San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Serra’s Mann tops list of Regional Players of the Year
PENINSULA
Jabari Mann (Serra)
Separating senior players on the Chronicle’s top Metro team was very difficult, but Mann was picked by West Catholic Athletic League coaches as the league’s Player of the Year. The 6-foot, 205-pound linebacker, running back and wildcat quarterback did it all for the Padres (12-1), who were selected for the third straight year as Northern California’s Open Division representative for the state playoffs. Mann was a key cog on all three teams and a rare four-year varsity player. The San Jose Statebound standout led the Padres in tackles. “Jabari Mann will go down as one of the great Serra Padres of all time,” coach Patrick Walsh said. “The things he did on the field were very raptor-like — smart, quick and powerful. He brought others along with him.”
SAN FRANCISCO Jamelle Newman (Lincoln)
The 5-foot-6, 160-pound Academic Athletic Association Player of the Year put up huge numbers while leading the Mustangs (8-4) to their second straight San Francisco Section title and third in four years. Newman rushed 239 times for 2,058 yards and 26 touchdowns, including 172 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-0 win over Balboa on Thanksgiving in the section championship game. He added 178 yards and two TDs in a Northern California title-game loss at Strathmore. He might have been better on defense with seven interceptions and 36 tackles. “Huge number, huge production, huge heart,” Lincoln coach Phil Ferrigno said. “He loves to play and is very instinctive.”
CONTRA COSTA-TRI VALLEY Marco Jones (San Ramon Valley-Danville), Trevor Rogers (Acalanes-Lafayette) and Herschel Turner (Mount Diablo-Concord)
Two of the top recruits in the area — Jones, a junior, has 22 Division I football scholarship offers including one from Alabama, and Rogers has signed with Cal — along with the greatest rushing regular season in Bay Area history by Turner make up the first trio to ever share this award. Jones, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior linebacker, had a North Coast Section-best 166 tackles in 13 games for the 10-3 Wolves. The 6-3, 210-pound Rogers led the Dons (11-3) to their first section, NorCal and state titles while hauling in 74 passes for 1,231 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions from his cornerback spot and was the team’s kicker and punter. After breaking the school’s single-game record for a fourth time with 413 yards rushing in a 55-40 win over Berean Christian to close the season, Turner finished with a Bay Area regular-season record 2,957 rushing yards and 42 touchdowns for the Red Devils (7-4). Including his one postseason game, he finished with 3,027 rushing yards in just 177 carries (17.1 average) to go with 43 TDs. At linebacker, Turner had 67 tackles, six forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.
EAST BAY
Sam Shelby (Piedmont)
Leading one of the great comeback teams of 2023, the 6-foot, 180-pound junior wide receiver and defensive back earned first team All-MVALWACC Shoreline Division honors on both sides of the ball. He finished with 63 catches for 1,117 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushed 33 times for 403 yards and eight more scores and added 30 PAT kicks. A sub 11.0-second 100-meter sprinter, Shelby also had 334 yards on kickoff and punt returns. Piedmont (7-4) won a league title and an NCS playoff game after losing all four games on the field in 2022 before forfeiting the rest of the season due to a lack of players. “He’s a hidden gem,” Piedmont assistant coach Paul Perenon said. “He has a huge upside and really blossomed as our season unfolded.”