Who’s your pick for Player of the Year?
December 4th, 2008, 9:52 am · · posted by Steve Fryer
We received nominations for 42 players, and the top half in terms of support are included on the list below.
We’ll continue voting for this round until Monday at noon. You’re welcome to return to vote for more than one candidate, but please avoid blatant ballot-box stuffing for one player.
And please use the comments field below to leave your positive comments about the players under consideration. There’s no need to be negative, and anything attacking a player will be deleted.
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OC H.S. Sports
no Garbutt?
There are a lot of terrific players on this list, but this is an easy call. No question. Preston King is the best overall player this year. He’s the star on offense, defense, special teams, etc. If they let him sell snacks at halftime, he’d be the best at that too!
Preston King: leads county in TD catches (14), interceptions (9), interceptions for touchdowns (6). He is a freak.
I believe Sean Avila’s teammate Lukas Lopez is even more diserving a candidate than he is. He finished the season with 11 sacks and was #3 on there defensive tackle chart ahead of Sean Avila. He was also voted player of the game 3 times to Avilas 1. He is just a junior but an outstanding player just the same and definately a senior to watch in the up coming season.
No brainer. King is the King.
Only watched Pac 5 (Trinity and South Coast) teams, but of those, Preston King was by far the stand out. Alex Mascarenas was good but not anywhere near the level of Preston King.
PRESTON KING is the Man! I have said this for the past few years to watch out for this guy. I knew he would be recognized for his talents someday. He has got to be the best HS player I have ever seen as far as allaround football player on offense, defense, special teams, knowlegde, leadership, coaching, etc. He is a very special kid and I saw that years ago in pop warner. Finally he is getting the accolades he so very well deserves. Remember…I said it first!
Tesoro, now go out and represent the south coast league and bring home the winner. We all back you up now and will be there to support you. Play strong against the Trinity league and show them that the South Coast League is for real
Robert Cruz Lead the State in rushing and had 40TD’s on the year?
Also lead his team their, first play-off’s in 20 plus year’s.
Brannon deserves the title. He had the second leading rushing yards in the county against the tough empire league teams. If Pacifica faced the same teams as Magnolia I am sure he would have had the same stats Robert Cruz did. Cruz has talent, but Brannon is really impressive. Who else can put up those numbers in such a tough league? Plus, he carried his team when his qb got hurt, and still made it to the playoffs. That’s a champion.
Preston has done it every game, and it seemed whenever there was a big play, Preston was involved!!
You’ve gotta see this kid, the best player this year!!
Barkley, Hillman, Mascarenas, & Quezada are unreal athletes. They for sure deserve to be on this list.
Hands down the best High School football player in the southland is Keith Price of St John Bosco. Most exciting player I’ve ever seen at this level. He will be playing on Sundays some day. But, he wasn’t on the list so I voted for Preston King. Sorry Matt Barkley, you’re a great young man, but this is only one mans opinion. Congratulations to all the young men listed above for your accomplishments this year.
not one player from newport!?@#$@ thats outragous
cecil whiteside?
jb green?
brandon kula?
mike helfrich?
Preston King is a superb athlete, leader, sportsman and gentleman. As a spectator, it’s thrilling to watch him on the field. His talent and dedication to the sport and his team is remarkable, He is in on almost every play, offense, defense and special team. I am also impressed with his many accolades and photos in the Register which includes one with him giving his glove to a small boy. He’s got heart on top of everything else. You gotta love him!
Preston King is the man this year. I was getting really tried of the Register (FRYER) kissing up to Matt Barkley. When Barkley had any pressure he threw a INT. Barkley is a EXCELLENT player but way over hyped like playstation 3.
The OC is loaded with super players yet Barkley received most of the print. Next year share the glory with all deserving.
All hail KING PRESTON! best player in the county by far
Rrrrroooobnnneeerrrtt Ccccrruuzzzz!!! (inside joke) my boymled da state and county in rushing!! Regardless of he played for the orange league! He deserves it!!
Correction… It’s my boy led
Everyone should be quiet…there is only one player that impacted their team that much with no help on offense he is the only player from South Coast League, Trinity League, and Sunset League combined that ranked top 5 in every rushing category so you do the math. Also, if there was a category for punt returns and kick off returns in Orange County he would also be in the top 5…………..Your candidate and WINNER…………….Kyle Middlebrooks.
Thank you, fa’a fetai, mahalo hiki ho, gonfunnit u get hanabadas in yo mouf and shuddap yo face, braddas
fealofani- you are right on! He is the best game changer I saw- definitely Kyle Middlebrooks.
fbl4life: Pacifica is in a tough league? there’s only two tough team’s in that league Valencia & Cypress. Josh is a great kid and a tough runner. But stop crying…. Robert # are for real! People talk the competition he played against whatever. That doesn’t appear to hurt Ruben Ortega from Whs, who is on this list.
If Robert had a QB, like #5 and W/R and a O-line like Pacifica, or pac -5 school, his #’s would only be much better, his a real talent.
Last thing fbl4life ” Gardner lack’s discipline and toughness”!
Middlebrooks had an unimpressive 28 yards rushing against Lutheran and FV as a whole had 3 first downs the whole game. The best 2 players I’ve seen so far are Hytche and King. Hytche only plays offense so it limits him, while King plays both ways. If Schroeder had been able to beat one of the big 3 in the SCL and make the playoffs he’d probably be up there too.
I think all of the names posted above are awesome football players but when I read someone saying “best high school football player ever” I cringe because you obvioulsy never saw Matt Grootegoed who was hands down the best football player I ever saw. He was a dominant safety who made every tackle and an awesome tailback who took over games. I remember watching him as a junior and single handedly destroying LB Poly. The Poly players kept asking him “where are you going next year”? He would reply: “Mater Dei”.
Yeah, Groots is definitely the best player I’ve ever seen. That said he’s become so legendary even if a player was able to be as dominant as he was, I doubt he’d be given the title, at least at this point in time. Groots captivated people like no one else could, much like Jordan for his sport. Kobe may be as good as Jordan but it’ll be hard to dethrone Jordan just because of the way MJ is remembered.
King is the man every game 60 minutes of real hard nosed footall and when it counts you can count on him to make the plays both offence and defence. Team leader and a great kid.
Preston King Is the real Deal. He Understands and plays the game (both ways),with amazing clarity.He is a great sportsman,a great team leader, and plain fun to watch on the field.Congratulations to all of Preston’s teammates for an amazing year of Football. The talent in this league is incredible,but Preston’s ability to make the big plays in the big games was seen all year. Preston King is a class act,and gets my vote for player of the year !
Everyone needs to vote based on player in the league and performance of player. Please don’t vote based on your buddy or emotional needs. Yes, the running back for Magnolia rushed for almost 3K yards, I bet you he wouldn’t of gotten more then 1500 yards in a tougher league. Consider these guys at Servite, MD, Tesero, OLU, etc…
My Vote:
Jaron Hytche (Mater Dei)
Bijon Samoodi (Servite)
I watched allot of High School games this year but out of them all (MV, Tesero, OLU, and Los Al) no one stood out like these to guys. They carried their teams as far as they went. Stand-Outs for sure…
King is definitely a strong candidate. However, the answer should be Robert Cruz #32 from MHS. His offensive stat’s were historical this year. We are talking about POY in the county. He lead the state in rushing this year!
One key stat, he is proud of is.Leading his team to the play-off’s, first time Magnolia has been to the post season since mid 80′s. Would Magnolia have made the play-off’s with out him? My vote is for Cruzer..
Wow…first let me congratulate those on this list; there’s no doubt they’re deserving of such honor. I only regret that the OCR nullifies the smaller schools (lower division) without realizing or seeing the talent that exists at those schools! Throughout the season, I watched a 5’6″ young man that weighed in at approximately 150 lbs (that may even be soaking wet) rushing for 1728 yds (6.1 per carry), with 16 TDs. He looked like a boy among men on the field….however; his heart and determination was larger than life. He understood that to acheive victory he had to pass inconveniences and he did with without hesitation and with confidence, leading the team to the CIF playoffs. My player of the year goes to Ricky Vu of Los Amigos High School (Garden Grove League).
KYLE MIDDLEBROOKS
WOW!!!
ALL THESE YOUNG MEN ARE DESERVING.. BUT MY PICK WILL GO TO SEAN AVILA OF ESPERANZA. HE’S STRONG AND HAS SHOWN A GREAT DEAL OF ATHLETICISM ON THE FIELD. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THESE YOUNG MEN,,,,
K. Middlebroks gets my vote. We are talking about a kid coming out of nowhere and bringing Fountian Valley back into the spotlight. They hadn’t been to the playoff in four year but here’s a kid who is the top rusher in the Sunset, Trinity and South Coast league(some of the toughest leagues) with 22 touch downs and over 1500 rushing yards. Maybe he did get shut down in the Olu game but the ” Fact” is, he took his team to the playoffs. And just think, he’s only a Jr. If he doesn’t get it this year, watch out for next year. Check him out in Track and Field in 2009.
VOTE FOR SEAN AVILA!!!
cuz i <333 him!
vote for greg portis!!!!
SEAN AVILA IS AN INCREDIBLE, UNBELIEVABLE, OUTSTANDING PLAYER!! HE DESERVES THIS!!!
My vote is for Preston King. when you watch him play he simply has an eye for the game. On top of that he has great sportsmanship.
Conrats to Jacque Douglass for having the guts to use her own name unlike the rest of you . Ill bet that she is really a mission fan!
Your future President,
Barak Obama
Vote for Greg Portis!! Greg has exhibited true athleticism on the field his plays speak for themselves. There is definitely no one more deserving
Our Youngman are wonderful and all deserving of this honor. My vote goes to Bijon Smoodi who has proven himself to be a player of the year on and off the field. ALways RESPECTFUL AND HUMBLE. Bijon you rock.
Portis/Samoodi all the way! They played the tuffest schedule in the country and no one can argue that! Go Friars…
Why can’t Barack Obama spell his own name correctly?
Robbie Picazzo. The more you see the guy the more you wish he was your QB. His TD to Int ratio is sick. Portis, King, Middlebrooks, Barley, etc. all deserving, but Picazzo cooly runs the team that may well take down mighty Poly.
Hands down Sean Avila is the best!!! He’s an amazing football player and he deserves it. He has so much heart and he puts in 110% every game!
VOTE GREG PORTIS!!
GREG PORTIS
IS SICK!!!!!!!!!!!!
vote for him
GREG PORTIS IS SICK!!!!!!!!!!
NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
VOTE FOR GREG
ANTHONY WILKERSON anyone???
this guy consistintley puts out huge gamesfor tustin and is the main reason they have demolished everyone in playoffs
go wilk!
AT 6’2″, 260LBS. SEAN AVILA DOMINATES THE LINE!
HE IS QUICK ON THE BALL AND IS A PLAY MAKER!
HE IS A DOMINATOR IN A VERY STRONG SUNSET LEAGUE…..
AVILA HAS MANAGED TO MAKE SOME GREAT PLAYS WHILE BEING DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAMED. WHERE EVER HE DECIDES TO PLAY NEXT HE WILL CONTINUE TO BE SUCCESSFUL…
GOOD LUCK SEAN, ITS HAS BEEN A PLEASURE!
Sean Avila is the best!!!He has worked to earn this, and if he doesn’t receive it, people must be out of their mind. He’s always ready to play and always put in every effort he can!!! My vote is for Sean Avila!!! Good luck in the future!
Vote for Greg Portis…
He is the best–hands down.
Count on him to hype up the players, and crowd!
When you need yards just put in Portis.
He deserves it…GREG PORTIS!
Portis is the best hands…He’s the one when you need points on the scoreboard…PORTIS OR DIE!!!
VOTE FOR PORTIS!
))
he has done an incredible job this year. he has scored alot of touchdowns for servite and he has done very good since his sophmore year.
vote for PORTIS, he deserves it.
Brannon #1 , picked up his team and carried the team to the play off s
well deserving…. PACIFICA MARINERS …thanks for the memories…
# 5, #33 #35 for life..
Brannon desevers it………………….!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although only a junior and still has alot of football to play Joshua Quezada is one tough kid takes on tacklers like a crazed man and delivers big blows he has my vote and whatever college he chooses is gonna get a strong tough fast and quick player a TRUE PLAYER with skills on both sides of the ball
Greg portis and Bijon Samoodi. Greg pretty much is the next best thing to runningbacks like LT and Brian Westbrook, who are generally smaller than the rest of their teammates, but sill screw everyone over whom they encounter, whether he jukes them or fakes them out. Bijon, on the other hand, exerts both great efforts on offense and defense, running the ball and screwing everyone over like greg, and smacking ppl up on defense despite his size. playing like an all-around, all the time guy. So if I were to pick the best players of the year, I wuld pic bijon and greg. Credo Baby Credo!
Preston king is the obvious choice, greg portis and bijion samooodi combined cant total preston kings stats so servite stop voting every 10 seconds, ok? and the cruz kid from magnolia? you play at magnolia! imagine if preston played there….
now im a huge kyle middlebrooks fan but he was a no show in big game while preston king WAS the difference in the big games.
oh yeah and not to mention preston plays for the clear cut best team in the county…. 6 pic six’s and three of them coming agaisnt the top 3 qbs in the county. your ridiclous preston king
Sean demonstrates a team spirit with a desire to win. Excellent leader and follwer. Sean is my pick of the litter.
Brett Gudim from Tesoro should absolutely be on here
Sean is the best here! he tries his hardest every game and he deserves this!