Some teams hand out game balls or helmet stickers on Mondays during the football season.
At OCVarsity.com, we select Leaderboard Legends.
This week we are honoring the standouts from Round 1 of the CIF-SS playoffs.
Every team in the county can nominate a player (or players) for this weekly honor. (To find out more about the award, click here.)
The O.C. stat leaders are listed below, and here are this week’s Leaderboard Legends:
LEADERBOARD LEGENDS: RUNNING BACKS
Francisco Pineda, Katella
As Katella learned last Friday night, it’s never easy beating the same team twice in the same season. After opening the season with a 21-point win over Westminster, the Knights again saw the Lions in last week’s first-round and grinded out hard fought 47-39 victory in the two teams’ second installment. Pineda averaged close to 10 yards per carry, finishing with 183 yards and two touchdowns on 19 attempts. The Knights senior back has now rushed for 100-plus yards in seven consecutive starts.
Connor McBride, Woodbridge
The Warriors senior ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in a 35-21 victory against Cypress in the Division 9 first-round matchup. Woodbridge previously lost to the Centurions, 20-14, in week zero. McBride has carried the ball 68 times for 377 yards in his last two games alone.
LEADERBOARD LEGENDS: QUARTERBACKS
George Krantz, St. Margaret’s
Krantz and the Tartans made the most of their jump up to Division 7, overwhelming North Torrance 55-14 in a first-round game. After missing the final week of the regular season with a shoulder injury, Krantz dazzled in his return, completing 16 of 22 passes for 321 yards and six touchdowns. He connected with Auston Locke eight times for 182 yards and four touchdowns, and dished the ball to Ryan Cragun five times for 110 yards and two scores. If St. Margaret’s can continue playing like it did last week, we’re going to have to ditch the “small schools” label for good.
Matthew McDonald, Mission Viejo
The Diablos senior was incredibly efficient against a talented Servite bunch in the opening round, completing 15 of 18 passes for 323 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-28 win. McDonald is up to 36 touchdown passes on the season and has tossed 12 scores in his last three outings.
LEADERBOARD LEGENDS: WIDE RECEIVERS
Mike Magana, Los Alamitos
It’s hard to imagine anyone in the county having a better overall performance than Magana did in Los Alamitos’ wild 19-14 victory over Villa Park last Friday. The Griffins senior caught seven passes for 115 yards, hauled in a 41-yard touchdown catch, and even completed a 37-yard pass to Zach Ruiz on a trick play that set up Los Al’s eventual game-winning score late in the fourth quarter. Defensively, he intercepted a pass in the end zone and was a major reason the Spartans came away with zero points on six red zone trips. And on special teams, Magana knifed through the line of scrimmage and blocked a field goal.
Nick Nash, Woodbridge
Having compiled 13 total catches for 169 yards over the course of the regular season, Nash put together his best outing of the year, grabbing six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in Woodbridge’s 35-21 win over Cypress.
ORANGE COUNTY STAT LEADERS
RUSHING LEADERS
1. KC Carr, Tustin: 2,512 yards
2. Steven Hernandez, Los Amigos: 1,906 yards
3. Cole Kinder, Newport Harbor: 1,853 yards
4. Connor McBride, Woodbridge: 1,578 yards
5. Josh Avila, Westminster: 1,552 yards
6. Alex Jung, Sunny Hills: 1,489 yards
7. Jahquon Speed, Valencia: 1,482 yards
8. Chris Hernandez, Santa Ana Valley: 1,421 yards
9. Jordan Leonard, Brethren Christian: 1,382 yards
10. Cade Henjum, Saddleback Valley Christian: 1,340 yards
11. Brandon Castelo, Sunny Hills: 1,233 yards
12. Francisco Pineda, Katella: 1,228 yards
13. John Stamos, Villa Park: 1,182 yards
14. Dillon Keefe, El Modena: 1,180 yards
15. Raul Balderas, Pacifica: 1,158 yards
16. Justin Osborn, Whittier Christian: 1,142 yards
17. Edgar Galindo, Los Amigos: 1,101yards
18. Alonzo Pineda, Kennedy: 1,052 yards
19. Zac Crowe, Laguna Hills: 1,050 yards
20. Raymond Serna, Anaheim: 1,042 yards
PASSING LEADERS
1. JT Daniels, Mater Dei: 3,865 yards
2. Quinn Commans, Whittier Christian: 3,777 yards
3. Cade Henjum, Saddleback Valley Christian: 3,609 yards
4. Chase Garbers, Corona del Mar: 3,183 yards
5. Nick Sipe, Villa Park: 2,893 yards
6. Cooper Jones, El Toro: 2,772 yards
7. Tyler Lytle, Servite: 2,752 yards
8. Kevin Brown, Capistrano Valley: 2,654 yards
9. Griffin O’Connor, Edison: 2,531 yards
10. George Krantz, St. Margaret’s: 2,517 yards
11. Matthew McDonald, Mission Viejo: 2,455 yards
12. Blake Culbert, Rancho Alamitos: 2,358 yards
13. Joey Gutierrez, Brethren Christian: 2,294 yards
14. Alex Ashcraft, Cypress: 2,165 yards
15. Richard Wagner, Santa Margarita: 2,055 yards
16. Luke Wilson, Yorba Linda: 1,920 yards
17. Matthew Robinson, JSerra: 1,895 yards
18. Ben Jefferson, Pacifica: 1,850 yards
19. Nate Sorensen, Aliso Niguel: 1,809 yards
20. Curtis Harrison, Laguna Beach: 1,763 yards
RECEIVING LEADERS
1. Jack De Avila, Saddleback Valley Christian: 1,197 yards
2. Cade McGee, Whittier Christian: 1,166 yards
3. Austin Derrico, El Toro: 1,162 yards
4. Tae Le, Corona del Mar: 1,078 yards
5. Tyler Jones, Aliso Niguel: 1,072 yards
6. Auston Locke, St. Margaret’s: 1,066 yards
7. Jesse Candelario, Rancho Alamitos: 1,010 yards
8. Osiris St. Brown, Mater Dei: 991 yards
9. Logan Montgomery, Laguna Hills: 961 yards
10. Ryan Cragun, St. Margaret’s: 937 yards
11. Justin Osborn, Whittier Christian: 921 yards
12. Kyle Ford, Servite: 907 yards
13. E.J. Ginnis, Edison: 877 yards
14. Cayden McCluskey, San Juan Hills: 856 yards
15. Grant Calcaterra, Santa Margarita: 849 yards
16. Noah Aguilar, El Toro: 838 yards
17. Nico Albertini, Whittier Christian: 837 yards
18. Austin Osborne, Mission Viejo: 832 yards
19. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mater Dei: 803 yards
20. Stan Berryhill, Orange Lutheran: 797 yards
*Coaches are asked to keep their team’s stats updated in the OCVarsity system so that their players appear in the O.C. leaderboards. These leaderboards reflect the information in the system as of Monday at 4 p.m.
