The Bee's Joe Davidson takes a look at some of the impact players whose teams resume their hunt for a football championship Friday:
ARMS RACE
Tanner Trosin of Folsom leads the state in total offense with 4,992 yards and headlines a list of standout quarterbacks in the second round of the playoffs. Austin Young of Colfax has passed for 2,439 yards and 30 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Aaron Young of Vista del Lago: 3,376, 30 and six; Mitch Samson of Casa Roble: 2,425, 34 and seven. Jake Rodrigues of Whitney has a 24-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Del Oro's Bobby Heatherington,above, 22-4 and Granite Bay's Brendan Keeney 21-5.
BACK ATTACK
Friday night's D-IV Liberty Ranch-Colfax game will feature two of the state's leading rushers. John Wiernicki has 2,210 yards and 36 touchdowns for Liberty Ranch and Hunter Perez has 1,942 and 31 for Colfax. In terms of playoff tradition, Colfax is in its 17th postseason. Liberty Ranch is in its first postseason with its initial senior class.
STAR POWER
Three national recruit players may converge more than once Friday in Rocklin. Whitney and quarterback Rodrigues and tight end Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick play host to Cosumnes Oaks and cornerback Marcus Rios in a D-III game.
A LEG UP
This time of year, a kicker is always valuable, and three of the state's best reside in the region. Grant's Charlie Vue is the NorCal career-record holder among kickers with 262 points (he's third all-time in the state). Grant's public address announcer calls Vue "The Eighth Wonder of the World." Jon David Smith of Oak Ridge kicked a 42-yard, first-quarter field goal that proved to be the difference in beating Burbank 30-28 in a D-I opener. Pleasant Grove's Marcus White leads the state with 76 touchbacks. He is third in the state among kickers with 84 points, one behind Elk Grove's Justin Singh, above, a converted soccer player. Alex Ball of Westlake (Westlake Village) leads with 105 points. His overtime field goal gave Del Oro its only loss this season. Ball's 307 career kicking points are a state record.
TIGERS' TALE
Inderkum coach Terry Stark anticipated a good season with a fast, motivated team. But even amid numerous injuries and a tough schedule, he couldn't have projected a 10-game winning streak. Running backs Josh Montes, Eric Walters, Hunter Royal and D.J. Myart play by the team's motto: "We practice hard and play fast." Stark added his team's motor must run an extra gear higher Friday to match Folsom in a D-II showdown.
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