St. Mary’s of Stockton rolled into Sacramento to kick off the 2009 football season at Jesuit High School. It was a beautiful day for football. They showed why they are the 2008 Sac Joaquin Division I Champions. They played a convincing game against Jesuit. They claimed the Marauders field as their own that day. The only thing that kept the score from getting any bigger was that time had expired. It was a shut out at 48 to zero when I left the game with just a few minutes left. Jesuit has a storied past.

Jesuit must regroup and regain their composure if they are to compete in the Delta River League. I watched the two teams battle it out 2 years ago as Jesuit beat St. Mary’s in what was a solid victory. St. Mary’s went on to have a great season with their QB Cody Vaz. Hopefully Jesuit will find similar success in the coming season as St. Mary’s did 2 years ago after a season opener defeat. Jesuit went on to beat Golden Valley with a score of 42 to 28 in their second game of the season, but lost their third game to Christian Brothers 21 to 6.

St. Mary’s had a great second game against Bellarmine Prep, beating them 34 to 10 and rolled over Los Banos with a score of 39 to 7 In their 3rd game.  They are well on their way to repeating the prior years success.

Good luck to both teams.

Devin Des Jarlais, #9 WR/DB, of Franklin High School of Elk Grove California has had a great start to his varsity football season. Devin stands at 6’ even and weighs in at 190 pounds.

The Franklin Wildcats defeated Sacred Heart of San Francisco in a "Battle of the Capital" with a 28 – 10 victory. On the offensive side of the ball, Devin had 5 catches for 192 yards including two touchdown catches of 58 and 72 yards.

Devin had catches that set up the teams other two touchdowns including a 22 yard reception where he ran a 9 yard out on third and long and turned it up field breaking four tackles while amassing RAC yardage - using many eligible receivers on plays to maximize quarterback options, and spreading the ball to many targets to keep the defense confused. The 192 yards set a school record for receiving yards in a game.

On the Defensive side of the football Devin had 12 tackles including two for loses a forced fumble and an interception. He also had another interception and return for a touchdown however it was called back because of 12 men on the field.

Devin was in the Sac Bee newspaper, a major paper in Sacramento County and the surrounding Capital area, under the High School Football section for Week 1 Stars.

In the Elk Grove Citizen Newspaper, local City Paper, Coach Mike Johnson was quoted as saying that this is the first time in the schools short 9 year history he has had a play making wide receiver.

Devin’s short list of potential schools he would like to play for is as follows:

1. Cal Poly
2. San Diego St.
3. Hawaii
4. Wisconsin
5. Boise St.
6. Fresno St.
7. San Jose St.
8. UN-Reno
9. Utah
10. North Dakota State
11. Cal
12. Michigan

Des Jarlais has been averaging about 27 yds. per reception and 6.3 tackles per game. I just talked to Devin’s dad and updated this article for Friday’s game against powerhouse Folsom High School. I plan to be there for the game and I hope Devin lights up the scoreboard. He is a player worth keeping an eye on. As the season moves on I will keep you all posted to Devin’s gridiron accomplishments.

  Pleasant Grove High School, PG, is loaded with talent. The young school has found its groove on the hard wood this season. With a group of solid varsity players, that includes senior D1 recruit Xavier Thames, they are off to a near perfect season. Under the leadership of new head coach John K. Deponte, formerly of Valley High School, PG is in a position to make it deep into the post season this year.

  One of PG’s star players is Ra’Shauwn, aka Shauwn, Brooks # 15 – senior, a 6’4” – 205 pound guard/forward. He’s averaging 15 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, 1 steal per game. He’s quick on the floor and at shooting the 3 pointer as well. His production on the floor is consistent. He’s truly a clutch player. Shauwn has received interest from a host of D1 schools.

  Mr. Brooks likes to throw the ball up, from time to time, and make a direct delivery to the basket. He had a great game against Sheldon High School, a local powerhouse, which PG won. Shauwn also had a good game against Franklin High School of Elk Grove. Franklin High School has been deemed the clear favorite by the local paper and everyone else second. Well, PG beat them by 11 points and a rematch is in the schedule.

 
Darius Nelson, an extraordinary player and sibling to Demarcus Nelson formerly of the NBA’s Golden State Warrior’s, attempts to block Brooks’s basket.

  Brooks is averaging 15 points per game. With 11 games into the season Shauwn’s team has only lost 1 game, and it was by only 2 points. With another month of basketball ahead of him, with some of the regions toughest teams, Brooks will be able to apply his skills in helping PG reach their goal of a post season birth.

  Rocklin High School’s Blue Chip recruit, Brendan Lane, post up on Brooks an attempts to steal the ball.

    Brendan Lane fouls Brooks at a Cal invitational last spring.

    Brook’s signature shot.

    Coach Deponte had this to say about Brooks:

  “Shauwn is one of the best pure shooters in high school basketball.  He can make shots spotting up or pulling up off of the dribble.  He has added two new dimensions to his offensive game, which has improved our offense’s effectiveness.  He is now taking his man off of the dribble and attacking the basket to score or to draw a second defender to set up a teammate for a kick out pass to them. Shauwn knows that he must improve his defense and has been working hard at doing just that. “

 
Coach Deponte, left in red shirt, watches as Shauwn drives to score against Darius Nelson #21.

    Shauwn’s interested in playing at the next level and has a short list, but is also interested in what other programs may have to offer. He’s currently interested in playing at:

  Cal
Stanford
Oregon
UC Riverside
UC Irvine
Pepperdine
Sacramento State
  Which ever school Brooks chooses to attend will receive a strong player that has gone head to head with some of the best and biggest players in the state. He can put it on the floor, drive the ball, and pop up for the solid three or drive it in for the guaranteed two. Give him a look, you will not be disappointed.

 
Just another day in the office for Brooks. Some folks load up at the water cooler, Brooks loads up at the

When I’m watching him play I know that if matched with players of his caliber at the next level he will truly reach his potential. I’ve watched his game film and was awed at the prospect of introducing such a talent to the Scout.com national network, let alone to GSP. This prompted me to attend his last game, which he won against Sheldon High School of Elk Grove. Franklin H.S. has had rough pre-season playing some of the best schools in the area.

I must say that I’m impressed at what Adam brings to the most important position on the field. He keeps the other team guessing as to what he’s going to do. It’s obvious that he knows how to read the defense and takes advantage of any weakness he sees. He’s not afraid to take a hit. Adam is definitely a natural at the QB position.

When a scout or coach looks at a Quarterback, whether high school, college or the pros, there’s certain qualities they look for. Many scouts have a checklist that includes physical, mental, and personality traits that they look for. These traits impact a quarterback’s success on the field. My checklist includes arm strength, competiveness, intelligence, mobility, release, size, and vision. This is the first time that I was able to check off every box.

Strength:

Adam’s arm strength is great. He throws the ball with such velocity that it doesn’t give the defense time to react. Hopefully when he’s paired up with premiere receivers at the next level they’ll be able to handle the rockets that he throws.

Competiveness:

Just watch a high light tape of Adam and that’ll be enough said. No one works harder on the field then Adam. When he’s not putting It in the air or in some ones hands, he’s running the ball himself and usually for a nice gain.

Intelligence:

Well I won’t go into Adam’s 3.3 + high school GPA and 1650 SAT. We’ll stick to football and I’ll just say that Adam seems to have a very high QB IQ. Adam has to know what every other skill player’s role is on the team, assess the situation on the fly, and make adjustments as necessary. The adjustment may mean running the ball himself, as he sometimes does to the dismay of the defense.

Mobility:

A QB’s mobility is just as important as his intelligence or arm strength. A QB that can move his feet and throw on the fly is a dangerous one. A QB doesn’t have to be speedy, but just able to move quickly and effortlessly behind the line of scrimmage. This comes in handy when a QB has inadequate pass protection as well. Adam knows how to move and move well.

Release:

Adam has an exceptional arm as well as a great quick release. It’s been said that QB’s with quick release’s are born with that ability while others have to work at it, but will never be great.

Size:

A quarterback that is 6’5” and 225 pounds is considered ideal for the NFL. Given Adam’s age I think hitting the 225 pound mark is a matter of time, since he’s 6’5” and 205 pounds now. 

Vision:

A QB has to have the sense of where to look, how to scan, look for the open man, read the defenses’ secondary all while keeping an eye on what’s happening near the line. Adam has great vision on the field and being 6’5” gives him a commanding view of the grid iron.

I was able to check off all the boxes for the attributes I mentioned above as it pertains to Adam. There’s been a lot written on Adam in the local papers, including that he’s the hottest quarterback in the region, and rightfully so.  For those who love stats, his stats are as follows:

40 completions against 76 attempts (53% completion) for 643 yds. Total passing. Adam has 263 yards rushing on 56 carries for an average of about 5 yds per carry. He has 4 touch downs so far this season.

Adam played basketball, the guard position, with Xavier Thames as a youth. Adam chose football while Xavier “X” Thames chose basketball. How uncanny that both athletes’ chose different paths but have both excelled at their chosen sport. Playing basketball must have added to the dexterity that Adam shows on the field. How many QB’s do you know that can dunk a basketball? Because Adam can.

Adam has seven schools of interest and is open to others as well. He’s interested in Sacramento State, UC Davis, Washington, Fresno State, Arizona, Boise State and San Diego State. If you have room in your program for a talented QB then make sure to give Adam a hard look. He’s the kind of QB that the opposing teams’ defense hates, but a football fan loves to watch. He keeps the ball moving forward