Coach Kentera and XX1090Sports Radio hosted SportsForce CEO Andrew Beinbrink recently to discuss the changing time line of college recruiting, the importance of video in the recruiting process and how SportsForce is working hard to help high school student athletes in every way possible. Check out the interview below. Coach Kentera highlights high school sports every week for XX1090 and is himself very familiar with college recruiting as he’s been a mentor to hundreds of student athletes guiding their careers in many ways including placing over 100 students at the college level and having 37 players drafted or sign professional baseball contracts. Check out the full interview below.
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:
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:
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 3rd 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.
