Rick Gibson, Woodbridge
Last week (24-21 victory over University):
Players of the week: Offensive players of the week, the offensive line, Chase Bradley and Karstn Graves led Connor McBride on a 40-carry, 233-yard rushing night. Defense, Jacob Nash and Karstn Graves; special teams, Brendan Satchfield.
Woodbridge (4-6) hosts Cypress (6-4) Friday at 7 p.m. at University High in the opening round of the CIF Division 9 playoffs.
Mark Cunningham, University
Last week’s game (24-21 loss to Woodbridge): I felt our players did a great job of coming back and making a game of it.
Players of the week: Special teams, Darrius Outland; defense, Jalen Robertson; offense, Thomas Keeling.
Matt Bowman, Crean Lutheran
Last week’s game (49-7 loss to St. Margaret’s): We played a very good St. Margaret’s team for their homecoming. After our victory last year, I’m sure they were motivated for some payback. Our boys fought hard, but we got off to a slow start and couldn’t recover. But I’m very pleased with our boys’ effort this season.
Player of the game: Zach Macadam, seven carries for 37 yards and one touchdown, four tackles; offensive player of the game, Jack Johnson, 16 carries for 54 yards; defensive player of the game, Tanner Atkinson, seven tackles, 31/2 for a loss and one sack; special teams player of the game, Patrick McNerney, excellent punting all night; JV player of the game: Christopher Nomura.
Season review: We did not get allowed into the playoffs because there were no available at-large bids in our division for members who are not a part of a league. We were ranked in the top 10 in our division all year, but we were not given the chance to compete. It doesn’t detract from the effort our seniors put in this year, and we will work even harder this next year.
Marcello Giuliano, Beckman
Last week’s game (41-14 victory over Northwood): Last week’s game was a great way to end our regular season. Our kids came out ready to play with great emotion and solid execution. Once again, all three phases of the game contributed to our early lead: a long touchdown pass, a recovered muff on a kickoff, and defensive stop that led to a short field were all critical to our early success.
Players of the week: The defense was led by senior defensive end Stephon Green, who played his best game of the season. He helped us contain the Northwood running game and pressure the passer. The offense was sparked by senior receiver Willie Lajoie. He started the scoring with an 83-yard reception and followed it up with another score from 45 yards out. The special teams player of the game was sophomore Elijah Juarez, who had a terrific game in kick coverage.
Beckman (6-4) hosts Santa Fe (5-5) Friday night at 7 at Irvine Stadium in the first round of the CIF Division 10 playoffs: They are a very sound, physical team. We need to play solid football in all phases of the game to give ourselves an opportunity to move on.
Phil Roh, Northwood
Last week’s game (41-14 loss to Beckman): Beckman is going to be a force in the Division 10 playoffs. We found out the hard way last Friday. Coach Giuliano and his staff have done a remarkable job: winning the Fence Post, finishing second in a very competitive league. These are all accomplishments to be proud of. We will spend the off-season doing all we can to compete for those same things.
Erik Terry, Irvine
Last week’s game (70-6 loss to Corona del Mar): Corona del Mar was as good as advertised. They are at a point where their talent and depth is too strong even if we played our best game. Our seniors went out playing Irvine football with great effort and team camaraderie and I am very proud of them.
All year our team has faced a series of adversities, and they have responded with a “never quit” mentality. I will sum up our season with a great quote I read recently: “The good times make us friends. The hard times make us family.” Always proud to be an Irvine Vaquero and proud of our seniors who will always be our teammates for life.
Contact the writer: tiburt@scng.com