its still a remarkable feat and earns Cunningham a statewide honor.
So far this season for 9-0 Templeton and heading into an Ocean League regular season final contest in a match-up on the road in Lompoc at Cabrillo High, Cunningham has rushed for 1,128 yards and 16 TDs, and he has 18 catches for 314 yards and five touchdowns. On defense, Tyler has 42 tackles with eight for losses, five interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. On special teams, he has 217 yards on kickoff returns and 161 yards on punt returns.
On a final note Cunningham gets it done in the classroom as well as on the gridiron with a 4.6 GPA and 1400 on the SAT test. He has committed to Yale.
We’ve heard of Raider as a first name before, but not Packer as in Packer Kuaea, two-way lineman from Monte Vista of Danville. Photo: montevistafootball / Instagram.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Packer Kuaea (Monte Vista, Danville) Sr.
Although he wasn’t a finalist for the Bay Area News Group Boys athlete of the Week, we didn’t have to search very far for the NorCal defensive nod because Packer the sacker master came to us via a nomination from NorCalSportsTV announcer Chris Babcock, who announces the Monte Vista football games where he was an assistant coach for 21 years, and is also currently a statistician for the past seven years on the San Francisco 49ers’ radio broadcasts.
We say Packer the sacker because last week in a somewhat surprising 34-13 East Bay Athletic League – Mountain Division victory over previously unbeaten California of San Ramon that knocked that team out of the latest Cal-Hi Sports state rankings, Kuaea had five sacks, eight total tackles and a batted pass to help the Mustangs to their first win since 2021 over the Grizzlies.
Also, according to Babcock, Kuaea, a 6-foot, 240-pound two-way lineman, was instrumental in opening holes on offense for a Monte Vista running game that rushed for 239 yards compared to 76 yards for California, and pass protection for a Mustangs’ passing game that had 207 yards and two TDs in the air and held the Grizzlies to no TDs passing.
The five sacks falls one short of making the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book on the Most QB Sacks (Game) list in the Football Individual Records: Single-Game Defense section, but according to stat master Babcock it’s the most sacks by a Monte Vista player since the 2001 season and earns Kuaea statewide recognition.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Jayden Najera (Golden West, Visalia) Jr.
To find the NorCal offensive award winner, we took another nomination of longtime Cal-Hi Sports friend, contributor and CIF Central Section historian Bob Barnett and ran with it, just like Najera did with his passing game in his most recent performance.
In a 49-6 win for Golden West on the road at neighboring Monache of Porterville, Najera, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound junior quarterback, had for a career high 438 yards on 23-for-35 passing with seven TDs and no interceptions. Jayden also had 44 yards rushing.
The 438 yards passing falls 32 yards short of making the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book on the Most Yards (Game) list in the Football Individual Records: Single-Game Passing section, but nonetheless it earns Najera a statewide honor.
So far this season, and heading into an East Yosemite League regular season finale at home for 7-2 Golden West versus crosstown rival El Diamante, Najera has passed for 2,635 yards and 34 TDs with only five interceptions, and the dual-threat signal-caller has rushed for 424 yards and four touchdowns.
The 2,635 yards passing is the No. 14 reported mark in the state and No. 3 in the Central Section, and the 34 TDs is the most in the section.
On a final note, and according to Barnett, the favorite target of Najera, wide receiver Isaac Oceguera had six receptions for 100 yards and three TDs and set a school record for the season with 994 yards receiving.
Harold Abend is the associate editor of CalHiSports.com and the vice president of the California Prep Sportswriters Association. He can be reached at marketingharoldabend@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @HaroldAbend
