The Sacramento Bee’s football Prep of the Week: Gavin McAuliff, East Nicolaus
Gavin McAuliff has had himself a career, and there’s still plenty to go to add to the memory banks and trophy case.
A multi-sport star athlete at East Nicolaus High School, McAuliff has been at the forefront of the Spartans’ football fortunes the last three seasons as the starting quarterback.
His career numbers: 3,788 passing yards and 45 touchdowns over 36 games to go with 2,409 rushing yards and 38 scores.
But the best numbers are the wins: a 13-1 season in 2017, a 13-1 campaign in 2018 and an 8-1 showing this fall with a regular-season finale Friday in Redding against University Prep before the Northern Section playoffs, of which the Spartans are four-time defending champions.
In beating Williams 47-0 last week, McAuliff passed for a touchdown and ran for three, and he made seven tackles in earning Bee Prep of the Week honors through fan voting.
How does a guy play all over the field? That’s the norm at small schools such as this one.
East Nicolaus has an enrollment of 280 and is rooted in the heart of Sutter County, where football is king.
“Fantastic kid,” coach Travis Barker said. “Incredible work ethic and one of our team captains. Gavin is definitely not driven by self glory. We all work together as a team to achieve a common goal.”
A 4.2 student, McAuliff grew up playing youth ball for Neil Stinson, now the offensive coordinator at East Nicolaus. McAuliff is also the varsity starting safety and punter.
“We’ve been fortunate to have such an intelligent guy with high charter leading our program the last three years,” Stinson said.
This story was originally published November 7, 2019 at 12:56 PM.