posted Feb 28, 2010 9:14 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Feb 28, 2010 9:26 PM
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By: Lorenzo J. Reyna
Redzonefrenzy.com
Its been almost a month now since National Signing Day and while the 2010 class has been taken care of, it may not hurt to look ahead to 2011.
Already, some valley prospects have been getting offers from the PAC-10. Some have already given there schools of interest. But one thing these guys all have in common is that they come from the bread and butter of Pat Hill’s recruiting methods, the Central Valley.
Here are seven valley prospects that the Bulldogs could potentially look into for 2011:
JERRY HAYMON
School: Clovis East
Position: Safety
Height: 6-0
Weight: 200
Schools of interest: California, Texas, Virginia, Fresno State
Offers: None
Bio: Haymon is a burner with a 40-yard dash time of 4.52. He was most impressive in coverage drills while at the College of Sequoias Football Camp last July with his jamming of receivers at the line of scrimmage. He even got tips from former NFL star Ricky Manning on how to cover.
The three-star recruit played on a Timberwolves’ defense who in three victories gave up zero points last season.
ROBERT JOHNSON
School: Central
Position: Running back
Height: 5-11
Weight: 200
Schools of interest: Arizona, California, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, Oregon, USC
Bio: Much like Haymon, Johnson is a 200-pounder who was clocked in at 4.5 in the 40-yard dash.
Johnson’s running was one of the reasons why the Grizzlies had a remarkable one-year turnaround after going from one victory in 2008 to a 7-4 season in 2009. He kicked off ‘09 with an impressive nine carry, 182-yard performance against Clovis North and finished the year with 541 yards and seven touchdowns.
BJ KELLY
School: Central
Position: Wide receiver
Height: 6-2
Weight: 175
Schools of interest: California, Eastern Michigan, Fresno State, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fla.), Oregon, UCLA, Washington
Bio: Kelly is a tall target who led the Grizzlies’ high-octane offense in receiving last season with 35 receptions, 758 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged over 21 yards per catch.
While the Bulldogs did go deep with five wide receivers added through National Signing Day, the Bulldogs may still find a way to convince this local receiving star to stay in the valley.
K.C PEARCE
School: Redwood (Visalia)
Position: Wide receiver
Height: 6-3
Weight: 175
Schools of interest: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Fresno State, Oregon, UCLA, UNLV, USC
Bio: Another tall target, Pearce has shown blazing speed and a tremendous leaping ability. He runs a 4.4 40-yard dash time and finished the season with a team-high 34 catches for 803 yards and eight touchdowns on the receiving end.
His best game came against Buchanan last season, Despite the 43-21 loss to the Bears, Pearce caught seven passes for 228 yards and made two trips to the end zone.
CODY TEMPLE
School: Liberty (Bakersfield)
Position: Defensive Tackle
Height: 6-3
Weight: 285
Schools of interest: Fresno State and Washington State.
Bio: Temple is a massive specimen who averaged over nine tackles per game and registered five sacks for the Patriots. He also ran the football three times for six yards for the 8-4 Patriots.
After 2010, the Bulldogs will begin losing a number of defensive linemen to graduation. Temple could become a high priority for the Fresno State defensive line.
DONOVAN LEWIS
School: Clovis West
Position: OLB
Height: 6-3
Weight: 230
Schools of interest: Arizona State, Fresno State, Miami (Fla.), Washington, Washington State
Bio: The younger brother of current Bulldog defensive linemen Chris Lewis, Donovan had 52 tackles along with seven sacks for the Golden Eagles in 2009.
The previous season saw 68 tackles, 12 sacks and one forced fumble during his sophomore campaign.
Lewis has run a 40-yard dash of 4.75 and has a shuttle time of 4.14.
CODY KESSLER
School: Centennial (Bakersfield)
Position: Quarterback
Height: 6-2
Weight: 195
OFFERS: New Mexico State, Pittsburg, Washington State, Fresno State
Bio: Quite possibly the cream of the crop for the 2011 signing class, Kessler has already garnered the attention of the WAC, Big East and PAC-10.
Last season, Kessler led the Golden Hawks to the Central Valley D-I championship where they lost to unbeaten Bullard 42-31. That game was Kessler’s best statistical performance with 28 completions out of 44 attempts and 314 passing yards with one touchdown.
Kessler has thrown 20 career high school touchdowns. He also had eight rushing touchdowns last season.
He’s also a highly touted basketball player for Centennial, where he is averaging 29.1 points per game along with 8.4 rebounds.
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posted Feb 3, 2010 9:57 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Feb 5, 2010 11:27 AM
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By: RZF Staff
redzonefrenzy.com
With the 2010 recruiting process now officially wrapped up for Fresno State, here's a look at some of the highlights from this year's National Signing Day:
1) Fresno State landed 21 total recruits, including nine hailing from the Valley.
2) WR's Davon Dunn, Josh Harper and QB Kelly O' Brien all have fathers who played in the NFL. Dunn is the son of seven-year NFL veteran wideout David Dunn, Harper's father is former 49ers linebacker Willie Harper and O' Brien is the son of former Jets QB Ken O' Brien.
3) Along with Kelly O' Brien, the Bulldogs have at least between five to eight players that have played the QB position at one tme in high school. One of them is Modesto Christian's Isaiah Burse, who combined for 53 touchdowns and nearly 3,500 total yards from scrimmage at the QB position during his senior year.
4) Wide receiver's Victor Dean and Davon Dunn not only come from Lincoln High School down in San Diego, they also come from the same campus that produced former Bulldog standout Dwayne Wright and NFL hall-of-famer Marcus Allen.
5) Harper and Stockton QB Marcus McDade were high school teammates at St. Mary's.
6) McDade once backed up Cody Vaz at QB while in high school. The same Cody Vaz who's now at Oregon State.
7) DB Anthony Riggins and punter Matt Darr were also stars in track and field during high school. Riggins ran a 10.77 100-meter dash in 2009 while at Rodriguez High School in Fairfield, CA. Darr won the state high school track meet in the shot put (62', 1.25") and discuss (192'-0") as a junior at Frontier High School in Bakersfield.
8) Defensive lineman Tyeler Davison and offensive linemen Andrew Gustafson are the only players from outside of California. Both players played their high school football in Arizona.
9) Tulare Western star Edward Dillihunt's cousin and former high school teammate is WR Marquess Wilson, who committed to Washington State.
10) Cody Wichmann is likely to play offensive tackle at Fresno State according to several reports. He's the first player from Mariposa, CA since Logan Mankins to become a Bulldog.
11) Wide receiver Jalen Saunders of Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove, CA was the first official verbal commitment for Fresno State. Saunders made his decision back on August 17, 2009.
12) The wide receiver position had the most signings for Fresno State with five total. |
posted Feb 2, 2010 1:24 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Feb 2, 2010 1:58 PM
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By: Lorenzo J. Reyna
One of the top rated punters in the 2010 recruiting class just became a Bulldog, by simply giving USC the boot.
Matt Darr of Frontier High School in Bakersfield decommitted from the PAC-10 school to join Fresno State, according to a report from barkboard.com. Darr made his verbal committment back on Monday and will officially sign his letter of intent on National Signing Day along with the other incoming Bulldog freshman class scheduled for Feb. 3.
Darr originally signed with USC back on June 2, 2009. However, a major coaching change at the university was what prompted the four-star recruit to make his switch according to this release through the scout.com network:
“I did commit real early to USC and Pete Carroll and the departure of Pete Carroll and Brian Schneider really affected my decision,” Darr said in the release.
Darr made his official visit to Fresno State this past weekend and sounded really content with what the football program and the campus had to offer.
“It went good and was real informative,” Darr said of the visit. “I really like what we saw up there and my family liked it too, so it looks like a good fit. I actually called USC today and told them that I made the decision.
“I told them that I really appreciated their consideration and offer to go to their school. But after a lot of stress and thought, me and my family feel that Fresno State is going to be the best fit for college," Darr concluded in the news release.
Darr becomes the 20th recruit added for the Bulldogs. He's the only punter that Fresno State managed to get through this year's recruiting class as they look to replace Robert Malone, who finished his career as one of the NCAA's top punters.
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posted Jan 30, 2010 1:11 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Jan 30, 2010 1:37 PM
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By: Lorenzo J. Reyna
Fresno State added its 19th recruit this past week with outside linebacker Ofa Fifita out of San Bernardino.
Fifita, who was a star linebacker at Arroyo Valley High School in Southern California, made his verbal committment back on Jan. 28 and will officially sign his letter of intent to play at Fresno State on Feb. 3.
During his senior year with the Hawks, Fifita helped lead his team to a 7-4 mark and had eight games where he recorded seven or more tackles. He also recorded seven sacks and picked off one pass during the 2009 season. He was the Hawks' leading tackler with 133 total tackles, which gave him an average of 12.1 per game.
The 6-0, 220 pound Fifita becomes the second linebacker added to the Bulldogs' recruiting class. John Oglesby of Highland High School in Bakersfield is the other linebacker who made his verbal commit back on November 24.
Fifita turned down offers from Colorado State and UNLV out of the Mountain West and also said no to Hawaii, Nevada and San Jose State from the Wesern Athletic Conference just to play at Fresno State. He also told barkboard.com that he plans on majoring in business and carries a 3.4 grade point average along with a 1300 three-part SAT score. |
posted Jan 15, 2010 11:33 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
By: Lorenzo J. Reyna
redzonefrenzy.com
After adding Modesto Christian star athlete Isaiah Burse earlier this week, the Bulldogs have gotten another commitment for 2010, this time to help bolster the trenches, versatile linemen Cody Wichmann of Mariposa according to the Mariposa Gazette and barkboard.com.
The 6-5, 275-pound Wichmann, who played both tight end and defensive end for the Mariposa County High Grizzlies, made his verbal commitment to Fresno State this week and becomes the 13th recruit added to the Bulldogs.
Wichmann becomes the first Mariposa native since Logan Mankins to join the Bulldogs. Mankins was a 6-4, 220-pound walk-on tight end ten years ago out of Mariposa County High who would not only star for the Bulldogs, but go on to become an all-pro offensive guard for the New England Patriots.
Wichmann played three years of varsity football and was named the Southern League Co-Outstanding lineman in 2009. He also played four years of varsity basketball for the Grizzlies.
On the football field, Wichmann caught 11 passes for 131 yards and one score as a tight end. Plus, after his team began the season 1-4, the Grizzlies would win five of their last six games before losing to Capital Christian of Sacramento 14-0 to end their season.
A two-star recruit much like Burse, Wichmann won't be able to sign his National Letter of Intent until February 3. The complete list of other incoming freshman for the Bulldogs can be found here.
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posted Jan 13, 2010 10:22 AM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Jan 13, 2010 10:59 AM
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By: Lorenzo J. Reyna
Modesto Christian star quarterback Isaiah Burse has become the latest commitment to Fresno State.
Burse, who took the honors of Modesto Bee Player of the Year this past season, confirmed his decision this week after Bulldog head coach Pat Hill made a visit to the city of Modesto and got a chance to spend time with him and his mother.
Burse told the Fresno Bee that no one was recruiting him more than Fresno State, and that Hill spent a lot of time with his mother which played a role in his decision on playing at Bulldog Stadium for his collegiate career.
Last season, Burse combined for 3,597 total yards of offense and scored 53 offensive touchdowns for the 15-0 Crusaders. He also saw playing time at defensive back, where he picked off five passes for 137 yards to go along with 90 tackles and seven sacks.
He also punted the ball for the unbeaten Crusaders, where he kicked it 13 times and had four of his punts fall inside the opponents' 20-yard line.
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posted Dec 16, 2009 11:51 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
By: RZF Staff
redzonefrenzy.com (photo courtesy of scout.com/barkboard.com)
While preparing for their upcoming contest with Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl, the Bulldogs also found the time to bring in some new talent for the 2010 season by adding three new recruits this week.
On December 12, Fresno State received a verbal committment from running back Emery Schexnayder of Riverside. Schexnayder led the North Riverside Huskies in rushing wth 630 yards and eight touchdowns. He was also a transfer from Las Vegas High School where he scored 10 touchdowns during his sophomore year.
Schexnayder is a two-star recruit who's Husky team finished the 2009 season with a 3-7 record. He's listed at 5-11, 210 pounds, runs a 4.55 40-yard dash time and also had offers from UNLV and San Diego State.
Both Andrew Gustafson and Marcus McDade were signed on December 14. Gustafson is an offensive tackle from Scottsdale, AZ who's listed at 6-6, 262 pounds. Gustafson runs a 5.01 40-yard dash and also turned down offers from Northern Arizona and Air Force to play for the Bulldogs. Much like Schexnayder, he's also a two-star recruit.
Marcus McDade (photo) is the second quarterback signing for the Bulldog 2010 recruiting class along with Lester Fontenette. The star signal-caller from St. Mary's High School in Stockton threw 31 touchdown passes and suffered just two picks.
The 6-3, 195 pound McDade led the Rams to an 11-1 season in 2009. The rocket-arm quarterback was once the backup quarterback to Cody Vaz, who is now at Oregon State.
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posted Dec 11, 2009 10:33 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
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updated Dec 11, 2009 11:40 PM
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By: RZF Staff
redzonefrenzy.com
The city of Fresno may need a parade for not one, but two Central Valley schools, because the final two remaining teams in the city, as well as traditional bitter rivals are bringing home valley titles.
Both Bullard (13-0) and Edison (10-4) took home the Division I and Division II valley championships respectively on Friday night, by getting monumental victories against Centennial-Bakersfield and Frontier-Bakersfield even in rain-soaked conditions.
At McLane High school, Bullard was involved with a shootout early on with the Golden Hawks. In fact, an interception by Knights' quarterback Kerr Taubler went 30-yards the other way by Hawk defender Matt Castellano. The pick gave Centennial a 17-14 lead late in the second quarter.
However, Bullard would score at will after that Hawk touchdown, by finding the end zone four times and completing its unbeaten season with a 42-31 victory.
Six different Knights got into the end zone in the D-I title game, with Bullard splitting it half-and-half with rushing and receiving touchdowns. There three trips to the end zone were through the ground for the Knights and the same number was through the air.
Knight quarterback Kerr Taubler combined for four touchdowns, including the three passing touchdowns and had a 1-yard touchdown run for the last score of the game.
This marks the first valley title for Bullard in their 54-year history.
Down in Bakersfield, Edison was playing in a scorless outing with Frontier. But then came the second half.
The Tigers poured it on in the third quarter by out-scoring the Titans 20-7, then tacked on a Vadal McDonald field goal in the final quarter to take home the D-II title with a 23-7 victory.
Dasheon Frierson led the way with two rushing touchdowns for Edison, both of them from 1-yards out. Future UCLA Bruin Tevin McDonald added two scores, one from a two-point conversion and the other on a 7-yard reception from Max Schuh.
The game may have been potentially the last one for Tigers head coach Tim McDonald. The seven-year veteran coach and former NFL star has been rumored to not return to the Edison sidelines in 2010.
THE LIST OF VALLEY CHAMPIONS:
Division I: Bullard (Fresno)
Division II: Edison (Fresno)
Division III: Dinuba
Division IV: Kingsburg
Division V: Corcoran
Division VI: Strathmore
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posted Dec 4, 2009 10:24 PM by Lorenzo Reyna
By: RZF Staff
redzonefrenzy.com
Edison refuses to have their season come to an end and has now pulled off the biggest upset of the night.
Led by a defense that prevented Tulare from running up the score, the Tigers stunned the unbeaten Redskins with a 26-25 victory on the road and will now move on to the Division II title game.
Kicker Vadal McDonald nailed a 24-yard field goal with no time left to decide the outcome of the game. The loss snaps a 25-game winning streak for the Redskins. The last time they lost was on November 30, 2007, when they were blasted by El Diamante 63-14.
Edison went ahead 3-0 on a McDonald 25-yard field goal. Tulare would get on the board though thanks to a safety by future Fresno State Bulldog Edward Dillihunt.
Tulare then took the lead when Trevor Jones connected on a 43-yard strike to future Washington State receiver Marquess Wilson. Tevin McDonald got the Tigers back in the game with his 7-yard touchdown catch from Max Schuh. The two-point try failed and Edison led 9-8.
Wilson then tourched the Tigers with a 68-yard touchdown reception. He also caught the two-point conversion to put Tulare back ahead 16-9 in the second quarter. A Deontay Greenberry 27-yard touchdown reception for Edison tied the game 16-16 at halftime.
After Jones took the ball in for a 10-yard touchdown run, Edison answered back with a 35-yard touchdown reception from Jeremy Williamson to re-take the lead at 23-22.
After an Anthony Sierra field goal put Tulare ahead 25-23, the Tigers marched down the field to set up the Vadal McDonald game-winning field goal and the upset of the night.
Edison will now prepare for the D-II title game with Frontier of Bakersfield, who edged an upset-minded Redwood team 16-14.
BULLARD 23, BAKERSFIELD 10
They waited four years, but the Knights got their revenge on the team that last prevented them from claiming a Division I title.
Bullard is now one game away from completing its unbeaten season after defeating Bakersfield 23-10. Their last meeting was a 35-28 loss to the Drillers in postseason play back in 2005.
The Knights started fast early by two huge plays from receiver Jajuan Hammond and running back Devan Mack.
Hammond got Bullard on the board first with his 39-yard touchdown reception from Kerr Taubler to jump in front 7-0. Mack then added a 60-yard scamper into the end zone to make it 14-0. A Shawn Kuehter 36-yard field goal made it 17-0 Bullard after three quarters.
The Drilelrs tried to make things more interesting thanks to a Alfonso Jackson 45-yard touchdown catch to cut the lead to 17-7. A Craig McMahon 29-yard field goal drew Bakersfield within a touchdown in the fourth quarter.
However, Chris Kelly of Bullard put the game away with his 51-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The Knights now get Centennial of Bakersfield next week. The Golden Hawks, led by highly-touted junior quarterback Cody Kessler, edged Liberty-Bakersfield 21-14 on Friday night.
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posted Nov 28, 2009 9:59 AM by Lorenzo Reyna
By: RZF Staff
redzonefrenzy.com
Edison is still alive in the playoffs and will now have a huge showdown with the undefeated Tulare Redskins, after holding off San Joaquin Memorial 17-7 on Friday night.
The Tigers (8-4), ended the Panthers' season for the second year in a row. Last season's playoff contest saw Edison edge Memorial 7-3.
The Tigers were led by junior Shaquille Moseley, who scored one touchdown and also added one sack on Memorial quarterback Bryant Cummings.
The only touchdown the Panthers scored was on a David Garcia run. Memorial wraps up their season with a 10-2 record.
The Tigers will now head to Tulare Union to take on the high-powered Redskins, who blasted Sanger 55-12 on Friday night.
Other High School Football Playoff scores to note from Friday:
BULLARD 35, CLOVIS WEST 9
The Knights remain unbeaten and will set up another playoff rematch with Bakersfield High School.
Bullard was led by quarterback Kerr Taubler, who finished the evening with 12 of 16 passing for 177 yards and two touchdowns.
His favorite target was Jajuan Hammond, who caught 10 passes for 161 yards and caught both touchdown passes from Taubler.
The Golden Eagles, who won last season's Central Section championship, finishes the year with a disappointing 5-6 season.
The Knights will face Bakersfield for the first time in four years. The last meeting was a 35-28 Bakersfield victory for the Division I title.
CENTENNIAL 26, BUCHANAN 24
In a contest featuring two of the valley's premiere quarterbacks, it was Centennial's Cody Kessler and the Golden Hawks who pulled off the biggest upset of the night.
Kessler scored twice on a 35-yard strike to Myron Moore and also added a 2-yard run in the 26-24 victory against the undefeated Bears.
Buchanan quarterback Lance Orender got his team going early with a 4-yard run to make it 7-0 in the first quarter. However, Kessler and the Golden Hawks used a 16-point second quarter to start the upset bid.
Moore scored twice in the second with his touchdown reception and a 5-yard run on a previous play to help put Centennial ahead 16-7 at halftime. He finished the evening with 24 offensive touches that totaled 112 yards.
Buchanan's Lance Orender finished the evening with 131 passing yards, two interceptions and no touchdown passes. Kessler finished the evening with 264 passing yards, one pick and the touchdown strike to Moore.
Centennial will now face Liberty-Bakersfield next Friday night, who defeated Central 27-21 in playoff action.
REDWOOD 22, EL DIAMANTE 17
The Rangers avenged a 37-21 loss from El Diamante during the regular season to pull off this stunner in Visalia.
The Miners came into this contest with a 9-1 record and had an offense that scored 30 points or more in the last five weeks, which includes the 62-7 trouncing on Golden West last Friday.
However, the Rangers' stingy defense kept the Miners in check throughout the night and held them to just 17 points, their lowest scoring output of the season.
The game also had a blackout at Groppetti Stadium, which left both teams in the dark for a short period of time.
After that, it was the Ranger defense and the running of Dillon Root who left the Miners in the dark for the rest of the evening. Root had 214 rushing yards on 31 carries and three scores.
After their 0-3 start, the Rangers have now won seven of their last nine games. They will now travel to Frontier High School in Bakersfield to take on the 10-1 Titans, who eliminated Garces 34-14.
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