Two of this week’s honorees are PraiseGod Ofobuike from Live Oak of Morgan Hill (left) and Nick Hoang of Culver City. Photos: Hudl.com & George Laase / Culver City News.
After the first full week of games for schools all across the state, our first honorees for 2026 season come from Culver City, West Hills and San Diego for Southern California. For Northern California, we have winners from Sutter, Antioch (a freshman) and Morgan Hill. Go inside for a free look at what these players did.
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Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Nick Hoang (Culver City) Sr.
We’ve got to admit it was little fishy when first reports of Nick’s stats during his team’s 46-26 win over King-Drew of Los Angeles started to come in. There was one of 490 yards passing and six TDs and another of 546 yards and six TDs. The school has had prolific passers before, most recently Zevi Eckhaus from 2017 to the 2021 spring COVID season with 10,210 yards, and the official reports look valid and correct. He ended 34 of 50 for 546 yards and the six TDs. He added 50 yards rushing. Part of the reason it was deemed valid was that the King-Drew QB also had 402 yards passing. High scoring games like that always produce lots of stat stars.
Hoang’s 546 yards for one game passing would be a school record at many places, but at Culver City it is third highest in school history. Based on our all-time single-game state list, the record of 577 was set in 2019 by Eckhaus in a 55-52 win in overtime vs Palos Verdes. Eckhaus also had a 564-yard game that same season. Hoang’s total is just higher than the 537 yards that Culver City’s Jonathon Martin had in 2017 in a game vs West of Torrance.
Nick, who has a 3.9 GPA and has offers from small colleges, passed for 2,251 yards and 20 TDs last season. He added 229 yards and four scores rushing. Last year’s team went 4-6 and didn’t get into the CIF Southern Section playoffs. This year’s team (1-0), which plays next week vs Redondo and then one week after that vs state-ranked Bishop Amat, may have a better shot at making the playoffs since it’s not in the same Bay League anymore as Inglewood, Palos Verdes and others and instead is in the Pioneer League.
San Diego Madison kicker Harrison Brown is known for making field goals longer than 50 yards. Photo: FOX 5 San Diego.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Special Teams/Multi-Purpose Player of the Week
Harrison Brown (Madison, San Diego) Sr.
He’s regarded as one of the state’s top three or four kickers this season so it was not a surprise when he connected on a 56-yard field goal during the Warhawks’ 33-27 victory last week over San Diego High. It’s one of the longest field goals in CIF San Diego Section history. The record of 59 yards was set in 2015 by David Quintero of Brawley (Imperial Valley schools joined the section in 2000). The longest reported field goal in California from last season was 54 yards. A 56-yard field goal also is long enough to be included on the all-time state list. MaxPreps has a listing of 57 yards, but the San Diego Union-Tribune has reported it as 56 and so did other local sources. For us to switch to 57, someone from the school would have to send the film. Regardless, it’s a historic boot for Brown.
But here’s where there’s another special teams play that Brown made in the same game that puts his 56-yard field goal into more rarified air. Madison tried a fake punt deep in its own territory (or maybe it wasn’t a fake but just a play that Harrison saved) but he was credited with a 94-yard touchdown run on the play. Has anyone ever made a 50-yard field goal and scored on a punt run like that in the same game? We doubt it.
Last season as a junior, Harrison made 31 of 32 PATs and was 6 of 9 with long field goals from 50, 53 and 51 yards. He also averaged 37.4 yards punting and put 35 of 47 kickoffs into the end zone. He has an offer from San Diego State and also plays baseball.
Cal-Hi Sports Southern California
Defensive Player of the Week
Kingston Williams (Chaminade, West Hills) Sr.
One of the reasons for Chaminade getting out to a 3-0 start this season and moving up this week to No. 27 in the Cal-Hi Sports State TOP 50 rankings has been the dominant play of Williams, the Eagles’ 6-foot-3, 295-pound defensive lineman. He has several D1 college offers, but has committed to UNLV.
In last week’s 35-10 victory by Chaminade over Valencia, Kingston came through with three sacks and eight tackles. He also was given the chance to punch in a touchdown as a fullback offense and did it with a 1-yard run. It was the second straight outing like that for Williams as well. In the Eagles’ previous week’s 18-0 shutout of Westlake Village Oaks Christian, the big man ballin’ also had three sacks and was credited with seven tackles.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Special Teams/Multi-Purpose Player of the Week
PraiseGod Ofobuike (Live Oak, Morgan Hill) Sr.
Several different searches revealed that PraiseGod is indeed this young man’s first game. He’ll hopefully one day have to meet JSerra of San Juan Capistrano defensive lineman Godschoice Eboigbodin.
Ofobuike showed flashes of explosiveness last season as a junior for the Acorns, including one kickoff return touchdown. He did even better than that in his first game last week in helping Live Oak post a 41-28 victory against North Salinas of Salinas. PraiseGod had one kickoff return he took back for a 90-yard touchdown and then later in the game the Vikings let him run one back again and he went 93 yards for a score. In the same game, Ofobuike also was reported with seven catches for 40 yards. He’s on the same team as Gage Jones, one of the top returning RBs in Northern California who had more than 2,000 yards rushing in 10 games last season.
Losi Asiata runs for big yards for Sutter during game last year vs Bradshaw Christian. Photo: Nathaniel Levine / SacBee.com.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Offensive Player of the Week
Losi Asiata (Sutter) Sr.
Both the Sutter and Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills football teams were on trips last weekend to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex for games and both won. Sutter, which won the CIF NorCal D4-AA title last season and then lost to Barstow in the state final, played Bishop Lynch of Dallas and behind its returning star running back racked up a 49-28 triumph.
Asiata led the way for the Huskies by rushing for 280 yards on just 14 carries. He rushed for four touchdowns and scored on a 39-yard TD reception from QB Ayden Hunt. Such an outing in his first game was not unexpected. Losi averaged 10 yards per carry as a junior and capped his season with 1,640 yards. He is the younger brother of Fresno State defensive lineman Auckland Asiata. Sutter also has one of the top defensive linemen this season in California with Troy Bowens (Cal commit). Losi’s teammate, Kristian Montero, had 18 tackles on defense in the win vs Bishop Lynch.
Cal-Hi Sports Northern California
Defensive Player of the Week
E.J. Taufa (Antioch) Fr.
Is E.J. the most impressive freshman at Antioch since NFL running back Najee Harris in 2013? Well, considering that Taufa already had an offer from Cal before his first game might be a clue. Last week, the 6-foot 175-pound linebacker played his first varsity game and helped the Panthers defeat Dublin High, 29-7.
Tuafa led the Antioch defense in the win with six tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. One report had it as a 106-yard interception return coming out of the end zone. This was a game, however, in which our friends from the 49ers Cal-Hi Sports TV show showed up to shoot highlights. Taufa’s play was shown on air and it was not six yards deep in the end zone when he made the interception and began to run it back the other way. It was more like two yards deep. It’s still a 102-yard pick six in your first game as a freshman on the varsity team. That’s a big-time accomplishment.
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
