High school football: The Bee’s Players of the Year were difference-makers for schools
They took teams apart with their arms and legs, their instincts and leadership.
The Bee’s Football Players of the Year come from the most dominant large-school program in the Sac-Joaquin Section, the Folsom Bulldogs, right down to the biggest guys making the biggest plays for the smallest schools on the smallest stage in Sutter County for East Nicoulaus.
All told, it was a triumphant year for prep football if no other reason than this: there was a season. Having a campaign was a victory of its own, given the hurdles and challenges of a pandemic that lingered right into this season. A year ago, there was no season, no joy, no games, no honors.
Tyler Tremain of Folsom is The Bee’s MVP for his remarkable ability to withstand the most brutish hits in a sport that invites them. He quarterbacked the Bulldogs through unchartered territory, beating national superpower De La Salle of Concord in the CIF Northern California Division I-AA finals — on the Spartans’ home turf, no less. Tremain led the only regional team to go to a CIF state championship game, and though it was a close loss to Cathedral Catholic of San Diego, the achievement of getting there speaks of the star player and the Bulldogs’ coach, Paul Doherty, who earned Bee Coach of the Year honors after his injury-ravaged team limped into the playoffs having lost three of four games down the stretch.
Anthony Garcia of Capital Christian is The Bee’s Offensive Player of the Year. He passed and ran his way to a bounty of school records. In just 10 games, the senior quarterback passed for 2,689 yards and 34 touchdowns with just four interceptions, and he ran for 553 yards and eight scores against defenses geared to rattle him.
Said his coach, Saul Patu, “Great leader, great player, great student, and he’s only scratching the surface of how good he can be in football.”
The Bee’s Defensive Player of the Year is Lincoln linebacker Jordan Wagner, who powered the Zebras to their finest season by turning games with stops or interception returns for touchdowns, including one in the dense fog to beat Christian Brothers in a Division III playoff game. He earned Foothill Valley League MVP honors after producing 99 tackles, 15 for loss, 5.5 sacks and returning two interceptions for scores.
Said coach Allen Berg, “The most dominant defensive player I believe in our section. He changed every game. Stats are limited because we only played nine regular-season games and in four of them, he was done at the half in blowout wins.”
The Bee’s Large School Player of the Year is Elias Mullican of Rocklin, the Thunder’s do-all senior leader who was the MVP of the Sierra Foothill League and the driving force behind a 12-1 season and signed a letter of intent to play at Sacramento State.
“He’s our leader, our best player,” said Rocklin receiver Nathan Kent, a member of The Bee’s All-Metro First Team.
Mullican had 663 yards receiving, including some dramatic 1-handed grabs, and he scored on the ground or through the air and made five interceptions.
The Bee’s Lineman of the Year is Rocklin’s Bobby Piland, who is also the first lineman to earn land on The Bee’s All-Metro teams for four seasons. Piland pancaked foes in games, work himself to the point of exhaustion in practices, recorded superb grades and then would still ask teachers on campus during the week what more he could do to help his classmates and school.
“Just a great player and kid,” said Rocklin coach Jason Adams.
The Bee’s Medium School Player of the Year is Antelope junior running back Curron Borders, a transplanted lineman who rushed for 2,039 yards and 32 touchdowns in 10 games, leading Titans coach Mike Byerly to call him, in a word, “awesome!”
The Bee’s Small School Player of the Year is Casa Roble quarterback Jason Lindahl, who took over games as a runner or passer and then played a big role in playoff wins. He passed for more than 1,800 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for 1,000 and 13 scores.
Said Casa Roble coach Chris Horner, “Lefty and is built like Tim Tebow, athletic and smart as a whip. He’s an all-everything kid and he was definitely Superman for Casa Roble football.”
The Bee’s Smallest School Player of the Year is East Nicolaus linebacker Garrett McCray. At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, McCray was a load, to put it mildly, as he registered 174 tackles for the storied Spartans. Said East Nicolaus assistant coach Neil Stinson of his three-year starter, “An incredible work ethic and genuine nice kid with high character traits on and off the field. Dominant player.”
Back to Tremain. The gritty senior made all the throws and bounced back big after getting crushed in a regular-season loss to De La Salle, hurting his non-throwing shoulder and sidelining him for three games. Once back in the lineup for the playoffs, Folsom kicked it into familiar gear, avenging a loss to Rocklin with a 20-3 victory in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I finals, the program’s eighth such section championship since 2010. In tossing two touchdowns and running for two to beat De La Salle in the NorCal finals, Tremain gave this region its first victory over the Spartans after an 0-20 showing since 2012.
Said the humble quarterback, “I did my best. I have great teammates. I’ll remember them more than the games.”
In 12 games, Tremain passed for 3,052 yards and 37 touchdowns, and he ran for 269 and six more. He went 16-2 as a varsity starter, avenging one loss to De La Salle with the other coming in the state finals.
Said Doherty, the Folsom coach, “As a football coach, I’ve never been much of an MVP guy seeing as it’s the ultimate team sport. Most outstanding players yes, but never Most Valuable Player, until this year. When we lost Tyler, it changed everything. The value he brings to the table as our quarterback is immeasurable, or measurable with two league losses without him.”
Tremain has no FCS or FBS football scholarship offers, not due to a lack of grit or skill or grades. He is an example of how difficult it is to land scholarships.
“Someone’s gotta look at that kid,” Doherty said. “That kid can play Division I football. I’ve coached a lot of kids, I’ve coached a lot of prospects, and a kid like that, with all the intangibles, the composure, the decision making ... He’s great.”
Doherty took over the Folsom program before the 2019 season, moving over from assistant to lead man after Kris Richardson accepted the job as assistant head coach at Sac State to join one-time Folsom coach Troy Taylor.
“I learned so much from those guys,” Doherty said, crediting players, staff, faculty and Folsom’s community for the success this season.
“It takes a village,” the coach said.
Sacramento Bee 2021 All-Metro Football Teams
MVP
Tyler Tremain, QB, Folsom, Sr.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Anthony Garcia, QB, Capital Christian, Sr.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jordan Wagner, LB, Lincoln, Sr.
LINEMAN OF THE YEAR
Bobby Piland, Rocklin, Sr.
LARGE SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Elias Mullican, AP, Rocklin, Sr.
MEDIUM SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Curron Borders, RB, Antelope, Jr.
SMALL SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jason Lindahl, QB, Casa Roble, Sr.
SMALLEST SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Garrett McCray, LB, East Nicolaus, Sr.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Paul Doherty, Folsom
This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.