The West team received the opening kickoff, but the first possession for each team resulted in quick three and outs. During the West’s second drive, Connor Wood, a quarterback committed to The University of Texas, led the offense down the field and struck first by sailing a ball over the defenders to his emergency tight end, Ronald Powell, in the back of the end zone for a 23-yard score. Powell, known as a terrific defensive end and the fifth ranked player nationally, showed that he has the potential to be a two way player at the college level with his leaping grab.

On the ensuing drive, facing a third-and-9, Markeith Ambles came up with a spectacular forty-yard catch to keep the drive alive. Just when the East looked like they were going to get on the board, Michael Palardy had his 32-yard field goal attempt blocked by Cassius Marsh and Josh Shirley delivered and put the West up 14-0 at the half.

During the half Dillon Baxter, an explosive all purpose back from Mission Bay High School in San Diego, California, was awarded the U.S. Army player of the year award for his outstanding performance and leadership this past season. Baxter led the Buccaneers on a perfect 13-0 season that resulted in a San Diego CIF Division IV title. His stats are astonishing as he has accounted for 76 total touchdowns on the season and carried his team with 7 touchdowns in the championship game. With the departure of Pete Carroll to the Seattle Seahawks, Baxter is seriously reconsidering his commitment to USC.

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Sport: Football Positions: QB / DB Height: 5’9” Weight: 180 Class: 2010 School: Francis Parker High School San Diego, CA

Deon Randall was a one-man human highlight reel as his Francis Parker Lancers came up just short in the CIF State bowl series against Modesto Christian 44-40. The speedy 5’9” 180 lb quarterback was nothing short of spectacular. He accounted for 30 of his team’s 40 points, totaled 5 touchdowns: 2 through the air, 3 on the ground, and gained 386 of his team’s 437 total yards on offense. Often cited as too short to play the quarterback position at the collegiate level, Randall’s leadership has never been questioned. Head coach John Morrison told the North County Times, “I want the ball in his hands with the game on the line.” While his Lancers may have come up short, Deon Randall was anything but.

To view Deon’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/drandall

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Sport: Boys Basketball Positions: Forward Height: 6’ 8” Weight: 245 lbs Class: 2011 School: Maranatha Christian High School San Diego, CA

Junior forward Chen Cai of Maranatha High School helped propel his team to a 3-1 record at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. The 6’8” 245 lb big man scratched, clawed and pounded the competition in route to 102 points over a 4 game stretch. Cai is averaging an impressive 27.6 points and 17.8 rebounds through 14 games this season. Cai was named to the all-tournament team for his performance in the Holiday Classic. The Chinese born player has been a dominant force in the paint since he arrived in the United States as a freshman and looks to continue his stellar play for the Eagles this season.

To view Chen’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/ccai

Highlight video and scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

Maybe someday Brady Hoke will throw that proverbial “fence around the county” and get the top prospects in San Diego County to come to SDSU. Before he builds that fence, though, Hoke will need to first interrupt the pipeline.

You know, the one Bob Stoops has built between San Diego and Norman, Oklahoma.

Stoops, looking to restore Oklahoma to national title contention in 2010, will do so with the help of a trio of San Diego talents. All-time San Diego section receiving leader Kenny Stills and hard-hitting Eastlake star

Tony Jefferson both announced on Friday night that they will attend the University of Oklahoma next year, joining Scripps Ranch star Brennan Clay. The threesome made their announcements at the KUSI Prep Pigskin Gala at the Hall of Champions.

Clay, who had committed months before to the Sooners, was thrilled to have his two talented Silver Pigskin finalists (Mission Bay’s Dillon Baxter won the trophy) join him in Norman:

Hear from all three of the newest Sooners after the jump:

Brennan Clay(full SportsForce profile here) was the first to commit to Oklahoma. He joined 619 Sports immediately after the announcement of the Silver Pigskin award to talk about the honor of the evening and the process of luring Jefferson and Stills to join him in Norman:

Kenny Stills (full SportsForce profile here) had been heavily recruited by USC but wound up narrowing his choices to Florida, Michigan and Oklahoma. In the end, Stills told 619 Sports the chance to team up with Jefferson and Clay, and to participate in the Sooners’ vaunted passing attack, was too much to pass up:

Tony Jefferson angered the Arroyo Seco when he first committed to UCLA, only to show up at the UCLA-USC game wearing Trojans garb. After hearing the barbs from the Bruins, Jefferson withdrew his commitment to the Bruins and took a campus trip to Norman. The rest was history, as he told 619 Sports:

With Jefferson in the secondary and Clay and Stills in the OU backfield, Boomer Sooner is picking up speed heading into 2010.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

In a year filled with deserving candidates, Mission Bay superstar Dillon Baxter took home the hardware. The Buccaneers QB and future USC Trojan was announced as the 11th winner of the KUSI Silver Pigskin, awarded each year to the top high school football player in San Diego Section.

Baxter led Mission Bay to a 13-0 record and a D-IV San Diego Section championship, setting the all-time section single-season rushing record in the process. Baxter carried 261 times for 2,974 rushing yards and 50 touchdowns, while throwing for 1,922 yards and 25 more touchdowns.

Baxter beat out Escondido’s Ricky Seale, LCC’s Kenny Stills, Eastlake’s Tony Jefferson, Scripps Ranch’s Brennan Clay, and Valhalla’s Pete Thomas for the yearly honor (all pictured above).

After the announcement, Baxter spoke with 619 Sports about the honor, his future at USC, and the challenge of potentially matching up with Oklahoma and their three new San Diego stars in the future:

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

The 20^th Annual MaxPreps Holiday Classic is taking place in Torrey Pines this year from December 26-30^th. As all years prior, the tournament promises top teams and coaches from around the country. Every year, nearly 20,000 fans turn out for the tournament as well as many college coaches and recruiters to see the best young basketball talent. Brackets for teams have been broken into National Division, American Division, Governors Division, Mayors Division and Senators Division.

Among the players to watch out for at the tournament are power forward Jvonte Brooks, shooting guard Troy Leaf and point guard Kalob Hatcher. Together they have gotten Foothill Christians to a hot 6-0 start on the season. Each member of this trio is averaging twenty points or more and Jvonte is hauling in over 15 rebounds a contest, while Kalob is impressively dishing out over 8 assist per game. Troy has recently committed to the University of California, Santa Barbara after drawing interest from schools such as SDSU, Washington State, Nevada, Portland, SMU and UNLV ever since his freshman year. Also be on the lookout for Chen Cai, a 6’8 junior forward from Maranatha Christian, who is averaging 25.7 points, 16.7 rebounds and 4 blocks per game. Coming straight from the Torrey Pine Falcons (5-0) is Nick Kerr, a 6’3 junior guard, averaging over 25 points per game and shooting an astounding 43% from beyond the arc.

Making a trip all the way from New Jersey are the St. Patrick Celtics, ranked No.1 in the nation by MaxPreps and No.2 by rivals. The Celtics will be lead by two top 100 prospects in combo guard Kyrie Irving and small forward Julian Washburn. Kyrie recently completed his letter of intent during the early signing period to become a Duke Blue Devil. Competition from out of state will continue to heat up as the Mesa Jackrabbits, ranked No.1 in Arizona and No. 75 nationally by MaxPreps, come to town to try and stake their claim at the title. They’ll have to contend with the Taft Toreadors of Los Angeles who are lead by De Andre Daniels and Bryce Jones. The Toreadors are nationally ranked No.18 by MaxPreps and No.31 by Rivals. Center Greg Leslie bring his Chaparral Pumas in with a perfect 9-0 record on the year and are looking to take down the top contenders.

Seventy five teams are going to be on hand and each one is out to prove that they’re better than the rest. With the exceptional level of talent in this year’s tournament, fans are guaranteed exciting match-ups and plenty of surprises. For a full list of match-ups and locations please visit http://www.torreypinesbasketball.com/ .

by Craig at 619Sports.net

CIF San Diego Section will send two schools to next weekend’s State Bowl games at the Home Depot Center, as both Oceanside and Francis Parker have earned trips to Carson. The bowl matchups were announced by the CIF earlier this afternoon.

Francis Parker will represent Southern California in the Small Schools division, taking on the Modesto Christian Crusaders at 4pm on Friday. Oceanside was named as the SoCal Division I representative, they will battle Bellarmine Prep Bells at 8pm on Friday night.

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

D- III: Cathedral On Top Again

Cathedral Catholic and Point Loma battled it out in what proved be a closer match than years prior considering the Dons blowout win against the Pointers in the 2007 CIF Championship , beating them 41-3. The Pointers able to lead the Dons in the second half through the third quarter with a score of 14-6, but that is where the lead would end. The Dons finally gained momentum with a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, however, their attempt at a 2 point conversion pass was knocked down.

After the defense held, Cathedral got the ball back at its own 36 with 5:19 remaining. On 3rd-and-9, Cathedral Catholic coach, Sean Doyle, sent in word to go for the downs. Dons QB, Max Brewer called a slant-and-go for WR Chance Early, who was lined up in single coverage split to the left against Point Loma’s Davis Callejon. The slant move drew in Callejon and allowed Early to get a half-step behind his coverage.

Brewer delivered a perfect throw, running back Early made the catch, then broke free of Callejon’s tackle at the 35-yard-line. The rest was clear sailing to the end zone and a third-straight Section championship.

D-IV Final: Baxter Scores 7 TDs in 48-17 Rout of Valley Center

Baxter, in a performance for the ages, rushed for 384 yards and seven touchdowns as the top-seeded Mission Bay Bucaneers (13-0) ran past Valley Center 48-17 in Chula Vista. Baxter, who already owns the state scoring record, came within 40 yards of the single-game San Diego section rushing record, held by Kenneth James Jr. of Mt. Carmel, who ran for 424 yards against Westview earlier this year.

His first carry of the night went for 34 yards, but that was just a warmup. On his final carry of the first half, Baxter broke a 92-yard scoring run. On his first carry of the third quarter, it was Dillon Baxter for 87 yards and another score. A 46 yard scoring romp on 4th down sealed the deal in the final quarter.

Baxter’s take on the game:

It was a special night for Mission Bay coach Willie Matson, who saw 30 years of hard work rewarded with his first CIF title:

Baxter said he fulfilled a promise by delivering a title plaque to Matson before he left for USC:

Jaguars head coach Rob Gilster had nothing but praise for his great running back:

But in the end, both coaches could only watch and admire the individual brilliance of Dillon Baxter, who will surely go on to great things at USC in the next four years. From the opposing sideline, Gilster could only grit his teeth after missed tackles and long Baxter runs:

Meanwhile, Baxter’s high school career can now be compared to the greats who have preceded him, such as Marcus Allen and Reggie Bush. Has there ever been a more dominant player in the section than Baxter? Matson said simply that Baxter was the best player he had ever coached:

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

D-I: Eastlake Holds Off Vista 21-14

Twelve seconds remained and Vista stood but 15 yards away from the tying score in the D-1 CIF championship game against Eastlake. Down 21-0 in the 3^rd quarter, the Panthers clawed their way back into the game; both teams’ entire seasons boiled down to these final seconds. QB Christian Gallardi snapped the ball, rolled to his left, and tossed it towards the end zone. Qualcomm Stadium was silent as the entire crowd held their collective breaths.

With a tremendous leaping grab, Daniel Johnson intercepted his third pass of the game to secure the D-1 CIF Championship for Eastlake High School (11-0-2). The Titan’s 21-14 victory over Vista High School (10-3) brought Eastlake the school’s first ever CIF title.

Eastlake RB Tony Jefferson:

Eastlake head coach John McFadden:

D-II Final: Oceanside Opens Championship Six-Pack

The Oceanside Pirates took advantage of sloppy play from the Helix Highlanders to win the DII San Diego Section CIF Championship 26-10. The win extended their own record to six straight CIF Championships dating back to 2004.

Helix came into Friday’s game after stunning Valhalla and Scripps Ranch the previous two weeks. The Highlanders started the game as well as they could have hoped. After a tremendous kickoff return from star DB Jimmy Pruitt, the Helix offense drove the ball 56 yards culminating in a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore QB Brandon Lewis.

But as Quentis Clark told 619 Sports after the game, this team knew they would bounce back. While admitting that they were not used to being down early, Clark reiterated that the team never lost its swagger that had led to a perfect record in 2009. With a sixth straight title, Oceanside is in a class all by themselves.

Oceanside head coach John Carroll:

Helix head coach Troy Starr:

Oceanside quarterback Quentis Clark:

Oceanside linebacker Jake Fely:

Oceanside linebacker Sam Niu:

–Courtesy 619Sports.net

Positions: Guard Height: 5’6” Class: 2011 School: Torrey Pines High School San Diego, CA

Torrey Pines High School is counting their blessings for the addition of Megan McClurg to their varsity girls basketball team. The first year varsity player shot, rebounded, and stole her way to a victory for the Falcons in La Jolla Country Day School’s 7^th Annual Girl’s Basketball Sweet Sixteen Invitational. The 5’6 junior guard finished with 14 points on 55% shooting including 2-3 from the 3 point arc. McClurg also had 5 rebounds and 2 steals, including a highlight steal and length-of-the-court layup late in the 3^rd quarter which saw Torrey Pines outscore Our Lady of Peace 16-6. McClurg and her Falcons hope to continue their stellar play as the 2009-10 girl’s basketball season starts to pick up steam.

Visit Megan’s SportsForce profile for more statistics and details

Highlight video and scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for College Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com