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It's been a few rough weeks for the Broncos, both players and fans alike. No one likes losing, especially at home, especially twice in a row. It's been a while since that has happened. It's in the past now, though. Let's move on and look ahead to making some improvements. To those of you calling for coaching changes, I can understand your frustration, but let's be patient. This current staff has only been together for two years. We'd all like things to happen faster than they usually do, but have faith Bronco Nation. These coaches and players will get it figured out, and if they don't figure it out, they will make the necessary changes. Again, it may not happen in the time we all want, but it'll happen.
Most of the incoming players have finished their seasons at this point, though some of them are still on playoff runs. For those that have finished, I will try and find all of their season stats and post them here. Once all players are done, I'll start to discuss who these players will be replacing and when we might see them on the field. But for now, let's just check in on what's going on.
Nick Crabtree, TE, Huntington Beach HS (Huntington Beach, CA)
Nick's stats for the year are pretty misleading. He finished with 8 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Some players will get that in a game, let along an entire season. But, the Oilers seemed to have abandoned their passing game very early in the season, so most of Nick's time was spent blocking for his running backs. While we all like to see all the yards and all the touchdowns, that isn't the whole story, especially for tight ends. The silver lining to the few passes thrown his way was much needed experience in the blocking phase of the game. This will pay dividends to Nick once he hits the Blue as we have still been waiting for the next Schouman, who, according to Kevan in his 2012 article, is the best tight end we have had at Boise State. He was just an all-around great TE, and while we have had many good tight ends since, many have either been better receivers or blockers, but never excelled at both. I think Nick could very well fit the Schouman mold and could be very well rounded once he arrives next summer.
Damarea Crockett, RB, Little Rock Christian Academy (Little Rock, AR)
LRCA punched their ticket to the playoff semi-finals last Friday with a 49-21 win over Wynne. They remain undefeated at 12-0. Crockett finished with 153 yards and 3 TDs. This Friday will be a HUGE test with Pulaski Academy visiting. They are 12-0 as well and coming off a 78-44 destruction of Hope, which is ironic. The Warriors and Crockett will put it all on the line on Friday. Best of luck this week to Damarea and the Warriors.
Tyson Maeva, ILB, Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, CA)
Cathedral Catholic won a close one against Carlsbad on Friday 24-21. This was the first game of the playoffs and the win moves them to 7-4. As usual, no stats were available for CCHS in the win. This Friday, the Dons are up against #1 seed Helix, who defeated #8 seeded Madison 56-34 on Friday. Will definitely be a tough challenge for the #4 seeded Dons. Good luck Tyson!
Reid Harrison-Ducros, CB, Heritage High School (Colleyville,TX)
Reid's season finished a little over a week ago with a loss to Mansfield, leaving them at 5-6. Reid had a stellar year for the Panthers. On offense, he had 5 receptions for 194 yards and a TD. He had 5 kick returns for 88 yards and 4 punt returns for 82 yards for a total of 170 kick return yards. On defense, he finished with 64 tackles, 1 interception, 13 passes defended, 2 fumbles caused and 2 fumbles recovered. Let's hope we can hold on to him for a few more months as I have heard some B1G teams were after him. Highlights below are from his final playoff game against Mansfield.
Desmond Williams, OLB, Centennial High School (Corona, CA)
Centennial handled Orange Lutheran 49-27 on Friday, moving them on to the semi-finals of the CIF Southern Section tournament. No defensive stats were available in the win. So far, though, MaxPreps has Desmond accounting for 38 total tackles, 16 of them solo, 4 QB hurries, an INT, 2 passes defended and one safety. The Huskies take on Mater Dei on Friday, who are coming off a 28-27 win over Serra. Best of luck this week Desmond!
Ezra Cleveland, OT, Bethel HS (Spanaway, WA)
Ezra finished the year with 6 carries for 33 yards, 44 total tackles, 16 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. A very respectable season for Ezra. Offensive lineman stats aren't kept and Ezra was recruited as an OL, which will be much needed. Our OL struggled this year AND we lose our most senior lineman. He will now work to prepare for life on the Blue!
Julian Carter, WR, Saguaro High School (Scottsdale, AZ)
The Sabercats beat Westview on Friday 55-14, ensuring themselves a spot in the championship this Friday against Marcos de Niza, who is 12-2 on the year. Carter had 4 catches for 57 yards and a TD in the win. Best of luck the Julian and Saguaro High School in the AIA State Finals!
Robert Mahone, RB, Prosper High School (Prosper, TX)
Robert ended the season with 125 carries for 761 yards (6ypc) and 10 TDs. He also had 17 receptions for 173 yards and 2 more TDs. That's 934 APY and 12 TDs. Sounds like a pretty solid season to me! I'm excited to get Robert on the Blue next year. We'll have a STACKED backfield for sure.
Kole Bailey, OT, Twin Falls High School (Twin Falls, ID)
Stats for offensive lineman are not kept, but as I stated with Ezra, Kole will be a huge asset to the Broncos with Henry, Odhiambo and Ertel graduating. Kole is now preparing to graduate early and join the team in just two short months to begin his career as a Bronco!
Wish I was staying to enjoy the last 7 months of high school. But stronger than that is my desire to have a successful life beyond it #ATF
— Kole Bailey (@KoleBailey) November 13, 2015
Robert Lewis, CB, Hawkins High School (Los Angeles, CA)
Robert ended the season with 41 total tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble cause and one recovered. He also had 66 APY on offense. He will now prepare to finish high school and join the Broncos next summer.
Chase Hatada, DT, Rocklin High School (Rocklin, CA)
Rocklin smoked Del Campo on Friday 42-6. The win puts the Thunder in the semi-finals this Friday against undefeated Antelope in the San-Joaquin Section Playoff Bracket. Chase had 5 total tackles in the win include 1 for loss, which was a sack for 13 yards. Best of luck on Friday to Chase!
Micah Wilson, QB, Lincoln Christian High School (Tulsa, OK)
The Bulldogs showed no mercy in their 64-14 win on Friday against Idabel. The win moves them to 12-0 on the year and puts them in the quarter finals against 9-3 Sulphur on Friday. The Oklahoma 3A HS Playoff Bracket is HUGE, as you can see here. Micah was his usual unreal self, completing 15-17 (88.2%) for 325 yards (21.7 ypc) and 6 TD. He added 6 rushes for 25 yards and another score, accounting for a total of 350 yards and 7 TDs. He now has 48 passing TDs to 1 INT and another 10 TDs rushing. AB. SURD. As I stated earlier, LCHS takes on Sulphur this Friday. Best of luck to Micah and the Bulldogs!
Ali'i Niumatalolo, ILB, Broadneck Senior High School (Annapolis, MD)
Broadneck punched their ticket to the semi finals of the 4A Maryland HS Playoffs with a 7-0 victory over Old Mill. They are now 10-2 and will play undefeated Howard in the semis, though the date is not yet set. No stats were available in the win. Best of luck to Ali'i and the Bruins against Howard!
Derriyon Shaw, DE, Legacy High School (North Las Vegas, NV)
Shaw finished his senior season with 43 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, 6 sacks and 4 fumbles caused. He will be a welcome addition to a senior-heavy DL. If Correa sticks around, I imagine Shaw would red-shirt with Perez coming off a red-shirt and Frazier back for his sophomore year. We'll have to wait and see what happens!
Joel Velazquez, K/P, Trabuco Hills High School (Mission Viejo, CA)
I'd like to welcome Joel to this list as I probably forgot him last week, though he may have committed after I posted my article, but I digress. Listed at 6'0 and 220 lbs, he's a big kicker, and a big leg to boot (snicker). Trabuco Hills had a rough season, finishing 3-8. His senior season, Joel had 56 punts (yowzers) for 2,206 yards, an average punt of 39.4 yards with a long of 72 and 18 of them inside the 20. He had 54 kickoffs for 3,073 yards, an average of 56.9, a long of 69 and 41 touchbacks. He made all 35 PATs and went 6 for 9 on field goals with a long of 41. Very respectable numbers. With Rausa entering his final year soon, and Blake Gonzalez into his sophomore year, we definitely need some moldable talent behind those two.
7 of our 15 recruits are still in their respective playoffs and 3 of them are undefeated. That's pretty dang cool if you ask me. Best of luck to all of the players competing this week and GO BRONCOS!