Rogers, Kuhner key to Acalanes’ title hopes
Acalanes football coach Floyd Burnsed was asked whether his dynamic speedy duo of seniors Trevor Rogers and Paul Kuhner had nicknames like “Batman and Robin” or “Thunder and Lightning,” or maybe even “Lightning and Lightning.”
Both were part of the Dons’ state meet runner-up 400-meter relay team that crossed in a blazing 40.96 seconds in May, the fourth fastest time ever recorded by a North Coast Section squad.
Now the pair lead Acalanes (10-4), coming off first NCS and regional titles, into the state Division 3-AA championship game at 11:30 a.m. Saturday against Birmingham-Lake Balboa (12-2) at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.
“No, we just call them Trevor and Paul,” Burnsed said. “But we call their names quite a bit.”
That’s because they do so much for the Dons. They’re not just dual, but triple threats.
Each is a game-breaking wide receiver and defensive back, and each also contributes on special teams — Kuhner, a 5-foot-11, 185pounder, as a returner and the 6-3, 205-pound Rogers as a kicker and returner.
Besides that, they’re the team’s lifeblood, both take-charge leaders when the Dons need them most — like when they started the season 0-3 or following a painful last-second 25-24 home loss to Campolindo-Moraga to close the regular season that cost them an outright league crown.
“They’re both vocal when they need to be,” Burnsed said. “They’re good friends and highly competitive and, of course, great athletes.”
Both come from athletic families. Kuhner’s older brother Michael was a lineman for the Dons and now at Navy, and his uncle Chris Kuhner was an All-Northern California receiver and basketball player at Miramonte-Orinda.
“His uncle was an absolute stud,” said Burnsed, who would know since he coached him during his 20 years as head coach at Miramonte. “Paul’s work ethic is off the chart. He can absolutely fly. He’s the fastest kid on the team.”
Burnsed brought up Kuhner his sophomore year against a loaded Benicia squad with three Division 1 players. He returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. “In the second half, they kicked it to him again and he returned that too for a score. After that, everyone in our stands always yells, ‘Kick it to Paul, kick it to Paul.’ ”
He returned the opening kick 97 yards for a score two weeks ago in the Dons’ NCS championship 24-7 win over San Marin-Novato. “That set the tone for the whole game,” Burnsed said.
Rogers has been a trend-setter his four years at Acalanes with 148 career catches, 2,657 yards and 34 touchdowns. He also has five career interceptions — one he returned 80 yards last week for a score in a 49-14 Northern California final home win over Escalon.
“He’s just an amazing athlete with a huge skill set,” Burnset said. “You watch some of the one-hand catches he makes and it’s unbelievable. He can do a lot of things, but I think his future is as a wide receiver.”
He’s following a family lineage to Cal, attended by his brother Chris (football), sister Morgan (soccer), dad John (water polo) and cousins Katie Smoot (volleyball) and Krissy Smoot (track and field). His mother, Nicole, ran track at Missouri.
Rogers has 15 offers including Colorado State, Fresno State, San Jose State, Washington State and a few Ivy League schools.
“Trevor is a little more outgoing than Paul,” Burnsed said. “He’s a football junkie. He knows about every top recruit in all of California.”
One of those is Birmingham star wide receiver Peyton Waters (71 catches, 1,150 yards, 15 TDs), a Washington commit. The two have tangled in offseason 7-on-7 tournaments.
Other Metro duos to watch heading into this week’s state championships:
QB Gabe Casanova and WR-RB-LB Jack Davis (St. Vincent de Paul-Petaluma): Casanova, a dual-threat sophomore, has accounted for 3,366 yards and 46 TDs; Davis has 72 catches for 1,198 yards and 14 TDs, but this year carries the ball in the red zone with 58 carries for 390 yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, he has 64 tackles with two interceptions.
RB-DB Charles Williams and LB Mario Crocitto (Marin Catholic-Kentfield): Williams earned first team All-Marin County Athletic League as a running back and cornerback, while Crocitto was the MCAL Defensive Player of the Year. Williams rushed for 174 yards and two touchdowns and had two interceptions in Saturday’s 35-28 NorCal win over McClymonds-Oakland.
WR-DB Jaylin Thomas and RB Boxer Kopscak-Yeung (Los Gatos): Thomas does it all on both sides of the ball (including 57 catches for 1,044 yards and 13 TDs) while Kopscak-Yeung has rushed for 1,570 yards and 25 scores.
DL Chris Biller and TE-LB Drew Cunningham (De La Salle-Concord): The heart and soul of the Spartans is defense, and these two are hard hitters and leaders of the front seven.
S Joseph Bey and RB-LB Jabari Mann (Serra): Hard to separate either of these respective four-year and three-year starters, both of whom are committed to San Jose State.
LB-RB Danny Niu and DE Collin Tahitua (Serra): Two more fouryear players who key arguably the best defense the school — or WCAL — has ever produced.