The best of the best

Three local players lead a strong contingent of area athletes named to the 2008 All-Sunset League Football Team.

Fountain Valley had two players earn two of the top honors, with junior running back Kyle Middlebrooks being named the Offensive Player of the Year and senior Awwad Yasin dubbed the Defensive Lineman of the Year.

Edison’s Jordan Zumwalt also nabbed a big award as the junior was named co-Defensive Player of the Year, along with Esperanza senior Sean Avila.

Middlebrooks rushed for 1,520 yards and 20 touchdowns and set a school single-season record for rushing yards. In addition, he had 12 receptions total 200 yards with a touchdown and had two kickoff returns for scores, one of which was a 100-yard return.

“A superior talent who is even a greater human being,” Fountain Valley Coach John Shipp said of his game-changer. “He is truly a once in a lifetime student-athlete who relishes in his team’s success rather than his own.

Yasin finished the year with 70 tackles, 10 of which went for loss, 14 quarterback hits, 9.5 sacks and caused a fumble.

“The true embodiment of heart and desire,” Shipp said. “Awwad’s play reflected his passion for the game while competing against guys who out-weighed him by more than 50 pounds.”

The league’s Most Valuable Player honor went to Colorado-bound Clark Evans, a senior quarterback at Los Alamitos. Another Griffin, senior Ryan Derry, was named Offensive Lineman of the Year. Another pair of seniors, J.B. Green of Newport Harbor and Jared Moore of Esperanza, shared the Offensive Back of the Year.

The third major defensive award, Back of the Year, went to Esperanza senior Dane Poole. Middlebrooks and Zumwalt were the only underclassmen among the award winners.

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2008 All-Sunset League Football Team

First Team

?Edison: Will Andrew, defensive end, Sr.; Bryce Brantley, offensive lineman, Sr.; Garrett Heckel, defensive lineman, Sr.; Jullien Herrera, linebacker, Sr.; Matt Reza, linebacker, Sr.; Jeff Trojan, wide receiver, Jr.; Jordan Zumwalt, linebacker, Jr.

?Fountain Valley: Dylan Itkoff, linebacker, Sr.; Kyle Middlebrooks, running back, Jr.; Artie O’Keefe, linebacker/receiver, Sr.; Andy Palacios, offensive lineman, Sr.; Scott Rychlik, offensive lineman, Sr.; Ryan Steadman, defensive back/receiver, Jr.; Hayden Toney, defensive back/receiver, Sr.; Awwad Yasin, defensive lineman, Sr.

?Marina: Chris Fiscus, linebacker, Sr.; Connor King, offensive lineman,, Sr.

?Esperanza: Sean McDonald, quarterback, Sr.; Cory Hobbs, offensive lineman, Sr.; Jake Pendleton, tight end, Sr.; Geoff Hyde, offensive lineman, Sr.; Lukas Lopez, defensive lineman, Jr.; John Werner, linebacker, Sr.; Sean Avila, defensive tackle, Sr.; Jared Moore, running back, Sr.; Dane Poole, defensive back, Sr.

?Los Alamitos: Josh Barut, defensive back, Jr.; Paul Richardson, wide receiver, Jr.; Jon Cheri, defensive back, Sr.; Nathan Castaneda, defensive end, Sr.; Darryl Jenkins, wide receiver, Sr.; Anthony Napoles, linebacker, Sr.; Clark Evans, quarterback, Sr.; Ryan Derry, offensive lineman, Sr.

?Newport Harbor: Andrew McDonald, quarterback, Sr.; Michael Helfrich, running back, Sr.; Brandon Kula, linebacker, Sr.; Cecil Whiteside, linebacker, Jr.; Scott Ward, offensive lineman, Sr.; Danny Miller, defensive back, Sr.; J.B. Green, wide receiver, Sr.

Second Team

?Edison: Mike Rivera, wide receiver, Jr.; Roman Sapolu, offensive lineman, Jr.; Donald Sneed, defensive end, Sr.; Lucas Vandeman, kicker, Sr.; Brandon Visnoski, defensive back, Sr.

?Fountain Valley: Scott Bailey, defensive back/wide receiver, Sr.; Dylan Garcia, running back/linebacker, Sr.; Ryan Manzon, wide receiver/defensive back, Sr.; Sese Misili, defensive lineman, Sr.; Dominic Ragland, quarterback/defensive back, Jr.

?Marina: Zach Couey, quarterback, Sr.; Drew Jordan, defensive back, Sr.; Robert Quick, linebacker, Sr.; Tyler Steen, defensive lineman, Sr.; Sam Wilson, running back, Sr.

?Esperanza: Mike Brewer, defensive lineman, Sr.; Mike Rocha, offensive lineman, Sr.; Hayden Pierce, wide receiver/defensive back, Jr.; Matt Hunsaker, linebacker/running back, Sr.; Drew Amos, defensive back, Sr.; Austyn Peterson, two-way lineman, Sr.

?Los Alamitos: David Foote, offensive lineman, Sr.; Jake Frembling, defensive lineman, Sr.; Robert Watson, defensive back, Jr.; Kevin Rowlands, offensive lineman, Sr.; Josh Schnitzer, defensive lineman, Sr.; Cody Perez, running back, Sr.

?Newport Harbor: Peter Kinney, offensive lineman, Sr.; Jason Jacobi, defensive back, Sr.; Nick Svendsen, linebacker, Sr.; Michael McKay, offensive lineman, Sr.; Dillan Freiberg, kicker, Jr.

Honorable Mention

?Edison: Jeff Crissman, wide receiver/defensive back, Sr.; Wes Graves, offensive line, Sr.; Wade Houston, running back, Jr.; Kekai Kamai, center, Sr.; Erick Loera, defensive line, Sr.; Davion Orphey, running back, Soph.

?Fountain Valley: Courtland Drummond, defensive line, Soph.; Brian Erskine, kicker, Sr.; Nyko Gonzalez, safety/tight end, Sr.; Matt McWilliams, linebacker/tight end, Sr.

?Marina: Jarrid Balis, wide receiver/defensive back, Sr.

?Esperanza: Todd McDonald, Jr.; Drew Hussfeldt, Jr.; Grant Stubblefield, Jr.; Francisco Vargas, Jr..

?Los Alamitos: Niu Sale, Jr.; Shag Richardson, Jr.; Mason Pauu, Jr.; Mike Holmquist, Sr.

?Newport Harbor: Alex Rios, Sr.; Ryan Andrews, Soph.; J.B. Salem, Soph.; Zach Moghaddam, Jr.; Jake Taylor, Jr.

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].