15 players to watch in NCS playoffs
The North Coast Section football playoffs start this week and here are 15 of the most dominating offensive players to watch.
Quarterbacks
Joey Aguilar (FreedomOakley): Despite missing one game with an ankle injury, Aguilar has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,291 yards and 24 touchdowns for the third-seeded Falcons in D1. Freedom has a bye. Jay Butterfield (LibertyBrentwood): The 6-foot-6, 180-pound junior is ranked the No. 2 pro-style junior QB in the country by 247Sports. He has reinforced the ranking for the second Open Division seed, going 130-for-198 for 2,513 yards, with 36 touchdowns and four interceptions. Liberty opens at home Nov. 10 against Clayton Valley-Concord. Grant Harper (CampolindoMoraga): The Cougars, the third seed in D2, have barely missed a beat after losing Metro Athlete of the Year John Torchio because of the development of Harper (2,301 passing yards, 25 TDs). Campolindo hosts Redwood-Larkspur on Friday. Dominick Mazotti (Amador
Valley-Pleasanton): At 6-4, 228, Mazotti is a load to bring down. He has rushed for more yards (1,245, 18 TDs) than he has passed for (822, 9), and has the Dons (8-2) in the D1 quarterfinals. They open next Friday at Freedom. Jackson Pavitt (Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa): The 6-2, 186-pound junior has thrown for 1,991 yards and 24 touchdowns and rushed for 378 yards and nine scores for the top D3 seed, which has a first-round bye. Jared Stocker (Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park): Like Harper, Stocker replaced a first-team All-Metro quarterback in Jake Simmons. Stocker also has not missed a beat, throwing for 2,132 yards and 20 TDs for the top D2 seed. Rancho Cotate hosts Casa Grande-Petaluma on Friday.
Running backs
Alex Aguero (RedwoodLarkspur): For the second time in three years, the Giants have the Bay Area’s leading rusher. Aguero (5-11, 180) has 1,823 yards on 188 carries and 23 touchdowns. Shamar Garrett (De La Salle-Concord): Playing the Bay Area’s toughest schedule, the speedy junior has rushed for 1,005 yards and 10 TDs on
only 110 carries. Expect a heavier load for Garrett as the top Open seed begins next Friday against Pittsburg. Jakobe Harris (TennysonHayward): Harris (6-2, 180) might be the most productive two-way player in the Bay Area. He has rushed for 1,202 yards and 24 touchdowns, caught 21 passes for 204 yards and two scores, added a punt return for TD, a pick-six and seven interceptions. Tennyson (8-2) opens D3 play Friday at De Anza-Richmond (6-4). Fresh Ison (Moreau Catholic-Hayward): The junior for the top D4 seed Mariners has 1,405 rushing yards but on just 79 carries for a 17.8 average. Besides having a cool name, the 5-10, 185-pounder is gaining some FBS recruiting interest. Moreau has a firstround bye. Austin Jones (Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland): The top-100 national recruit averages better than 11 yards per carry — 125 for 1,408 yards and 17 touchdowns. Look for the Stanford-bound runner to finish with a flurry.
Receivers
Connor Barbato (Rancho
Cotate-Rohnert Park): The 6-3, 200-pounder is a Metro Player of the Year nominee with 45 catches for 973 yards and eight TDs. He’s an even bigger contributor at linebacker — he has racked up 79 tackles and 17 sacks. Willie Harts III (Pittsburg): He actually could be classified in all three positions. With an injury to starting QB Trey Turner, Harts has been pressed into that spot and thrown two TD passes to go with six rushing touchdowns and four receiving. He’s averaging 20.8 yards per reception. Giles Jackson (FreedomOakley): The Michigan commit has 57 catches for 1,088 yards and 11 scores. He also has rushed for 147 yards and three TDs, recorded 25 tackles, and has three interceptions and three return TDs. Sione Vaki (Liberty-Brentwood): Projected as a college safety, Vaki is Butterfield’s No. 1 threat (51 catches, 1,117 yards, 18 touchdowns). He also has 41 tackles and four interceptions.