Bee’s Best: Here are our picks for the Sacramento-area’s top receivers, including ‘Cyborg’
The thing about the star receiver in high school is the versatility. They can do anything because, quite often, they have to do everything. Use them, unleash them, maximize them just as well be the motto of coaches who have the luxury of a game-changing target.
And keep them all in one piece.
At Sheldon High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, Huskies coach Chris Nixon delights in knowing his can’t-stop receiver is his son, Scott Nixon. A straight-A senior, young Nixon’s favorite class is wood shop, where goggles and safety are among the topics each day as students work in ankle-deep sawdust, with a roll call of digits a must.
“I remind him to leave wood shop each day with as many fingers as you came there with. We need them!” said coach Nixon.
In Orangevale, Casa Roble coach Chris Horner has a star deep threat in Cole Owens. He’s so good that the coach calls him “Cyborg,” and it’s no wonder.
“For the on-the-field awesomeness that he displays on the regular,” is how Horner explains it, adding, “He is an absolute matchup problem for any defense. He can take a screen the distance because of his elusiveness and vision. He’s also fast enough to take the top off the defense on a vertical route. He runs crisp routes and knows what each receiver is supposed to do on every play.”
At Folsom, the top-ranked Bulldogs have two receiver targets for coach Paul Doherty, not to mention tight ends and running backs. But the receivers are the deep threats, and that means Rico Flores Jr. and Onterrio Smith Jr. stretching defenses.
“Rico’s the best player in the section, any position,” Doherty said of his Notre Dame-bound senior. “And Onterrio? He’s just getting started. He’s gone from 5-6, 130 pounds as a freshman to 6-3 and a huge prospect. Just awesome.”
Just awesome describes just about all of the guys on The Bee’s Top WR list, and each will have to up their game even more come playoff time, where every possession matters. For all of their star power, these receivers are a humble lot. They toss the ball back to the referee after reaching the end zone. They act as if they’ve been there before.
The receiver lot includes sophomore Phillip Bell of Christian Brothers, who burst onto the scene as a freshman. He still plays beyond his years.
“He can do it all, and we need to get him the ball,” CB coach Larry Morla said.
At Laguna Creek, the Cardinals are enjoying one of their finest seasons in large part because of Malachi Bean-Seay.
“He’s incredible,” Laguna Creek coach Ryan Nill said. “Really incredible.”
One common thread for all the top receivers is drive. The game means something to them. So does being the focal point.
Said coach Nixon of Scott Nixon, “The thing that makes Scott special as a person is his drive to be excellent at whatever he does. He offers to play running back for the first time in his life (earlier this season), and all he does is rush for 230 yards and score four TDs. We move him back to receiver and he has 18 catches (and four scores). Scott frets about the one catch he should have had.”
And toughness. You’re not nicknamed named Cyborg without being gritty. You have to have a great deal of mental toughness if you’re Flores or Smith at Folsom; Flores because he’s supposed to be great and Smith because his father by the same name was great, as a running back at Grant High in the 1990s who reached the NFL.
At Oak Ridge, the Trojans look to their one-handed receiver, Sebastian Sutton. One hand? Yes, with the other covered in a huge, club-like cast to protect a broken bone.
“And he still catches everything,” Trojans coach Casey Taylor marveled.
Added coach Nixon of his sore-armed son, “While other players are treating their injuries with ice and band-aids, (Sheldon assistant coach Ryan) Robards went to the Sheldon Feed Store, grabbed some kind of horse cream and rubbed it on Scott’s sore elbow. What injury? I haven’t heard about that injury since.”
Motivation also fuels some. Jhayson Fowler of Hiram Johnson lost his father when he was young and he was crushed when his grandmother and “guardian angel” died. He competes in their honor. Said his coach, Alex Gomes-Coelho, “He’s a crazy good athlete. He busts his butt, he’s been more vocal as a leader. I’m lucky to have a player like him on my team.”
The joys of having a top target? Too many to list, but here’s a sample size from Casa Roble’s Horner.
“Having Cyborg on our team allows the offensive coaches to get creative with route combinations, knowing most teams are going to pay attention to where number 11 is and if teams don’t pay attention and try and stop him, we will just feed the beast,” the coach said. “It’s a nice warm fuzzy feeling knowing he is a guy we can count on. He makes us look very smart as coaches. Cyborg for President!”
Malachi Bean-Seay, Laguna Creek, 6-foot, 170, Sr.
Burns teams on kickoff and punt returns and as the primary target, averaging 23.9 yards per catch with 11 touchdowns.
Phillip Bell, Christian Brothers, 6-1, 180, So.
National recruit is devastating on screen plays, the middle or long. He’s a true Bell-ringer, with 14 TDs, including three games with three each.
Rico Flores, Jr., Folsom, 6-3, 195, Sr.
Next guy who yammers, “he only has five touchdowns!” needs to study the product more, or stretch and cover the guy. Flores has 681 yards receiving against stiff competition and double teams.
Jhayson Fowler, Johnson, 5-10, 170, Sr.
A late-bloomer to the position, Fowler has 16 touchdowns for the upstart Warriors.
Devon Hurst, El Dorado, 6-0, 165, Sr.
The primary target for star QB Anthony Mahaffey, Hurst has 608 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Matt Long, Vista del Lago, 6-0, 185, Jr.
Can’t cover him. He’s had three games of three TD catches or more and has 842 yards receiving, 14 scores, and fellow receiver Crew Santero has eight TDs.
Kingston Lopa, Grant, 6-5, 190, Jr.
A big reason why the Pacers are rolling again is this big target, who averages 27.4 yards per catch and has 13 touchdowns; WR teammate Kyrell Goss-Pruitt has eight TDs.
Myles McFarland, Cosumnes Oaks, 6-0, 160, Jr.
Fast and getting faster, and coming off a nine-catch, 208-yard, two score game.
Scott Nixon, Sheldon, 6-2, 200, Sr.
A scholarship gem if there ever was one, Nixon has 64 catches, 794 yards, 10 scores, can also run the ball, block, inspire and lead.
Cole Owens, Casa Roble, 6-0, 185, Jr.
Runs all the routes, runs teams ragged and has 907 yards, 14 touchdowns with a year to go.
Damian Rickett, Bella Vista, 6-4, 190, Jr.
Dripping of potential, size and ability, Rickett averages 20.6 yards per catch for BV’s best team in years.
Ryan Sisson, West Park, 5-11, 165, Jr.
Develle Barksdale is the team star with a fleet of targets, including Sisson, who averages 23 yards and has 10 scores.
Sebastian Sutton, Oak Ridge, 6-1, 185, Sr.
With one hand healthy and the other in a club-like cast to protect a broken hand, Sutton still makes plays, averaging 20.6 yards per catch.
Luis Torres, Dixon, 5-10, 160, Sr.
Has caught a touchdown in all but one game, eight total, and can go short, middle, long.
Treyvon Watson, Antelope, 5-9, 170, Jr.
The Titans look to run with Curron Borders, but Watson has buckled teams with speed and five deep scores.
Who’d we miss? Email insight to jdavidson@sacbee.com or on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD
This story was originally published October 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.