The all-area football Player of the Year??

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Just curious:

Who is your favorite for this season’s high school, all-area Player of the Year.
If necessary, list your top three choices, in the order of preference.

  • atoyac

    1.ISSAC GARCIA WHITTIER
    2.CAMARILLO WHITTIER CHRISTAIN
    3.PELLUM SANTA FE

  • dennismrll2005@yahoo.com

    tough choice-my three choices would be 1-Esteban Camarillo WC 2-Jason Davis LH 3- Chris Morales LH- with Romeo Pellum SF also considered. I believe that Angel Molinas injury problems will drop him from consideration

  • edwin8

    1- isaac garcia
    2- pellum santa fe
    3- grisby cal high

  • edwin8

    if i had the chance i would give the award to isaac garcia .the reason being is the kid ran for 1,500+ yards with a four running back offense.i honestly think thats pretty impressive, dont foget he has also played qb,db

  • El Rancho

    Morales from La Habra.

  • Chieftain Alumni

    This weekend will give us a better idea on the all-area player this year with in my opinion the three main front runners still competing this weekend (Morales, Camarillo and Pellum). But I think Romeo Pellum has to get the nod and not because he plays for SF as youd think but because he is the only one of the three that is not one dimensional. He plays both sides of the ball as well as special teams extremely well. Although Isaac Garcia had a great season but I think Whittier getting knocked out of the playoffs in the first rounds hurt his chances. But their coach should get much consideration for coach of the year because he got the most out of his team this year and I think Whittier really surprised some people. I know they did me!

    Good luck to everyone this weekend!

  • highlanderfan

    This is going to be tough.
    There are so many quality candidates. An offensive player will get the award.
    But, the best player I saw this year was LH DB Greg Francis.

  • edwin8

    one dimensional. i dont really think isaac garcia is a one dimensinal player, isaac goes both ways also ,and plays special teams as well..i mean i have to agree on its going to be tough to pick ..

    andy murray i want to hear ur thoughts on this..whos the favorite for you?

  • murray

    Yo, edwin8:
    All of the names mentioned so far would be good candidates. I’m undecided and won’t settle on one until the playoffs are finished. That doesn’t mean the POY will have to come from a team that’s still playing.
    Keep in mind that Player of the Year and Most Valuable Player have different definitions, altho’ they could involve the same player:
    POY is the guy who is the best player, the one you’d pick first if you were forming a team.
    MVP is the guy who, if taken from his team, would have the greatest negative impact.
    Keep the choices coming. It’s been very interesting.

  • El Rancho

    Why hasnt Nick Grigsby been mentioned?

  • Anonymous

    Player of the Year, he was the whole team-GRISBY

  • calhiplaya

    BEING IN THE GAME AGAINST MOST OF THESE OPPONENTS I BELIEVE THESE ARE THE KEY PLAYERS UP FOR GRABS IN GETTING THE ALL AREA PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
    -**CAMARILLO THE BACK FROM WHITTIER CHRISTAIN
    -**GRIGSBY CAL HI RUNNING BACK
    -**QUARTERBACK CHRIS MORALES FROM LA HABRA
    -**GREG FRANCIS I DO AGREE IS EXTREMELY GOOD CB/SAFTEY
    -ISAAC GARCIA GREAT RUNNING BACK FOR GETTING THAT MUCH OF YARDS IN THE SEASON WITH AN ODD RUNNING SCHEME
    -**ROMEO PELLUM FROM SANTA FE VERY QUICK WIDE RECEIVER BUT MORE DANGEROUS ON DEFENSE

    THOSE ARE THE KEY GUYS THAT MAY HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THAT AWARD

  • Schurr Fan

    I don’t know what everyone is thinking, by not considering the best player in the area (who already was on first team all area – and was all CIF as a junior)and it’s Steven Cano from Schurr High School. He has been the most consistant player in the area the entire year. Especially compared to Pellum, and Grisby. With Pellum he didn’t even play some games and his stats aren’t even great. And Grisby is a great player but shouldn’t be considered for playing 6 or 7 games. And Garcia is a good player too, but he doesn’t have the impact Steven Cano has on both sides of the ball. And look where our team is now, because of our leader Steven Cano. He makes big plays on offense and defense every game. I know some people might not want to consider a Schurr player for player of the year. But as a fan, ex-player and ex-coach, you must always give credit when credit is do. And Steven Cano deserves it for being the catalyst of Schurr High School’s football team for the last three years. Roger please make the right decision for this kid.

  • Anonymous

    By definition:
    Player of the Year: Pellum, Santa Fe; plays both side of the ball

    Co MVPs: Morales, La Habra and Estaban Camarillo, Whittier Christian
    La Habra played without Morales and lost. Take away Camarillo from Whittier Christian and it’s lights out. This is not a knock on the program because they have good coaching, discipline and fine young men. But, it would be a totally different team without Camarillo.
    P.S. Watch out for his Sophomore brother Nick; fast and quick. Cal High may want to look into recruting him. Just kidding!

    By the way, pay attention to dennismrll2005@yahoo.com.
    He’s an astute follower of local high school sports. Roger Murray should look for his insights into area athletes.

  • Cheiftain Alumni

    edwin8.please read over my posting again. I didnt mention Isaac Garcia in my top 3. I agree that he is not a one dimensional player but Whittiers first round lost may have hurt his chances while in my opinion my picks for the top 3 candidates are still playing. Well, now its 2 since La Habra loss and well see how tonight goes.

    Congradulations to Schurr! And to Morales.gutsy performance last night. I would have given anything to be able to see you limp out there and give your team a chance for the win. I know it hurt to lose but hold your head high!!!

  • Edgar Soto

    My pick for POY would be Joseph Orduno from Schurr. The kid has been putting up numbers. He’s carried the Spartans offense when the running game was non existant. Leads the leauge in yards with over 2300. Stats don’t lie. What the Spartans lacked the last two years was a QB like this.

  • Go Hard

    I agree with the pick of Steven Cano, but he only carried Schurr for the past 2 years. 3 years ago Jesse Ramirez carried the Spartans

  • Rguerra

    I agree with the concensus that POY could go to any number of guys. But if I had to pick a top 3, not in any order, here it is:

    Isaac Garcia, Whittier- 1500 yds rushing, 200 receiving, 130 passing, 17 total TD’s. Played QB and DB down the stretch when the season was on the line and performed well. Great All-around player is gamebreaker in every sense.

    Esteban Camarillo, Whittier Christian-2500 yds rushing, 40 TD’s. Everyone knows he’s the guy and he still Broke all kinds of school records. Enough said.

    Nicholas Grigsby, California- Moreso than the 1200 yds and 11 tds rushing, it was the impact he had on his team. Without him, they lose to Santa Fe and maybe to La Serna and Whittier.

    Others left off and why:

    Romeo Pellum, Santa Fe- Can’t get suspended from a game and be player of the year. Just doesn’t work.

    Steven Cano, Schurr-He’s good but even without him, Schurr can still run the ball. Like Ramirez in 2005, benefits from a great line. Good, but not POY good.

    All La Habra guys- Nothing against them, just haven’t seen enough of their games.

  • Rguerra

    Sorry I’m going back to this but Another reason it can’t be Cano: Orduno, their QB, has been better. Hard to get POY when you’re not even that on your own team.

    With that in mind, this could hurt Isaac Garcia too. Whittiers OL/LB Joseph Avalos, in my opinion, is their real MVP. Anyone who saw their games knows that he was a beast the ENTIRE SEASON, opening up big holes in the running game and leading the team in tackles on D en route to 1st team all-DRL on BOTH SIDES of the ball.

    (I know it won’t happen but I hope a lineman or a predominantly Defensive player gets POY)

  • herman duran

    Steven Cano and Joe Orduno from Schurr r the players of the year. Stats and leadership wise, these guys have brought it every Friday night. No one thought Schurr would make it this far.

  • papa molina

    I would like to say you blogrs will have a better & more clear opinion after fridays game. good luck & good health to all the boys that have been named they are all outstanding players.

  • Anonymous

    Player of the Year nominations for the area should not include Schurr High School. No disrespect to the Spartans, but they are not in the greater Whitter area; just like Servite, Troy, Sunny Hills, Sonora, etc., are not in the area.

  • murray

    Anonymous,
    Actually, Schurr and Montebello, along with Cantwell Sacred Heart, are in our circulation area.
    And we’re glad to have them.

  • shs alumni…….

    PLAYER OF THE YEAR!!!
    < <<<<<<"ORDUNO">>>>>>
    has come up big. this year for the spartans but last year cano ran the show for Schurr and was one dimensionaland that very much hurt them last year because everyone just put eight in the box,so schurr was not able to do so much.Now that Schurr has established a passing game and bringing in coach jordan “the Great” he has brought out the quarterback in orduno and now schurr is two dimensional.Now that ORDUNO has turned into a quarterback it has brought out two stars with him. Known as[alex valdez and julian de la hay] For that i think ORDUNO has eaned it murray and you no it cause schurr has not had a qb for a while!!

  • Del Rio Alum

    Grigsby or Camarillo. take either one away from their team and you have two totally different teams. sure, orduno or cano have the same affect on their team, but every team has that player. at that point it boils down to who can outperform the other. really when it comes down to it, one will be POY, the other will be 1st RB. theres a lot of great players this year, especially in the back field.

  • romeo pellum

    I’m not into all this bloging stuff I just want to say for the record me and my teammates that didn’t play with me the whittier game was not suspended so please don’t have that floating around if you don’t have your facts right thanks!! Pellum #6

  • area alum

    I believe steven cano should not even be up for contention for this award…he is a decent running back who has the luxury of a huge o-line..he only won awards last year because of his line. he also one co-mvp of the almont league last year with alfred varela just because his line led them to an ugly league championship. varela led the state in receptions and yards, played in the shrine game, had 2 interceptions against schurr and was 3rd team all state.. ur telling me that an average back like cano can compete with that..he isnt even the best running back in the almont league..anthony brown and shawn smith of alhambra are both better that why they smashed on schurr..thats because schurr cant hang with real athletes..la habra was just a bunch of big white buys who dropped passes and didnt do much…santa fe is just like alhambra only better and i cant wait to hear how they smash schurr in the finals.

  • Spartan Parent

    “AREA ALUM” WHY SO BITTER?DO YOU PLAY FOR ALHAMBRA?YOU ARE RIGHT ALHAMBRA DID BEAT US UP PRETTY BAD. BUT YOUR WRONG IN SAYING THAT SANTA FE IS GOING TO DESTROY US. THEY ARE A GREAT TEAM BUT I BELIEVE SO ARE WE. GOOD LUCK TO BOTH TEAMS FRIDAY AND I HOPE EVERYBODY COMES OUT INJURY FREE.

    “AREA ALUM”
    I TRIED LOOKING IT UP BUT COULD NOT FIND THE TIME AND PLACE OF YOUR GAME THIS FRIDAY!!!! “YOU MIGHT WANT TO TRY MADDEN 06″

  • herman duran

    Dear “Spartan Parent”

    I wonder if have seen Cano play. This kid lays it on the line every game. He is on every tackle. He is always around the ball. As far a running back is concern no one runs harder than this kid. He is a leader on the field and is a difference maker. He may not have the best stats, but he is a guy u want on your side.

  • area alum

    “spartan parent”

    naw..i dont play for alhambra, i smashed on them when i played, wh would u spend time looking up our game..its championship week, theres only two teams playing..but its ok, i’ve played in a cif championship and trust my cif team would have killed schurrs thats cuz schurr isnt that athletic, their pretty slow and they couldnt hold my jock when i played them…by like always they had that huge 6’4” 300 pound oline and the 5′nothing running back u can’t see behind them..the day schurrs line man dont average 6’2 and up is the day realizes they need some athletes…

    by the way, madden 06??? cmon madden 07 has been out for almost a year now, get with the time man… but wait ur probably 40 and always on these blogs

  • juan bernal

    for all you people hatin on schurr and STEVEN CANO you people need to open you eyes and relize that schurr and STEVEN are good and have worked really hard to get where they are at GOOD LUCK SPARTANS AND PLAY HARD!!!

  • Schurr Fan

    Area Alum,
    What team did you play for? Or you won’t be a man and say it. If you actually knew anything about our team this year, you would know that we don’t have any 6’4 300lb lineman – our biggest guy is 6’2 and this is his first year on varsity. All the other lineman are 5’10, 5’9, 5’11 etc. And we only have one lineman that started last year on varsity (and he’s 5’9). If we had the lineman of when Jesse Ramirez was here at Schurr, this CIF game would be a walk in the park. But guess what, we don’t. So don’t take anything away from Steven Cano, the POY in this whole area. He goes out and plays hard every night with average lineman. And still makes 75 yard runs against La Habra’s stingy defense. So when you say he has a luxury of running behing these great huge lineman your wrong, go to the CIF game and you’ll see how Santa Fe’s lineman will totally outsize us. And you can’t even compare Cano to that receiver from San Gabriel, yeah he had all the stats and awards but guess what when they played each other who won? And who won the league title? Schurr! So if he was so great maybe his team would’ve won. Great players make great plays in big games, and in that Schurr / San Gabriel game last year he couldv’e, but he didn’t. So drop it with that kid. And don’t talk about a team that you know nothing about this year.

  • edwin8

    my vote still sticks with isaac garcia from whittier…

  • area alum

    “spartan paremt”

    yea ur biggest lineman is only 6’2 well i see a roster with more then a few over 6 foot linemen, lets see…he averages 90 yards rushing!! wow, and 15 yards receiving!!! and 1 touchdown a game!!! ha…give me a break i hope u remember that a player of the year canidate is someone who takes there team on the shoulders and does nearly everything. does he play defense…cuz most players of the year are 2 way standouts..cuz i mean, its only almont league football. and umm mr or mrs spartan parent, still not schurr. if u went to the the schurr Sg game last year u would have notcied that sg had them the whole game and lost the game because schurr is the luckiest team ever..lets see, last year how many times did schurr throw the ball in a game.. 2 maybe 3. well on 4th and 25 when sg was about to win it sg called a safety blitz..and schurr called the perfect play..a dump pass to the tight end exactly where the free safety was.. touchdown!!! luck..i think so, and about big players making plays…ewll with sg marching to win the game..it was 4th and 15 and they threw a fade to varela in double coverage…big play?? yea…but to schurrs luck..they never went varelas way again..giving schurr the win.. but i cant recall cano making any “big plays”. i’ll give it to schurr, there a good “team” this year…but this year was the weakest year for division 7 or the southeast league… cmon schurr goes to the finals after, south hills, west covina and rowland leave, alhambra and sg lose almost all starters, the mission valley league loses all there studs, cuz i know last years south el monte and westminster would have beaten shurr this year and if u dont believe that then ur just a stubborn parent. look what a weak arroyo team that sg beat in there scrimage did to schurr last year…schurr just happen to be in the right place at the right time…by the way santa fe always i mean for the last 10 years, always chokes. goobye

  • Go Hard

    If you went to the CIF championship game last night there should be no question as to who the MVP of the Southeast division is… Joseph Orduno. Coach Mahlstede from Sante Fe said it after the game that he would be voting for #7 to win MVP. Orduno picked the right game to play his best game of the year. He threw for 4 touchdowns and ran for another. It was a total team effort but that game was Orduno’s night. Sure he probably will never play the game of football ever again, but he was simply the best of 2006.

  • El Rancho

    Area alum, what you are writing is truly pathetic, this is 2006 not 2005, forget about last year, either way you lost last year so who cares, quit hating on schurr, they are getting the rings and thats that.

  • bow wow

    Congrats to schurr high on their big win over santa fe. You guys won in dominating fashion and to all those people who said santa fe was more athletic and came from a tougher league ,well I guess your team was exposed because it looked like your team took a right hook to the jaw and went down for the ten count. Congrats again spartans. You earned the rings. Wear them with pride. And to area alum,you don’t know your football,don’t quit your day job………if you have one.

  • 97Spartan

    If was really great to see Orduno respond so well after he threw that pick, he respond with 4 TD passes, awesome to see if you were a Schurr fan

    To Santa Fe, great game

  • Coach in the Area

    My vote for POY would be Joseph Orduno. Look at his growth this year. He makes all the right reads, can throw, run, and make big plays. He is also able to make things happen from broken plays. He is also a team leader, and the team would not be the same without him. As far as COY does it have to be a head coach? What about an O or D Coordinator? For example, Coach Sanchez the D-Coordinator who shut down every opponent in the CIF Playoffs for Schurr. Or, maybe Coach Jordan, the mastermind behind the Schurr Offense, and developed the above POY.

  • shs

    yes….orduno was outstanding in the cif final game….but dont forget about steven cano…he haas been outstanding the entire playoffs….4 td’s 140 yds rushing in 10 carries against s el monte…120 yards and 9 carries against westminster….120 yards in 12 carries vs la habra…and 90 yards vs sf…both guys are deserving….maybe co-players if they do that?

  • 97Spartan

    area alum

    You seriously don’t know what the heck you’re talking about.

    Where did you get 6’4 300lb OL’men from?

    Have you ever seen Schurr’s OL?

    Please quit while you’re behind

  • area alum

    oh i forgot..schurr never has big linemen..ha, they should be the players of the year…making all the the wholes for those little midget running backs

  • juan bernal

    my vote for player of the year is without a doubt steven cano this guy comes out every week and plays his heart and soul out on the feild and always comes out with big plays and works very hard every week to make sure he gives it a 110%

  • Just a Coach

    Steven Cano would be a good choice as well, he has been a stand out player all year, on both offense and defense.

  • loveshsfootball

    roger-after watching the entire season including all the playoff games, without a doubt the player of the year has to be joseph Orduno of schurr-i was truly impressed with not only his athletic ability but his heart and desire. He is everything a top player should be and you should reward him with the POY. What he did against Santa Fe was incredible- 4 TDS plus his leadership quality-what a great all around player he has been for a CIF championship team. – my second choice would be Esteban Camarillo of WC but please give the award to Joseph Orduno.

  • Lisa

    My vote is for Steven Cano ! Football is his heart & soul and it shows at every game. He always gives 100% and more. I hope you award him with the great honor of Player of the Year.

  • Grosie

    Steven Cano lives and breathes football. I know this because he is my brother. Whether he receives player of the year or not he’s just happy playing the game.

  • Herald Fan

    My vote is Esteban Camarillo. 5400 yds in three years,2600 this season 72 TD’s, broke all the school records for rushing and scoring. Say what you want, for the size of Esteban as well as the size of his school he is the player of the year. Cant argue with stats baby. By the way 250 yards rushing against big bad Whittier High. He made them look foolish.

  • wc alum

    I was not going to comment on this one but I can’t help myself. Congrats to all the guys from Schurr but winning a championship does not mean that they have the player of the year. They won because they played fundamental football as a unit. The player of the year is Camarillo without a doubt, I believe it is safe to say that most people on this blog never even saw him play. Herald Fan already pointed out his stats so I wont. Camarillo is more than just a speedster who outruns weaker competition, he can run over people, run past em and break their ankles with his jukes. His performance against Whittier looked more and more impressive as the season went on. Many of you downplayed it because you thought Whittier was a weak team which turned out not to be true. Camarillo constantly faced defenses that put 8 or 9 guys in the box and still put up the numbers he did.

  • Anonymous

    how bout that st. paul D-fense , Mike peak , Albert hernandez , Joe Morales , Mattew Lopez , Oliver Ciepeda , Daniel cordova , Vinny marshall , Ryan rosenthal , Josh Gaxceio , Adrin Gallegos , wow , nothing less than a great D put together , i dont care what team you are in the area , you aint gonna beat that ! not even if you got nick grigsby

  • St. paul fan

    how bout that st. paul D-fense , Mike peak , Albert hernandez , Joe Morales , Mattew Lopez , Oliver Ciepeda , Daniel cordova , Vinny marshall , Ryan rosenthal , Josh Gaxceio , Adrin Gallegos , wow , nothing less than a great D put together , i dont care what team you are in the area , you aint gonna beat that ! not even if you got nick grigsby , but i wish you coulf give it to all these players who formed an awsome d-fense, they got Alot of props from me, But player of the year has got to go unfortinatly to someone else , and my top three are Steven cano , Joseph orduno , and Greg francis from la habra , He was sort of lost in the mix , but player of the year wont ever go to just a defensive player unfortinetly

  • Rguerra

    Herald Fan said: “By the way 250 yards against Whittier High. (Camarillo) made them look foolish”

    Ok I’ll give you that Camarillo had a great year and he probably most deserves POY for breaking all the records but if you’re gonna state how foolish he made WHS look in that game, make sure you also say how slow Isaac Garcia made WCHS look. I was at that game and I saw that a lot of Camarillo’s yards came from good, straightahead holes. Like 7ypc, not bad. But Garcia on the other hand had to dance, sidestep, cut back and make plays to get his yards that game en route to 200 and about 13ypc, Really good. So in terms of making the other D look bad, you can’t recognize one without the other.

    So yeah, Camarillo probably does deserve POY, I mean 40 td’s are enough for me. But based on seeing them go head to head, I think Garcia is the better overall running back.

  • st paul sucks

    st paul get over it you guys lost ya you had a good run get over it you still dont got a ring!!!! whittier christan you guys did not play anyone good at all you guys played keppel mountain view andprobably all the schools that suck!!! play some good teams and maybe youll get creadit….player of the year joesph orduno or steven cano!!!

  • spartan alumni..

    hey for all you guys..that are debatin on player of the year award..[belongs to joseph orduno]due to the fact that schurr is known for a runnin game..And he made it a passin school this whole year on the great run he had all season..everytime there was a big game and the line gave him time he made plays…look at the montebello game they gave him time and made them look like a j.v team..and they gave him time against santa fe who was suppose to be the best team according to everyone and made them look like it was the first round of the playoffs!!!against south el monte they gave him time and he tore it up and westminister they gave him time la habra they gave him no time so he made plays for himself orduno is the player of the year..thats why schurr won the finals cause they finally stop shootin themselves in the foot and gave the ball to a quarterback/athlete[orduno]thats why he deserves it…

  • wc alum

    Rguerra,

    If you remember your boy Garcia got most of his yards on two long runs in the first quarter and if you check the stats he did not have 200 yards(herald fan reported wrong stat camarillo finished with 243). WC made a simple adjustment on d and then that was it for Garcia. I remember a whittier fan was calling out Camarillo after Garcia’s second and final td run, “wheres #2 at!, wheres #2 at!” Well that was the last I heard from him because Cammarillo showed him where he was at. Was that you? I don’t recall knowing where Garcia was at the rest of the game on offense or defense. No disrespect to Garcia he is a solid player on a solid team, but not area player of the year. And for you to say Garcia is a better all around back who made WC look slow is ignorant and foolish. Do not forget the final score.

    st. paul sucks,

    Shall I remind you that WC has an enrollment of a little over 600 kids with only 35 players on the varsity team and only 4 of those kids played all 4 years. If you look at the teams we played you would notice that we did play some good teams; LA Baptist, Whittier, Maranatha, Faith Lutheran(Nevada), Brentwood. They might be small private schools but they all are very talented and play solid fundamental football. I look forward to reading more of your intelligent blogs. You represent your choices(Cano & Orduno) for player of the year from schurr with alot of class.

    Congrats to all teams and players, you all should be proud, I had a great time follwing all of you this season!

  • Anonymous

    Camarillo POY. If you dont know that then you dont know football.

  • Rguerra

    WC alum:

    No that wasn’t me talking trash in the stands. Not my style. And yes I know the score. But I never said that Garcia should get POY over Camarillo, I actually said that I think Camarillo should get it. He’s had a great year and 40 tds dont lie. But I still stick to what I said about Garcia being a better, more complete back. I like them both as runners, but I think Garcia’s style would translate better to playing at the next level.
    Either way, congratulations to both of them for outstanding seasons and definite 1st all area honors.

  • Rguerra

    Last sentence is supposed to say ’1st team all area’ .in case that doesnt make sense.

  • Rguerra

    This one goes to everybody, including Roger Murray:

    Seeing as their are so many canidates this season alone for POY, how many do you think there would be if you asked something more broad like: Who’s the best player of the past 4 years?

    I’m guessing like 15-20.

    I think There’d be some SERIOUS debates over that one…

  • edwin8

    garcia all around running back ,better then cammarillo i would say so, i agree no question ..but ull always get the wc fans saying oh but look at the score. roger murray if im right i think isaac gacia was awarded something today .i wish u could put that on the news paper

  • wc alum

    Rguerra & Edwin8

    I believe we all have made valid points on who we like for player of the year and i will agree to disagree with you. Like Rguerra said great years for both of these fine young men. And for the best player in the last four years, I would have to say Dwight Tardy from St. Paul. His greatness is being validated by the season he had at WSU this year. I feel like I am forgetting some important players, help me out.