Some teams hand out game balls or helmet stickers on Mondays.
At OCVarsity.com, we select Leaderboard Legends.
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 below, and here are this week’s Leaderboard Legends:
RUNNING BACKS
Cole Kinder, Newport Harbor: Good things seem to happen the more the Sailors put the ball in Kinder’s hands. For the second time this season, the senior eclipsed the 30-carry mark, rumbling his way to 285 yards and six touchdowns against Fountain Valley in a 66-34 victory Friday. Newport’s workhorse back also owns a 34-carry, 321-yard performance against Los Altos several weeks back. Look for another heavy dosage of Kinder on Thursday night when the Sailors take on Huntington Beach in a key Sunset League contest.
Josh Avila, Westminster: The Lions notched their first Golden West League win in knocking off Ocean View, 35-20, last week. Avila totaled season-highs in carries (32) and yards (242). Westminster’s top back has three straight outings in which he has rushed for 150 yards or more.
QUARTERBACKS
JT Daniels, Mater Dei: The sophomore has been the definition of a Leaderboard Legend this season. In a 56-14 win over Orange Lutheran on Friday night, Daniels completed 30 of 36 passes for 406 yards and five TDs, bringing his season total to 40 touchdown passes, which broke the school record of 36 set by Billy Blanton in 1991. Entering Week 8, Daniels has more touchdown passes than incompletions (38). The Monarchs star is completing close to 81 percent of his passes, and he has thrown at least five touchdowns in every game this season. Top-ranked Mater Dei will travel to Cerritos College on Friday night for its must-see game with St. John Bosco with Trinity League supremacy on the line.
Christian Rodriguez, Kennedy: The Fighting Irish notched their first win over Valencia High in eight seasons last Thursday night, and did so behind the arm of their senior quarterback. Rodriguez threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with receiver Gabe Solorzano for both scores and 106 yards. Kennedy wide out Chris Rodriguez also reached triple digits, compiling 101 yards receiving on five receptions.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Logan Montgomery, Laguna Hills: The senior wideout has done a little bit of everything this season for the Hawks, and on Friday night, he got an opportunity to showcase what he does best: catch the football. Montgomery hauled in a season-high seven passes for 124 yards in Laguna Hills’ 46-27 victory over Dana Hills. It was the first time this season Montgomery eclipsed the 100-yard mark in receiving yards, and not surprisingly, it led to a lopsided result in the Hawks favor.
Michael Dyer and Riley Kaspar, Capistrano Valley: Barring any upsets, Capistrano Valley appears destined to take home the Sea View League title, thanks in large part to its dominant 41-7 victory over El Toro on Friday night. Flanked on the outside of Cougars quarterback Kevin Brown, Dyer and Kaspar each hauled nine passes apiece for a combined 293 yards. Both receivers also caught a touchdown pass from Brown.
ORANGE COUNTY’S LEADERS
(Through Week 7 games)
O.C. RUSHING LEADERS
1. KC Carr, Tustin: 1,761 yards
2. Jordan Leonard, Brethren Christian: 1,378 yards
3. Steven Hernandez, Los Amigos: 1,206 yards
4. Alex Jung, Sunny Hills: 1,030 yards
5. Josh Avila, Westminster: 996 yards
6. Justin Osborn, Whittier Christian: 992 yards
7. Cole Kinder, Newport Harbor: 967 yards
8. Brandon Castelo, Sunny Hills: 929 yards
9. Cade Henjum, Saddleback Valley Christian: 908 yards
10. Edgar Galindo, Los Amigos: 907 yards
11. Connor McBride, Woodbridge: 877 yards
12. Alonzo Pineda, Kennedy: 839 yards
13. Ben Jefferson, Pacifica: 832 yards
14. Chris Hernandez, Santa Ana Valley: 828 yards
15. Kiki Mendoza, Fairmont Prep: 781 yards
16. Francisco Pineda, Katella: 772 yards
17. Raul Balderas, Pacifica: 731 yards
18. Denilson Santamaria, Segerstrom: 724 yards
19. John Stamos, Villa Park: 688 yards
20. Noah Rivera, Brea Olinda: 659 yards
O.C. PASSING LEADERS
1. Quinn Commans, Whittier Christian: 3,045 yards
2. JT Daniels, Mater Dei: 2,620 yards
3. Cooper Jones, El Toro: 2,218 yards
4. Cade Henjum, Saddleback Valley Christian: 2,216 yards
5. Kevin Brown, Capistrano Valley: 2,104 yards
6. George Krantz, St. Margaret’s: 2,003 yards
7. Chase Garbers, Corona del Mar: 1,902 yards
8. Nick Sipe, Villa Park: 1,804 yards
9. Matthew McDonald, Mission Viejo: 1,750 yards
10. Deshaun Harvey, Buena Park: 1,699 yards
11. Corey Cisowski, Dana Hills: 1,629 yards
12. Tyler Lytle, Servite: 1,577 yards
13. Joey Gutierrez, Brethren Christian: 1,476 yards
14. Blake Culbert, Rancho Alamitos: 1,417 yards
15. Matthew Robinson, JSerra: 1,365 yards
16. Ben Jefferson, Pacifica: 1,348 yards
17. Tommy Germain, Trabuco Hills: 1,341 yards
18. Griffin O’Connor, Edison: 1,315 yards
19. Alex Ashcraft, Cypress: 1,257 yards
20. Nate Sorensen, Aliso Niguel: 1,184 yards
O.C. RECEIVING LEADERS
1. Cade McGee, Whittier Christian: 910 yards
2. Austin Derrico, El Toro: 881 yards
3. Auston Locke, St. Margaret’s: 745 yards
4. Tae Le, Corona del Mar: 689 yards
5. Justin Osborn, Whittier Christian: 688 yards
6. Nico Albertini, Whittier Christian: 666 yards
7. Jack De Avila, Saddleback Valley Christian: 665 yards
8. Ryder Lynch, Dana Hills: 649 yards
9. Osiris St. Brown, Mater Dei: 647 yards
10. Tyler Jones, Aliso Niguel: 629 yards
11. Noah Aguilar, El Toro: 628 yards
12. Cayden McCluskey, San Juan Hills: 621 yards
13. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mater Dei: 610 yards
14. Isayah Anderson, Westminster: 598 yards
15. Jacob Huff, San Juan Hills: 594 yards
16. Riley Kaspar, Capistrano Valley: 579 yards
17T. Olaijah Griffin, Mission Viejo: 576 yards
17T. Delon Hurt, Servite: 576 yards
19. Austin Osborne, Mission Viejo: 572 yards
20. Ryan Cragun, St. Margaret’s: 567 yards
*Coaches are asked to keep their team’s stats updated in the OCVasity 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.
