Bay Area Issue 176, February 2020

FEBRUARY 2020 BAY AREA EDITION VOL. 11 ISSUE 176

MAKING THE TOUGH CALLS

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Oak RidgeEl Dorado Hills’ Avant Jacobs

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February 2020

or more than two decades now, I’ve been part of choosing all-region teams and postseason honors for various sports.

I’ve always looked forward to the process of meeting with colleagues to discuss (and sometimes argue) as to who the most deserving players are. I even enjoy the aftermath, and the debates that our eventual lists spark.

But my years of participating in these processes have left me with a few big pet peeves and some steadfast principles that I like to see followed. When we began our All-NorCal Football honors approximately seven years ago, the goal was to create something different than most of the standard honors list.

First, we didn’t want to mess with first- or secondteam designations. If a player is All-NorCal, they’re All-NorCal. Period. So we simply decided to build a 48-50 player roster. For awhile we named “starters” and “reserves,” just out of fun. But this year, it’s just the team.

And when we all sit down together there’s a couple of things we all agree upon quickly. Our Player of the Year selections are also part of the team. Seems like a no-brainer, right? And yet, it doesn’t seem to be in regards to so many other lists. Naming a player the Offensive Player of the Year and then not placing him on your First Team is cheating. We all agree on this, right? Ok, good. (Also, since when did lists start including all-purpose players on both sides of the ball? Creating a First-Team offense all-purpose list and First-Team defense all-purpose list is also cheating.)

That aside, though, our selection criteria has always proven a little more controversial. When narrowing our pool of worthy players, our belief is that the honor of making the team should be based solely on each player’s impact on the high school football field for the most recent season.

As one coach told us, “Just because you were named as a junior, shouldn’t make you automatic as a senior. Sometimes kids just have an off year.”

It’s the HIGH SCHOOL part of that criteria that I’d also like to point out. A player’s star rating and the number of collegiate offers he has shouldn’t be the deciding factor in naming him all-region. It’s about what he produced on the field and how it directly led to team success. It’s why our list — which is already extremely exclusive due to the size of the region we’re picking from — has some notable big recruits missing.

We aren’t saying these players aren’t deserving of their ratings and offers. But those come through an evaluation process in which high school game performance is only a small factor.

Our evaluation process is ALL about high school game performance. As it should be. We can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this season’s 51-man roster. Sound off! ✪

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YOUR TICKET TO CALIFORNIA SPORTS ADMIT ONE; RAIN OR SHINE This Vol. #11, February 2020 Whole No. 176 is published by Caliente!

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mike mitchell ARCHBISHOP MITTY-SAN JOSE - BASKETBALL - JUNIOR Considered by some to be the best all-around player in the vaunted West Catholic Athletic League, the Pepperdine commit helped lead the Monarchs to a 16-3 overall record through the end of January. The quick and agile point guard is just fine being a lockdown defender while playing the role of facilitator on offense, but Mitchell can take on a scoring role when his team needs it. Mitty’s 59-55 win over Bellarmine-San Jose — a matchup of two Top 5 teams in the SportStars NorCal Top 20 — was a prime example. Mitchell led the Monarchs with 18 points and added seven rebounds. Mitty entered February one game back of SportStars No. 1 Riordan-S.F. in the WCAL standings. The two teams meet on Feb. 11.

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Behind the Clipboard by Clay Kallam

Joining A Team Is Committing To A Team I’m a freshman and I always really liked basketball. I hadn’t played it much but I tried out for the team and made it . The coach said I was a good athlete and thought I could become a pretty good player. It didn’t really work, though, and I’m like the 10th guy on the team. I don’t play much, I’m not having fun and I want to start playing baseball, my main sport, as soon as I can. But the basketball coach won’t let me — he says I have to complete the season with basketball, even though I don’t want to and it wouldn’t affect the team. I don’t get it.

R.J., Chico

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hat’s a tough one, but I have to agree with your coach.

One of the things young people have to learn is what it means to make a commitment. When you’re in elementary and middle school, you can try a lot of things, and if they don’t work out, it’s not that hard to give them up and move on.

But high school, in many important ways, is training for adult life, and one of the things that adults have to do is honor their commitments, whether they want to or not.

(And if they do decide to break their commitments, it’s a big deal with major repercussions in a lot of areas of life.)

So if you go out for a sport, you are committing to your school, your coach and most importantly, your teammates.

It’s a commitment that you are going to give it your best effort as long as you’re involved. In fact, some schools have contracts that athletes have to sign before they can try out, and those contracts pretty much say what I just did. But with or without a contract, you made a commitment when you accepted the uniform, and you need to honor that commitment.

Let’s look at it another way. So you say baseball is your main sport, and I’m the baseball coach. You come to me all excited about baseball and then I find out you quit the basketball team. What does that tell me about you? Does that give me confidence that you’ll stick with it if things don’t go as you want? Does that make me feel like you’ll battle your way out of a slump, or just quit trying?

And realistically, missing conditioning or a week or two of baseball practice isn’t going to have a major impact on your overall baseball experience. If you’re a good enough player, you’ll get plenty of playing time; if not, it won’t matter whether you were there those first couple weeks or not.

In the long run, though, the big message in this whole situation is to be very careful of making commitments. Because if you say you’re going to do something, if you say you’re going to help a group of people achieve their goals, then you are obligated to stick with it until your commitment is complete. If you don’t, people will remember. More importantly, you will remember — and it will be a painful memory that may stick with you much longer than you expect.

So far, though, no harm no foul. I would suggest, though, that you go to the basketball coach and tell him you thought it over and will give basketball your total focus until the season ends.

That, after all, is what making a commitment means. ✪

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Super Success Stories

W

ith the sting of the 49ers losing in the Super Bowl only a few hours old, high school football shifted immediately the next day to those seniors planning to sign letters of intent for college on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Some players signed during the early period in November and a few of them, including Liberty-Brentwood quarterback Jay Butterfield, have already graduated from their high schools and are attending classes in college, in his case at the University of Oregon.

One of the best individual stories of the year for recruiting comes from a school more familiar with the Super Bowl than maybe any other in the nation and that’s Serra-San Mateo.

The alma mater of Super Bowl MVPs Tom Brady and Lynn Swann saw its quarterback from the 2019 season, senior Daylin McLemore, go from a relative unknown backup from 2018 into a prospect who began to get a trickle of offers early in the season and then literally on the day of the Super Bowl he committed to Arizona State.

Eventually, Daylin may be the backup to ASU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who ironically was quarterbacking at Cajon-San Bernardino when Serra beat Cajon in the 2017 CIF Division 2-AA state championship.

But there also are far more players who still have dreams of playing at the next level who will have to take a different path. They are the ones with very few, if any, Division I college offers. They have no stars or maybe even no profile page at Scout.com or Rivals.com or ESPN, either.

And the Super Bowl itself always shows that going on that path (usually starting at a community college) can be done and is done more often than one might think.

At the Super Bowl, literally every year, there are lots of stories of players who have made it in the NFL who weren’t getting even close to the attention that many players from elite high school programs seem to get every year from major colleges and recruiting networks. It’s not like one guy every two years, either. This year, you could count four of them among the 13 from California who were on the rosters of either the San Francisco 49ers or Kansas City Chiefs.

Those four were offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill of the 49ers (from Valley Center High near San Diego), tight end Ross Dwelley of the 49ers (from Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills), running back Damien Williams of the Chiefs (from Mira Mesa-San Diego) and defensive back Ahkello Witherspoon of the 49ers (from Christian Brothers-Sacramento).

Three of those four, plus defensive back Daniel Sorensen of the Chiefs (from Colton in Southern California), also started out their professional football careers as undrafted free agents. And in our yearly Super Bowl research for Cal-Hi Sports, we don’t even look up how every player in the Super Bowl got started from outside of California. It was just hard to miss an inspiration like Florida’s Raheem Mostert, the 49ers running back who rushed for 220 yards in the NFC championship and had been cut by six NFL teams before he finally broke through.

Dwelley, in particular, was a player at Oak Ridge who stood out in a Sac-Joaquin Section playoff game in 2013 against Burbank-Sacramento. We took his photo and met him afterward and then were surprised that he wasn’t considered one of the state’s top tight end prospects.

He did go to the University of San Diego to play, but that’s a far cry from the Pac-12. He also was an undrafted free agent. On Super Bowl Sunday, though, there he was backing up George Kittle and he’s done enough this season that he should have opportunities to play much longer in the NFL. The bottom line once again for younger players not getting much attention in high school right now is that this is just a small slice of someone’s life and player development.

It’s just a fact that some of the seniors in the Class of 2020 who have signed a letter of intent will just not pan out as college players for various reasons. They will be surpassed by some players who no one knows much about right now. If you’re one of those seniors in the second group, keep playing and don’t give up. ✪ Mark Tennis is the co-founder of Cal-Hi Sports and publisher of CalHiSports.com. Contact him at markjtennis@ gmail.com and follow him on Twitter at @CalHiSports

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Increased Mastery and Professional Application of Coaching Theory details all aspects of coaching volleyball from legal responsibilities, to parent engagement, coaching principles, motor skill and drill development, to game play. IMPACT provides a complete framework to be a successful coach, and as such, USA Volleyball mandates IMPACT certification for coaches.

IMPACT’s primary goal is to help coaches become well-skilled in the awesome responsibility and opportunity they contain to influence young athletes. Thus, it is crucial to have a functioning coaching philosophy — a set of values to guide their unique style of coaching, which IMPACT helps coaches develop.

Craig Wong, coach of Marin Juniors, defines his philosophy as “celebrate wins and define success beyond the scoreboard.” In his mind, “success is the long-term development of players” and defines two priorities to be successful: Firstly, teaching players how to learn through developing grit, a growth mindset, embracing challenges and setbacks; secondly, inspiring athletes to play for something bigger than themselves through owning a specific team culture — one that celebrates diversity, relationships and fosters open communication.

When asked about how his coaching philosophy has impacted his athletes, he said they’ve grown to be flexible and strong problems solvers: “They are good learners, are willing to take risks, and take responsibility for success and setbacks.”

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Flexibility, good communication skills, accountability, and passion about self-growth are components to build individuals who thrive in continuous change.

IMPACT also helps coaches understand off-court responsibilities: risk management, legal duty, insurance etc. Coach Oliver Dofiles of San Francisco Tremors said it would be “very difficult” to manage a team when problems arise without IMPACT. This course is an offshoot of the Coaching Accreditation Program, another USA Volleyball program. Once a coach is IMPACT certified, they are eligible to take CAP I — one of three levels of CAP certification.

Coach Dofiles describes IMPACT as providing the basic coaching approach and definitions (answering the question “What”) while CAP provides the structure (answering the question “How”) to enable effective coaching.

“Together, IMPACT plus CAP, I feel are complementary and provide the complete tool to enable successful coaching,” Dofiles said.

CAP has on-court sessions to provide hands-on learning; instructors vary by site, but all USAV instructors are CAP III certified, background screened, current USAV members, and have years of coaching experience from high school to collegiate to the USA national team.

IMPACT also identifies the latest resources available to help create

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or improve any program. One such resource is Art of Coaching (AOC) — but what makes AOC unique?

“AOC reinforces that coaching volleyball is dynamic,” Dofiles siad. “There’s no exact formula on how to be successful. You must combine a lot of different approaches and decide how to apply the learnings based on the team needs.”

What is his coaching philosophy, if Dofiles believes there’s no exact formula to be successful? Practice makes perfect.

“While it is acceptable to make mistakes, it is equally important that athletes understand the mistakes and learn from them,” the coach said. He also noted while IMPACT and CAP challenged his preconception that coaches must have all the answers to every question, his direct experience as a coach challenged this as well.

He’s learned that “many insights could be gained by listening to my players and fellow coaches. Empowering the athletes to think, be creative and convey strategies that are out of the box makes the team more engaged and receptive to ideas.”

Dofiles also observed that not only are his players’ health and endurance much improved through his philosophy, their levels of focus have improved — translating to improved performance both on the court as well as at school and home. Volleyball nurtures players’ development emotionally, mentally and physically — beyond the court — but only through impactful coaching. ✪ — Kim Lampi for NCVA

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NORCAL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR 2019 Shamar Garrett RB/DB

De La Salle-Concord

2018 Sione Vaki WR/DB Liberty-Brentwood 2017 Tariq Bracy

RB/WR/DB Milpitas

2016 Mason Hurst

WR/DB

Antioch

HARRIS

HURST

BRACY

VAKI

2015 Najee Harris RB/LB

Del Oro-Loomis

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For as much talent that takes the field for De La Salle year-in and year-out, Northern California’s best football program of the last four decades has almost always had a handful of critical two-way players.

The list of two-way skill guys over the years is a who’s-who of Spartan lore. It includes names like Elijah Bradley, Jackie Bates, Willie Glasper, D.J. Williams, Terrance Kelly, Demetrius Williams, Maurice Jones-Drew, Terron Ward, Antoine Custer, and now — Shamar Garrett.

Garrett’s final game in his three-year varsity career was a master class two-way performance. Taking on national No. 1 St. John Bosco-Bellflower in the CIF Open Division State Bowl Championship, Garrett rushed for 113 yards and three touchdowns while logging 12 tackles and a forced fumble on defense.

“Every player he was going against was a future Division I (college) player, too,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said of Garrett’s efforts against St. John Bosco. “Both sides of the ball. That’s 22 D-1 players. That ain’t easy.”

Garrett seemingly made whatever he did on a field look easy, especially in 2019.

He rushed for 1,141 yards and 16 TDs and caught 16 passes for another 257 yards and two scores. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and he also had a punt return for a touchdown. It’s for all this that Garrett is being honored as the SportStars NorCal Player of the Year.

Garrett is the first De La Salle standout to earn the magazine’s Player of the Year award in the five years since it began its current format of naming an overall Player of the Year along with Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

What makes Garrett’s numbers even more impressive may be the fact that he only played in h alf of approximately 10 games due to blowouts and running clocks.

“There were about eight weeks in a row when he didn’t play in the second half,” Alumbaugh said.

Of De La Salle’s 14 games, Garrett played in all four quarters against just three opponents: St. Thomas Aquinas-Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Folsom and St. John Bosco.

The masterful senior season was the culmination of a three-year grind.

“He fully committed himself to the school and program,” Alumbaugh said. “He got stronger, bigger and faster and really honed himself into a better athlete. His practice habits got better. He studied more. It all manifested itself on the field.”

Garrett, who committed to San Jose State early in the season, pushed himself as a student and leader as well.

“He was our unanimous MVP that the kids voted on,” Alumbaugh said. “He really made a lot of changes and made himself into a great young man. He had a 3.5 GPA this past semester, too. It was a pretty incredible year.” ✪ — Chace Bryson Follow us on Twitter & Instagram, like us on Facebook!

NORCAL COACH OF THE YEAR CHRIS MUSSEMAN, RIPON Four years before Ripon won a CIF Division 4-AA State Bowl Championship, coach Chris Musseman tried to walk away from football.

With coaching partner Chris Johnson bound for Sierra-Manteca, Musseman decided to leave the gridiron for good. But the coaching search stalled, and administrators asked him to take over the program.

Musseman opted to make a better pass to the next coach by returning to the program until his replacement emerged. That pass is still airborne, and meanwhile Musseman amassed three Trans Valley League titles and three Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal appearances. This season he added an SJS title (21-13 vs. CenterAntelope), NorCal title (31-14 vs. Sutter) and CIF bowl (31-28 vs.

Highland-Palmdale).

Musseman refuses to acknowledge his own significant role in Ripon’s success, instead crediting the special group of players who didn’t flee for private school prestige, but opted to play together in the small town off Highway 99.

“I may be the head coach but I am nothing without the group of kids that we have here, and the coaching staff that did such an outstanding job this year,” said Musseman, who was also named CalHiSports Small Schools Coach of the Year. “I can’t say enough about these coaches, guys like Cole Williams, Jorge Velasco, Mike Merchant, Ken Tyhurst, Sam Azevedo, Brian Wood, Gary Giest, Glen White, Jacob Rodriguez and Justin Johnston.”

“Anything we achieved was because of them.”

Ripon has the distinction of not only winning a state bowl game, but also beating another team that did. The Indians overcame a 14-0 deficit to beat rival Escalon 42-21 at home on Oct. 18. Both teams went on to win their next seven games, including Escalon’s 52-21 triumph of La Jolla in the Div. 4-A bowl.

It took tremendous program support. Ripon isn’t a perennial title contender and the Indians opened the season with only 21 players on the varsity roster. Musseman credited the success to the dedicated volunteers and parents who did the little things to put his squad on the field, ready to play.

Small town, big heart. ✪ — Ike Dodson

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SportStars All-N NORCAL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR JACKSON PAVITT, CARDINAL NEWMAN

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great quarterback once said “You can’t have success if you don’t visualize it first.”

That great quarterback is the SportStars NorCal Offensive Player of the Year, Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa senior Jackson Pavitt.

Pavitt’s mind is a movie theatre with choose-your-own adventure controls.

The setting is always one of Cardinal Newman’s West Coast-spread offense plays, and the adventure is the defense — different scenarios he imagines throughout the week, using his knowledge of his own team and insight gained from hours of film footage of the opposing defense.

“It’s just mental reps throughout the week,” Pavitt explained on Feb. 3, 51 days after his team won the CIF Division 3-AA State Bowl Championship against El Camino-Oceanside. “It helps to visualize the defense in certain coverages, and run the play in your head against all the coverages, going through every possible thing that could happen.

“I do it all throughout the day.”

Pavitt will soon be running mental plays at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, after committing to a Mustang football scholarship just four days after his state championship game.

His title performance may have aided the cause. He ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the win, also throwing for 158 yards on 15-of-21 passing with a touchdown and one interception. In five playoff games, Pavitt was 64-of-95 (67 percent) with 921 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 382 yards and five scores across that span.

For the season, Pavitt was 200-of-292 (69 percent) for 2,750 yards, 30 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was second on the team with 744 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.

“He’s a dual-threat guy who adds a number of things to your offense,” Cardinal Newman coach Paul Cronin said. “He’s another (threat) in the run game and he throws well enough to not let the defense load up the box.”

Cronin spoke even higher of Pavitt’s character.

“His biggest attribute is how passionate he is about football and he leads his team with that passion,” Cronin said. “He’s always been there for his team, and will spend extra time working with them, or cheer them up during the hard times in life.”

Pavitt said his favorite moment of the 2019 season wasn’t a special play, but the shared elation he experienced with his program and community in the aftermath of the state title game.

“I just loved seeing how proud everyone was of all the work they had put in, from the players (he named each position group), to the coaches and teachers and everybody who supported us,” he said. “That was just the most memorable thing for me.” ✪ — Ike Dodson

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NorCal Football 2019 ALL-NORCAL OFFENSIVE ROSTER QB | JACKSON PAVITT (Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa) | Sr. Cal Poly commit led Cardinals to 14-1 record and 3-AA State Bowl title by passing for 2,750 yards and 30 TDs with just two interceptions. He also rushed for 744 yards and 11 more scores.

QB | JERRY JOHNSON (Pittsburg) | Sr. Bay Area News Group Offensive Player of the Year threw for 2,917 yards, 34 TDs and just seven INTs for 11-2 Pirates. His six TDs vs. St. Mary’s-Stockton were a school record.

QB | DORIAN HALE (De La Salle-Concord) | Jr. De La Salle opened up the playbook for Hale in his second year starting. The southpaw responded with 2,038 passing yards and 19 TDs while rushing for 577 yards and 14 more scores.

QB | JUSTIN LAMSON (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills) | Jr. Led the SFL with 3,114 yards through the air on 312 attempts with 24 touchdowns and just eight picks. He shined in the SJS DIv. I final, rushing for 129 yards and three TDs. RB | PAUL M. ROSA (Wilcox-Santa Clara) | Sr. Injury kept him to just nine-and-a-half games, but Rosa still managed 1,787 rushing yards with 16 TDs. He also caught two TDs, and threw a 74-yard scoring strike in a CCS playoff win.

RB | TYLER HARRISON (Paradise) | So. Harrison delivered an inspired season for California’s feel-good story of the year. He rushed for 2,505 yards (12.7 yards per rush) with 30 touchdowns. Paradise (12-1) was the Northern Section Div. II runner-up.

Jacob DeJesus WR | BRIAN PIERCE (Pittsburg) | Sr. The El Cerrito transfer had a major impact in his one season as a Pirate. He had 60 catches for 1,040 yards and 16 TDs. He also had more than 600 special teams return yards.

WR | LANE THRAP (St. Bernard-Eureka) | Sr. Named Cal-Hi Sports Small School Player of the Year, Thrap caught 75 balls for 1,550 yards and 23 TDs for the 6-AA State Bowl champs.

He also had 69 tackles and five INTs. TE | BROCK BOWERS (Napa) | Jr. Bowers is among the state’s top 2021 recruits at tight end. His numbers show why: 39 catches, 1,098 yards and 14 TDs.

RB | KADEN CHRISTENSEN (Escalon) | Sr. Three-way star led the Cougars to the 4-A State Bowl crown with 1,681 yards rushing and 22 touchdowns. He added 28 catches for 578 yards and nine more scores.

OL | EVERETT JOHNSON (Turlock) | Sr. The Cal-bound, two-time All-SJS offensive lineman was the driving force on a Turlock offense that amassed 340 offensive points through 12 games.

RB | MATTEO PEREZ (Marin Catholic-Kentfield) | Jr. He was named Marin County Athletic League Player of the Year after rushing for 2,024 yards and amassing 30 TDs. The Wildcats were NCS Div. IV runners-up.

OL | ISAIAH TUPOU (Grant-Sacramento) | Sr. Hulking 6-3, 316-pound Tupou was signed by BYU after a great year controlling the Pacers’ line of scrimmage. Tupou was a first-team AllSJS selection with plenty of collegiate interest.

RB | HANS GRASSMANN (Placer-Auburn) | Sr. Led 10-3 Hillmen by posting a career-high 1,718 yards on 275 carries and 27 TDs. Lost just one fumble in 13 games and added 31 tackles and 1.5 sacks on defense.

OL | BEN ROE (De La Salle-Concord) | Sr. A team captain, Roe was a first-team regional honoree on both offense (Bay Area News Group) and defense (S.F. Chronicle). He’s also an accomplished wrestler for DLS.

RB | JONAH COLEMAN (Lincoln-Stockton) | So. He amassed 1,587 yards on 143 carries and 30 touchdowns for the 9-2 Trojans, and added 16 receptions for 324 yards and four TDs.

OL | ANDRES DEWERK (Los Gatos) | Sr. Dewerk will take his 6-foot-7, 295-pound frame to USC next fall after helping the Los Gatos offense average more than 360 rushing yards and 33 points per game.

RB | KIMONI STANLEY (Sierra-Manteca) | Jr. Led the Sac-Joaquin Section with 2,024 yards on 205 carries, adding 33 touchdowns in 13 games. Workhorse back had two 240-plus yard games and 11 100-yard games.

WR | ELIJHAH BADGER (Folsom) | Sr. Folsom’s top wide receiver finished second in the SJS with 1,386 yards receiving on a section-best 79 catches with 20 TDs. He is Arizona State-bound next year.

WR | JACOB DEJESUS (Manteca) | Sr. Dynamic playmaker finished with 1,139 yards receiving and caught 16 TDs in 14 games for the SJS Division III champion Buffaloes. De Jesus added 631 rushing yards rushing and seven TDs. WR | TERENCE LOVILLE (Serra-San Mateo) | Sr. Loville is signed to San Jose State after averaging more than 22 yards per catch on his way to 1,061 yards. Loville shined In the CIF 1-A State Bowl with six catches for 172 yards and two TDs.

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OL | GERAD CHRISTIAN-LICHTENHAN (Davis) | Sr. Christian-Lichtenhan was named the Delta League’s Offensive Lineman of the Year. He’s signed to Colorado and was named to the MaxPreps All-SJS first team.

OL | CALEB DELGADO (Ripon) | Sr. Delgado set the tone for an offense that generated over 5,100 yards and 71 scores. His efforts helped Ripon win a section, NorCal and CIF title. He also played defense, amassing 7.5 sacks.

OL | MANA TAIMANI (Clayton Valley-Concord) | Sr. The Ugly Eagles’ vaunted ground game followed the lead of Taimani to an average of 287 rushing yards per game, and a CIF 2-AA State Bowl title.

K | COLE BECKER (Rocklin) | Jr. Connected on 14 of 15 field goals, including a 45-yard kick. He was perfect on extra points, booting in 31 tries in as many attempts. ✪

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SportStars All-N NORCAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR MARCUS JONES JR., Monterey Trail-Elk Grove

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ll that Marcus Jones, Jr. has ever wanted and needed is an opportunity. Give him that and he will take care of the rest.

Monterey Trail head football coach T.J. Ewing had doubts about inserting a 5-foot-10 sophomore into the starting middle linebacker spot, but is happy about that decision three years later. Jones put together an exceptional high school career that was capped with him being named the SportStars All-NorCal Defensive Player of the Year.

“I doubted him when I saw a ‘small’ player as an option at linebacker,” Ewing said, “but we will always open the door and give opportunities here at Monterey Trail.”

“He took full advantage and started for us from the first down (of the 2017 season) and is one of the best players that I have ever coached.”

Jones was the model of consistency over his three years as a Mustang, recording at least 120 tackles every year, including a 134-tackle campaign in 2019 that included 101 solo tackles and 5.5 sacks. The speedy linebacker always found his way to the ball and was a near-sure bet to bring down any opponent who had the ball.

“He was the most stable person in the program,” Ewing added. “He looks more like a free safety, but he understands the angle of pursuit and knows where the ball is going.”

Jones had the ability to avoid blocks and seemingly just appear in the right spot to make a sure tackle. In his three seasons, he grew some physically, but grew exponentially mentally to hone his game.

“I grew mentally and really learned the game,” Jones said of his development under Ewing, who also served as linebackers coach in Jones’ first two seasons. “When I started here, I only knew my position, but understood that I could be better and do more if I knew what everyone was supposed to do and where they were supposed to be on defense.”

That knowledge developed Jones into Monterey Trail’s defensive quarterback and leader while showing the Mustangs the way to a 24-3 record over the last two years that included back-to-back trips to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I final. The Mustangs fell short in the championship to Sierra Foothill League powers Folsom and Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills, respectively, but Jones and Monterey Trail certainly got the attention of the section’s top teams.

Jones’ next goal is to get the attention of college coaches and recruiters, who, like opposing offenses, have not seen the star defender coming for three years. Because he does not have the prototypical build of a five-star middle linebacker, Jones has been passed over by Division I programs so far. Ewing understands the recruiting process and its emphasis on measurables like height and weight, but he also understands that Jones is not done contributing on the gridiron.

“He stands out on film and has performed on the biggest stages,” Ewing said. “There is no limit to his level, and some school will realize what he can do and that he can continue to make an impact beyond high school.”

A quiet and humble star and leader, Jones takes what could be perceived as a snub as a challenge.

“Size doesn’t matter because I can overcome that with my mind,” he said. “I am an athlete and can dissect plays and read the offense to make up for any lack of size.”

“Just take a chance on me.”

Ewing and the Mustangs are certainly glad that they did. ✪ — Jim McCue

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NorCal Football 2019 ALL-NORCAL DEFENSIVE ROSTER DL | JAMAR SEKONA (Marin Catholic-Kentfield) | Sr. USC-bound senior led a Wildcats defense that pitched five shutouts and allowed 5.3 points per game. He collected 82 tackles and 10 sacks for the NCS Div. IV runners-up.

DB | DEJUAN BUTLER (Antioch) | Sr.

DL | NUSI MALANI (Serra-San Mateo) | Sr. West Catholic Athletic League Defensive Lineman of the Year set the tone for the NorCal-champion Padres. He racked up 61 tackles and four sacks.

DB | AARON ESPERO (Inderkum-Sacramento) | Sr.

DL | DESHAWN LYNCH (Folsom) | Sr. The Sierra Foothill League’s Lineman of the Year had 39 tackles (12.5 for loss) and 4.5 sacks. He’s weighing as many as nine offers, including ones from Nebraska, USC, Oregon and Tennessee.

DL | PAYTON ZDROIK (Liberty-Brentwood) | Sr. Bay Valley Athletic League MVP was a force on both sides of the ball, but was at his best in the opponent’s backfield, tallying 57 tackles with 23.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks.

Cal-bound DB cut off half the field for the Panthers, forcing teams to avoid him at all costs. Earned Bay Valley Athletic League Defensive MVP honors and also rushed for 380 yards and six TDs. Athletic senior was a shutdown cornerback with six interceptions, returning two for scores. Espero added a fumble recovery and 1,492 all-purpose yards to go with 16 total TDs. DB | KAVIR BAINS (Valley Christian-San Jose) | Sr. UC Davis-bound safety grabbed four interceptions and made 63 tackles en route to earning co-defensive back of the year honors in the West Catholic Athletic League.

DB | AVANT JACOBS (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills) | Sr. All-around athlete shined on defense with 50 solo tackles, five interceptions and a fumble return TD. Jacobs also had 13 passes defensed

DL | MAX GIPSON (Sutter) | Sr. Fierce edge rusher had 17 sacks among his 121 tackles for a Huskies team which reached the CIF 4-AANorCal Regional final.

and more than 1,000 yards receiving.

DL | PEYTON BRADFORD (Oakdale) | Sr. Bradford was the Valley Oak League’s Defensive Player of the Year as a tenacious defensive end. He also helped the 9-4 Mustangs as a bruising tight end in their Wing-T rushing attack.

season with 12 interceptions. He also logged 106 tackles, blocked two

DL | BRADLEY RANKIN (Casa Roble-Orangevale) | Sr. Rankin led NorCal with 19 sacks for the Rams. He also had 114 tackles, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.

Cal’s best team. The San Jose State commit rushed for 16 TDs, added

LB | MARCUS JONES JR. (Monterey Trail-Elk Grove) | Sr. He capped an amazing high school career with 134 tackles, including 101 solo tackles, to lead the Mustangs to a second consecutive SJS Div.I final. He also had 5.5 sacks and three fumble recoveries.

LB | MASON MASTROV (Campolindo-Moraga) | Sr. After battling injuries early in the season, SMU-bound force ended the year with Diablo Athletic League Defensive Player of the Year honors and led Cougars to the NCS Div. II final.

DB | ALAN LLOYD (Ygnacio Valley-Concord) | Sr. Led NorCal as one of only three players in California to finish the punts and was just shy of 500 yards receiving on offense.

AP | SHAMAR GARRETT (De La Salle-Concord) | Sr. Our NorCal Player of the Year was the best two-way player on Nortwo receiving scores and passed for three more. He also returned a punt for a TD and lined up at every defensive position except down lineman.

AP | TEDDYE BUCHANAN (St. Ignatius-S.F.) | Sr. UC Davis signee was one of NorCal’s most impactful all-around players. He passed for 1,785 yards with 18 TDs and rushed for another 557 yards (9 TDs). He also recorded 83 tackles with six sacks at linebacker.

AP | NATE RUTCHENA (Monte Vista-Danville) | Sr.

LB | RYAN ENNEY (Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills) | Jr. The linchpin of the SJS Div. I champions’ defense recorded 142 tackles, five fumble recoveries and an interception. He was credited with 103 solo tackles.

The Cal-bound playmaker lined up all over the field on defense, finish-

LB | MARIO AYOTTE (Sutter) | Sr. A tackling machine, Ayotte totaled 177 over 14 games. He had 32 tackles go for loss, including 8.5 sacks. He also forced four fumbles and recovered one.

Hernandez amassed 21 total TDs, including rushing, receiving, kickoff

LB | ZACH BROOKS (Davis) | Jr. Delta League Defensive Player of the Year had 123 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Brooks averaged double-digit tackles per game and had three fumble recoveries, returning one for a score.

Two-way standout rushed for 942 yards and 12 touchdowns, re-

LB | CONNOR SHAY (Monte Vista-Danville) | Sr. Latest in long line of Mustang linebacker standouts collected 134 tackles, including seven for loss. Wyoming-bound playmaker was also a force at tight end, hauling in 32 passes (4 TDs).

DB | EDWARD WOODS (McClymonds-Oakland) | Sr. Oakland Athletic League MVP led defense that recorded six shutouts.

Arizona State commit grabbed four interceptions and returned three punts and one kickoff for touchdowns.

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ing with 105 tackles (10 for loss). On offense, hauled in 53 passes for 709 yards and 12 touchdowns.

AP | DANNY HERNANDEZ (Ripon) | Sr. return, punt return, and interception return scores. He rushed for 1,233 yards for the CIF 4-AA State Bowl champs.

AP | ISAIAH FLORES (Wilcox-Santa Clara) | Sr. corded 53 tackles and nine sacks, and made 50 of 51 extra points with four field goals as Wilcox’s kicker.

AP | RASHEED RANKIN (Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park) | Sr. A bulldozer on both sides of the ball, he led the Cougars to NCS and NorCal titles. North Bay League Back of the Year carried the load offensively while also starring at linebacker.

AP | CARTER HARRIS (Elk Grove) | Sr. Star of the Herd triple option, the lightning-quick QB amassed 215 carries for 2,007 yards and 28 touchdowns to lead the Thundering Herd to an SJS Div. II title. ✪

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“We like to put on a show for (the home crowd). That’s the way we want to play, but at the same time we have to stay focused.”

— Je’Lani Clark, pictured right

An Explosive Senior Backcourt, Height For Days, And Plenty Of Experience Has Riordan Ranked No. 1

I

t was the final minute of the first half. Archbishop Riordan High School-San Francisco guard Je’Lani Clark buried a 3-pointer, setting the home crowd off in the packed gymnasium. Clark turned to the fans on the north side with a huge grin on his face, tongue flapping as he drank in the cheers. Then, he returned to his primary job, playing basketball.

Clark stole the ball and got it ahead to Dominic Wilson for a layup. As the halftime buzzer sounded, the Crusaders had turned a 24-18 lead into a 29-18 lead over inner-city rival St. Ignatius.

The second half was more of the same. Bryce Monroe — Clark’s cousin and backcourt mate — fed Clark an alley oop pass for a dunk. Again, the crowd went wild. Monroe lobbed the ball to 7-foot-1 center Mor Seck for a dunk. Pandemonium. St. Ignatius called timeout and it was Monroe’s time to strut.

When he made it to the bench, he did a chest bump with Clark.

It’s great to be young and a Crusader. Riordan is the No. 1 boys basketball team in the Bay Area, a robust 17-2 after a 59-46 win over St. Ignatius on Jan. 31.

As the Central Coast Section and California Interscholastic Federation playoffs loom, it seems certain the Crusaders will be a factor.

They have height, with 6-9 Riiny Riiny and 6-8 Chan Ngot joining Seck. And they have a pair of Division 1-bound cousins in the backcourt who couldn’t look happier on the court.

“We like to put on a show for them,” Clark said of playing to the home crowd.

Said Monroe, “That’s the way we want to play, but at the same time we have to stay focused.”

Monroe added, “It’s always fun to be able to play with your family and also one of your best friends. We’ve been at this for 12-plus years now. It’s our last year together and we’re going to make sure it’s a good one.”

In the win over St. Ignatius, Clark led the way with 16 points and Monroe added 15. Every time the Wildcats made a run, one or both of the cousins seemed to be involved in the play that upped the lead. St. Ignatius cuts it to 41-35? Monroe to Clark for a dunk. Then, it was Clark to Monroe in the corner for a 3-pointer.

But the play that Clark was proudest of was a team effort.

“We had one possession where we swung the ball seven times and got a wide open 3,” he said.

Heading into February, Riordan’s only losses had come to Dublin and SerraSan Mateo. The Crusaders have wins over Serra-San Juan Capistrano (20-6 on the season), San Ramon Valley-Danville (16-6), Capital Christian-Sacramento (17-7), Campolindo-Moraga (17-5), Stuart Hall-San Francisco (17-6), Modesto Christian-Modesto (16-8) and West Catholic Athletic League rivals Bellarmine-San Jose (16-3), Archbishop Mitty-San Jose (16-3) and St. Francis-Mountain View (13-6).

Oh, and Riordan beat Serra-San Mateo (14-5) in the rematch on Jan. 28.

With five games to play, the Crusaders led Mitty by one game in the WCAL standings.

Clark is 6-3 and headed to the University of Nevada. The Wolfpack has been an NCAA tournament regular of late, thanks to combo guards just like Clark.

“He’s tremendous, he just does everything,” Riordan coach Joey Curtin said. “I mean the guy can pass, he can shoot, he can dunk, he can defend, he can rebound.

He does everything you want on a basketball court for a guard to do. And he’s not

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afraid of the lights; he relishes the big moments and he’s a big-time player.”

Monroe is 5-11 and will play at Sam Houston State in Texas.

“He’s just so quick, he’s dynamic in the open court,” Curtin said. “His body control is ridiculous. He’s just one of those guys who’s a nightmare to guard. You have to really pay a lot of attention to him because he’ll score 10 points in a row in a two-minute span and you’re like, ‘What the heck just happened?’”

The pair have been playing basketball together since fourth grade. They grew up in West Oakland before heading to high school. Clark has been at Riordan since the beginning while Monroe transferred over from Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F. after his sophomore season.

“It’s crazy because we watched each other grow up,” Clark said. “I know what he likes, he knows what I like. We know what we don’t like. We take turns. We don’t really care who brings the ball up the court, we don’t really care who scores.

“We’re just having fun.”

It’s definitely fun for their teammates.

“Lani and Bryce are pretty much the best players in the WCAL,” Riiny said.

“It’s pretty much a privilege to play with them. They are pretty amazing people.

They’re great. There’s no teammate who I’d rather have. They are the best guys on the team.”

Said Ngot, “Je’Lani and Bryce, they really have a great IQ. When they have the ball, all the bigs, we know we just have to be in this place and they will find us. We don’t have to scream or yell, we just have to run the play, get where we’re supposed to be and they will find us there.

“It’s really fun playing with them because it’s like they’re reading your mind.

You see the lobs — we don’t even practice that. It’s just there.”

Riordan went 18-9 a year ago and 17-12 the year before that. The Crusaders know they are on the verge of something special.

“This is a team that has the talent but it also has all the pieces,” Curtin said. “If we play really hard and if we play smart, we can win any type of game. We can win an up-and-down game, we can win a game that’s slowed down in the halfcourt. We can win against a big team, we can win against a small team. That’s why we’re 17-2 because we can win in different ways.

“When we pass the ball like that, we’re really hard to stop because (Clark and Monroe) are going to attract a lot of attention and the other guys can knock down shots, they can score inside, they can throw it down. There’s a lot of ways for them to score. That’s when we’re most dangerous.”

The cousins may be family but so is the team.

“It really feels great because we have our whole city behind us, our whole school behind us,” Monroe said. “We get a lot of support and it’s also that we’re having fun with our friends. And it’s not just a basketball team, it’s really like a family here. There’s strength in our brotherhood and that’s why you see, when we’re having fun, everybody is having fun. Even the guys who aren’t playing. Because we know when they get that opportunity, we’re going to do the same thing for them.”

Said Clark, “At this point, we know what we have as a team. We’ve just got to work at playing a complete game. We’ve yet to play our best basketball. We’ve yet to play two weeks of complete basketball.” ✪ — Story By Damin Esper | Photos By David Gershon

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I

t was just two days later. It seemed too soon.

Shock still reverberated in the aftermath of the helicopter crash of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, which killed the NBA great, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and

seven others en route to a travel basketball event.

Much like hundreds of thousands of high school basketball players around the nation did on Jan. 29, Tameiya Sadler and her St. Patrick-St. Vincent-Vallejo teammates got back on the court, hosting St. Mary’s-Berkeley.

Each player and fan has their own story about how the tragedy felt to them. For Sadler, it was the sudden death of a superstar athlete she had patterned her style on. It was magnified because the Bruins team was in the Los Angeles area, having played Heritage Christian-Northridge the day before, when the news broke of the fatal crash in nearby Calabasas.

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“It was really hard hearing about Kobe especially because Kobe was one of my favorite players and I really modeled my game around him,” said Sadler, who learned of the tragedy on social media while eating a team meal at Roscoe’s in nearby West Hollywood.

“It was like we all just froze. It just can’t be true. Kobe is invincible. He can’t … “ The Bruins and Panthers tried to focus on the Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division game at hand, which St. Mary’s won 60-52, though the Bruins made a spirited comeback to make it 56-52 with 1:09 left.

“Our kids, they grew up in the Kobe era,” St. Patrick coach Nadine Walker said. “When they found out the news they were super devastated. It was crazy, the timing of it all, because we were together as a team. To hear it like that, and to hear about Gianna, that made it even worse.”

That night on the court, Sadler admitted it was difficult to concentrate at times. But when she locks into focus, she is very hard to stop.

This year, Sadler has upped her game, which has yielded a scholarship to the University of Washington. She signed her letter of intent in November, choosing the closer-to-home Huskies over Penn State and Kentucky.

Though she checked off all the boxes on being an unselfish point guard, she wasn’t capitalizing on her natural ability as a shooter. A revamped approach, some prodding and the intensive approach of playing on the Cal Stars Nike EYBL (Elite Youth Basketball League) team has brought out the shooter in Sadler.

“She can defend anyone in the country, she can run an offense as the lead guard very well 24

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“It was really hard hearing about Kobe especially because Kobe was one of my favorite players and I really modeled my game around him. It was like we all just froze. It just can’t be true. Kobe is invincible.

He can’t … ” —Tameiya Sadler and now she will even score,” said Kelly Sopak, founder and director of Cal Stars and head coach of the program’s Nike EYBL team and of state power Miramonte-Orinda. “A very tough combination.”

Through the end of January the Bruins were 14-8, and Sadler was averaging 18.0 points per game, topping out with 38 against Redwood-Larkspur on Dec. 28 and 26 against SalesianRichmond on Jan. 7. She also averages 4.2 assists, 9.0 rebounds, 6.3 steals and 1.9 blocked shots.

She averaged just over 10 points a game as a freshman and sophomore, and 17.4 as a junior.

She’s now shooting more from the outside, much to Walker’s liking. The Bruins have had to lean more on Sadler and fellow returning starter, senior forward Kayla Revelo, because eight seniors, including three starters, graduated after their North Coast Section Division IV championship run a year ago.

“She didn’t want to score,” Walker said. “She loved to get assists. She loved to get steals. She loved to get blocks. She loved defense. Scoring still is not what motivates her. Defense motivates her. Getting a nice assist when a teammate finishes a nice pass from her. That really excites her as a player. … “When she puts her mind to it, nobody can stop her,” Walker said.

The Bryant tragedy affected Sadler on a particular level, because she shares a similar fatherdaughter basketball bond with her dad, Gregory.

“He comes to every game, even in the travel season he would come,” Walker said. “He is super supportive of her and her career. I’m sure for her, that was another reason why (the Bryant crash upset her.)”

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That relationship made making the decision to stay on the West Coast much easier. “It’s like I’m on my own, but if I’m needing my dad I can just fly back,” she said.

Said her father, Gregory: “It’s only an hour-and-a-half flight,” looking forward to the travels that already have taken them to Chicago, Atlanta, Kentucky and Indiana.

Not surprisingly, the family dynamic of Huskies head coach Jody Wynn and her husband, associate head coach Derek Wynn appeals to her greatly.

“For me they were more of a family-type coaching, so they were going to treat me like family,” she said. “It’s exciting for me because it was always a dream for me to play in the Pac-12. And to actually get a scholarship to a Pac-12 school was big, really big.”

She began playing with a basketball in her backyard when she was around 2 or 3, her father said. “I took her to the Y and we went around with the ball at the Y,” he said. “Then she played for Upward in a church league.”

Showing a quiet yet fearless nature, playing in a youth league in American Canyon and at home against her older brother, Gregory, sparked her interest in following the pro game’s best.

“Watching Kobe for sure,” she said. “I watched Kobe, I watched Kyrie (Irving). Kyrie was definitely one of my favorites. I wanted the ball in my hands. I wanted to be a playmaker.”

Walker said the first moment she saw Sadler touch the ball, she knew she had a special talent, and hoped she’d be her point guard for four seasons.

“When she walked in I said, ‘Oh my gosh, I hope this girl stays,’” Walker said. “Because she is so good. I would love to work with her. With all her rough edges and all her challenges, I just feel like I was probably given that situation from God. Hey, here is someone who really needs you. I felt like, if she lets me, I can help her.”

It all came together her junior year, when St. Patrick-St. Vin-

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cent first scored a 54-53 stunning upset in the Tri-County Athletic League Rock Division over a loaded Salesian-Richmond team.

They went on to win the program’s first section title since 2007.

“I was super excited,” Sadler said. “It was very emotional for me because it was my first year winning something in high school. So I felt I really accomplished something.”

Then came major strides in playing at a high level with Cal Stars Nike EYBL and Sopak.

“Before Sopak, I wasn’t shooting. But after I’ve played with him, I’m shooting outside shots more,” she said. “I’m a lot more comfortable with my shot and it is definitely because of him.”

Sopak said when Sadler began with Cal Stars in the seventh grade, he noticed her talent, noting her reluctance to shoot had nothing to do with a lack of ability. She made huge strides playing with national Top-5 recruits.

“This past summer she made one of the biggest jumps I have seen a kid make on the national stage,” he said. “This spring, when she was playing alongside two of the best players in the country in Cameron Brink and Brooke Demetre, she really didn’t need to shoot. However, if we wanted to win, she needed to be as aggressive and as willing to shoot as she was passing or playing defense. So she got out of her comfort zone and attacked more, shot more and even talked more. The end result is she became a national- level recruit.”

For a Bruins program known mainly for producing Alex Cowling, the 2008 SPSV graduate who went on to have a recordsetting career at Loyola Marymount, Sadler has carved out her own Bruins legacy.

“In my 10 years of coaching, she is by far the most talented, gifted point guard I have coached,” Walker said. “I’ve had other great point guards, ... but she really just had it all. I told her again, ‘the mental game, if you can fix that, if you can improve that, there is no stopping what you can do.’” ✪

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