Mike Brannon

The State Hornet reports today that Brannon received Best Male Athlete of the Year award.

Mike Brannon had a breakout season after switching positions from defensive end to outside linebacker. Brannon was a first team All-Big Sky Conference selection as outside linebacker and was third on the Hornets in tackles and 10th in the conference with 81. Last year, Brannon was chosen as second team defensive end, and the year before that he was chosen as honorable mention. Brannon led the Hornets in sacks with 9.5, and was third in the Big Sky. Brannon also led the team in tackles for a loss with 18, and was second in the conference. Brannon is a 2003 graduate of Cordova High School and is a junior majoring in kinesiology.

And that Dallas Mauga was named Best Male Team Leader.

Dallas Mauga was an inspiration to teammates this season with his hard work ethic and positive attitude. Mauga is a two-year starter who led all defensive lineman at Sacramento State with 43 total tackles, eight of those for a loss.

Mauga also recorded a sack this season and was chosen as a first team All-Big Sky Conference nose tackle. Mauga was a second team selection last year in his first season playing at Sac State. Originally from San Diego, Mauga went to Helix High School where he was an all-league, all-county and all-San Diego section selection his senior year in 2001.

He then went on to Grossmont JC, where he was the Foothill Conference Defensive Player of the Year his sophomore year. Mauga is a graduating senior and is majoring in Communications.

Recruiting Priorities

“Recruiting is going well,” Sperbeck said. “Last year, I only had two to three weeks to recruit. It’s huge to be able to recruit here in California. Our primary recruiting area is 200 miles around the area. We should be able to go out and win that battle.”

Sperbeck said that the recruiting battle should be fairly easy to win in that Sacramento is the only Big Sky team in California, and the only university in the Big Sky in a metropolitan area. (what about Portland State?) Sperbeck said the team would focus on recruiting a new d-line, since there will be 4 or 5 players lost to eligibility. The next area of concern will be defensive backs, in which the Hornets lost three starters.

“We have to replenish the defense,” Sperbeck said. “We want a balanced class. We’d like to build the program and get some young guys in now.”

More here.

Hunter Pahl, The Bee’s Defensive Player of the Year

Hunter Pahl, The Bee’s Defensive Player of the Year, is aptly named.

Opposing running backs and quarterbacks are the Del Oro High School linebacker’s favorite prey.

Offensive linemen are advised to approach with caution a player who brings a cage-fighting mentality to the football field.

“On the field he plays with a mean streak and a chip on his shoulder, which are compliments,” said Del Oro coach Casey Taylor. “He inspires his teammates when he gets physical.”

Regularly knocking opponents around helped the Golden Eagles senior earn his second consecutive Defensive MVP honors in the Sierra Foothill League. This year, he led his team in tackles with 78 and had seven sacks during the regular season.

“He was our strongest guy and had a tremendous work ethic on and off the field,” Taylor said. “He always played with a lot of emotion.”

At 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, he has average size for a high school linebacker. But he is a weight-room maniac whose training produced impressive results. In addition to his defensive accomplishments, Pahl scored 20 touchdowns this season as a running back.

He led Del Oro, playing one of the area’s toughest schedules, to an 11-2 record, a league co-championship with Granite Bay and a trip to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship game.

Taylor said Pahl wants to play defense in college, possibly at Sacramento State, which has made an offer.

“I know he’d loved to play in college,” Taylor said. “He can help a team at a weakside or outside linebacker spot or as a strong safety or rover.”

Rover.

Now that sounds like just the right position for a guy named Hunter.

Harmon Bruno

If composure means anything, and it does unless you believe mumbling and drooling is one heck of a game plan, Cardinal Newman will have all it can handle Saturday, if Newman saw what I saw Wednesday afternoon.

Joe Southwick and Harmon Bruno sat there in the baseball bleachers, talking about Newman, themselves, college football, dominance, expectations and not once did they hurry their words, scramble for a thought or, basically, appear in over their heads.

These guys have been there, done that, and are ready to do it again. Southwick, San Ramon Valley’s quarterback, and Bruno, the linebacker, were the matched set any coach would want for offensive and defensive leaders. Matched set, for talent and attitude.

Talent? Southwick, a junior, is being courted heavily by Cal, Stanford, Washington, Tennessee, Purdue, Northwestern and Virginia. He has been coached for the past five years by Roger Theder, the former Cal coach. He was the offensive MVP of a sophomore-only, invitation-only combine held last summer in Newark, N.J.

Bruno, a senior, is being pursued by UC Davis, Sacramento State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He actually may be only a hair better than SRV’s other three linebackers, a group regarded by many as the best in the state.

“There’s nothing to compare to Harmon Bruno,” said Southwick, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds. “I don’t have God on my side but I can’t live without my linebackers.”

“It’s fun watching a (future) Pac-10 quarterback,” said Bruno, 6-foot-1, 215. “I don’t like to watch quarterbacks who are afraid to take risks. Joe’s not afraid to take risks. If it doesn’t work, Joe’s not hung over about it. He comes right back.”

The temptation when you’re this good — the 11-1-1 Wolves have scored 55, 59 and 42 points in their three playoff games — is to feel acclaim like the sun on a bright day. It covers the body and the mind and, if not careful, will burn. That’s what was impressive about Southwick and Bruno.

You wouldn’t have known they allowed only 21 points in the playoffs. You wouldn’t have known this is the best defense Dave Kravitz has had in his 16 years as SRV head coach. You wouldn’t have known they are playing for the 3A NorCal championship. They weren’t letting success scald them.

“Every game is the biggest game of my life,” Bruno said. “I get butterflies whether we’re playing someone 1-7 or 8-0.”

They are teenagers but they weren’t acting like it, not in the sense of letting the moment distract them, overwhelm them or just confuse them. They act seasoned, savvy, aware. Maybe it’s all the tutelage and cheers Southwick has received. Maybe it’s that the Wolves have played before 6,000 fans (Monte Vista). Maybe it’s that, when it comes to team speed, they are faster than a hiccup. At any level, in any sport, it is the most coveted skill.

Speed is the one skill that does not slump or have an off-day.

“Every game one of our linebackers does something,” Southwick said, “and you say, `Wow, where did he come from?’ That’s why I think we have the best defense in the Bay Area and in Northern California.”

Yes, it’s hard to beat the Wow Factor. That should impress Newman. The Cardinals and their team speed have been the Wow Factor up north. When told Newman was quick, that the Cardinals weren’t big but fast, that their speed decided games, Southwick and Bruno smiled. They wanted to get after it. They wanted the challenge. They said they wanted another test to see how good they are, how fast they are.

Bruno said he expects to win and “our confidence is going through the roof.” Just then, when it seemed he had shed the cloak of respect, Bruno brought it all back to center with something he said.

“They all do 1/11th on defense,” Bruno said of Newman’s defense. “None of them try to be heroes at the wrong time.”

Bruno paused after he said it, glanced at Southwick, and nodded. It was the look leaders give each other. The other team has been recognized, appreciated, silently applauded. And it was even more than that. Bruno was saying something else. They play like we play.

“After last year, when we watched Cardinal Newman play for the state title,” Bruno said, “everyone knows about Cardinal Newman now. We didn’t know a lot about the Redwood Empire then. We do now. We’re excited, really excited.”

And as he said it, Harmon Bruno wasn’t smiling, not smiling at all.

Remember Bobby Guillory?

Guillory had signed a letter of intent when Mooshagian prowled the sidelines. 

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While the future for Bobby GuilloryJr. looks bright, much like it always has, the former Bethel High standout seems intently focused on one thing, his team.

Much like he always has.

Guillory, a two-time Times-Herald Athlete of the Year now in his sophomore season at Solano College, is again excelling on the football field. Like last year, Solano coach Floyd Burnsed is lining up Guillory all over the field - as a running back, receiver, kick returner and, when teams are passing successfully, in the defensive secondary.

A scoring threat every week, Guillory ran in a 1-yard touchdown last week in a 22-21 loss to visiting Yuba College. But there’s the rub, because the defeat dropped the Falcons to 0-7 in a tough season for Guillory and Co.

So despite his individual success, and at a time when four-year schools are lining up with scholarship offers, much of what Guillory talks of are the teammates he’s worked alongside the past two seasons in Fairfield.

“We’ve got a lot of bumps and bruises. It’s really tough on us right now,” said Guillory, reached last week before the Yuba loss. “When the defense makes stops, the offense can’t punch it in; and when we get rolling, the defense can’t get stops.”

With the option to red-shirt this fall, Burnsed left the decision up to Guillory, who simply wanted to play. Burnsed couldn’t have been disappointed, as he ranks Guillory among the best players he’s coached. And, in the midst of a so-far winless season, Burnsed noted Guillory’s leadership as one reason the Falcons haven’t yet hung their heads.

“Bobby’s a great kid. Works hard. Very coachable,” Burnsed said.

“He’s an all-purpose guy, he can play anywhere. … We’ve used other players like him, but nobody the same talent level.”

That versatility has helped the Falcons in direct and indirect fashion. Of course, Guillory is a threat both as a runner and receiver when he has the ball, but opponents are also loathe to kick in his direction, setting up Solano with advantageous field position.

“I think his No. 1 quality is, of course, speed,” Burnsed said. “So when you get him in space, or in the open field, he has a chance to go 90 yards.”

Yes, speed. It’s something that’s never been a problem for Guillory, a state finalist in the 100 meters as a junior at Bethel. And even though he bulked up this year (from 175 pounds to 185-190, to be more physical against bigger defenders), Guillory may actually be faster, thanks to offseason track workouts and an intense weight-room regiment. He said he’s been clocked, electronically, at 4.22 in the 40-yard dash, and 4.17 hand-timed.

Combine those types of numbers with his touchdown output, and it adds up to D-I offers. On the chase for Guillory, working toward his A.A. degree at Solano, are Oregon, Cal and Kansas State, along with Division II schools Central Missouri and Grand Valley State.

“It’s anything he wants to do,” Burnsed said. “If he works hard in the classroom, he can go to just about any Division I school he wants to.”

Guillory may be leaning toward the Ducks, whose games he records on TiVo and because they’ve been “talking to me since I’ve been in high school,” he said.

But, for now, Guillory’s focus is elsewhere. Even recruiting talk steers him back to his teammates at Solano.

When Cal recruiters attended the Falcons’ fifth game this year, Guillory let his teammates know they were the ones with the opportunity to get noticed.

“It’s fun individually, (but) with me I’m all about teamwork - I need to do anything I can,” Guillory said. “I’m all about trying to get everyone out, not just get me out.”

Much like it always has, team comes first for Guillory.

Guillory putting team before anything else at Solano

Doni Phelps

City College of San Francisco defensive end Doni Phelps tends to look at everything from an academic perspective these days, and that includes today’s community college state football championship game against Mount San Antonio College in Fresno.

and

His game plan after this season includes attending a four-year school. He’s heard from Sacramento State and Illinois State, and coach George Rush feels certain Phelps will get a scholarship somewhere.

More  here.

Sierra College WR Verbals to Gators

Carl Moore’s couch has housed some pretty big names of late.

• Pete Carroll sat on it the other day, the USC coach preaching the benefits of being a Trojan.

• Jeff Tedford stopped by and reminded Moore, the Sierra College All-American receiver, that Cal is still a national figure despite a slip-and-fall-from-grace 2007 season.

• And there was Urban Meyer, who had a national championship ring from last season to parade around the place.

So, for the moment, Moore is bound for Florida. The Cordova High School graduate said Monday that he gave Meyer a verbal commitment to play on scholarship.

It won’t become official until Dec. 19, the first day community college players can sign a national letter of intent. But Moore said there won’t be much anxiety. He assures that he is off to Gainesville.

“I’m a Gator,” Moore said. “I’m committed to going there. I’m pretty solid on it.”

Not that other programs won’t stop calling or stopping by that couch or Sierra to tour the grounds. Carroll visited Sierra coach Jeff Tisdel for an hour late last week. Tedford was on campus Monday. Moore is still live bait until he signs.

“It’s big time,” Tisdel said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had a kid from this area go to Florida. He’s that good.”

Tisdel is right on both counts. No area football recruit has gone to Florida via scholarship, in part because the Gators have made a national living with in-state recruiting for decades. But Moore is every bit as good as advertised. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Moore possesses the size, speed, strength and hands that college programs covet. Eighteen of his 70 receptions this season went for touchdowns for a Wolverines program that was nationally ranked.

Moore said he considered Cal because his close pal from Cordova – James Montgomery – plays tailback for the Bears. USC offered tradition. But Florida has the spread offense and the freshly minted Heisman Trophy winner in Tim Tebow.

Oh, and the Gators might have sealed the deal by offering Moore’s girlfriend, Maranda Smith, a gymnastics scholarship. Smith transferred to Sierra from UCLA, where she was on a gymnastics scholarship before suffering a broken leg. She was considering a scholarship to Arizona this fall.

“I’m glad we’re going to Florida together,” Moore said. “She’s a great athlete, too. She’ll always get me on the pullups, though.”

Story here.

WSU interviews Eastern’s Wulff

Besides eagerly awaiting the recruiting season to end, nothing else proves more interesting than watching the coaching carousel. Two Big Sky schools’ coaches Paul Wulff (EWU) and Bobby Hauck (UM) have been rumored to be candidates for 1A schools.

As a Sac State football fan who looks for every angle or move that could possibly benefit our team, I encourage Big Sky coaches to move on for the hope of the school having a drop-off the following season. Though it typically doesn’t happen for Montana, though they haven’t done well in recent playoffs it set back Portland State this year though the Hornets could not beat them.

Below is an article that confirms Wulff interviewed with Washington State.

Paul Wulff, a former Washington State offensive lineman who led Eastern Washington to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs in three of the past four years, interviewed for the Cougars’ head coaching position Friday night.

More here.

Hoskins to Sac State?

It seems more like speculation from Jon Gudel at the Elk Grove Citizen but Hoskin’s retirement from Elk Grove may take him to Sac City or Sac State.

 Hoskins’ decision was expected considering he wavered about retiring in the offseason. The legendary line coach will be retiring from the Elk Grove Unified School District but not from coaching. Most likely he’ll either coach next season at Sacramento City College, where former Elk Grove co-head coach Mike Clemons tried to lure him last season.Sacramento State is also another possibility, as one of Hoskins’ former players at Valley High School, Marshall Sperbeck, is now the head coach.

Read more here.

Mack on Hornet BBall

Marty Mac in yesterday’s Bee writes the following about Sac State coach Jerome Jenkins and is spot on: 

Jenkins, that I’ve seen, also has displayed an inability to consistently make appropriate adjustments with the games on the line – or at least not as many effective adjustments as his counterparts. Granted, those foes usually have had more with which to work than Jenkins. However, any coach’s job is to best make use of what he does have.

More here.

Personally, I have no enthusiasm for basketball. The gym and games lack any collegiate atmosphere and the program being annually bandaided together by juco transfers will not produce desired results.