SOUTH COUNTY — Soledad High quarterback Robbie SantaAna and King City’s Clay Barbree were selected as major award winners in the Mission Trail Athletic League’s All-League football team.
SantaAna was MTAL Offensive Player of the Year and Barbree was the Co-Defensive Player of the Year with Carson Spence of Scotts Valley. Rashaan Ward of Carmel was the Back of the Year and Robert Brown of Carmel was the Lineman of the Year. Co-Elgie Bellizio Soledad head coach Frankie Berlanga was the Coach of the Year.
SantaAna was the MTAL first-team quarterback and guided the Aztecs to the league championship. Barbree was first-team as a tight end and was first-team as a defensive lineman. Soledad lineman Geronimo Serrano was a first-team selection at center on offense and as a defensive lineman.
“Robbie (SantaAna), is the most talented player in the MTAL,” said Frankie Berlanga. “He allows us to open up the playbook and take risks down field. What he did for us this season helped us set offensive records in school collectively and individually. Geronimo (Serrano), is a team captain and has been a force for us on both sides of the ball. Not only is he dependable to perform at a high level but his intelligence helps us keep everything synchronized up front.”
King City head coach Mac Villanueva praised the play of Barbree and first-team offense teammate Luis Briseno.
“Barbree was the league leader in quarterback sacks and was a big weapon on offense seeing double coverage every game and still produced good offensive numbers,” said Villanueva. “Briseno was the guy who took advantage of all the attention that Barbree received and was one of the top receivers in the league in receptions, yards, and touchdowns. I never worry about replacing an impact player like Barbree. It’s the nature of high school football. We only have these young men for 2-3 years on varsity and then we get a new group and those new groups we are lucky to have those 2 for three impact players who step up to help us.”
Offensive first-team selections were: Emanuel Ortega (Soledad) running back; Mark Carling (Scotts Valley) running back; Rashaan Ward (Carmel) receiver; Luis Briseno (King City) receiver; Angel Olivas (Soledad) receiver; Luke Melcher (Carmel) receiver; Chris Shaw (Scott Valley) tackle; David Cruz (Soledad) tackle; Takaya Cole (Carmel) guard; David Nicolson (Scotts Valley) guard.
On the defensive side of the ball, Barbree and Serrano were joined on the MTAL defensive first-team by: Robert Brown (Carmel) defensive line; Cameron Deleeuw (Scotts Valley) defensive line; Zach Rossi (Carmel) defensive line; Carson Spence (Scotts Valley) linebacker; Anthony Locatelli (Scott Valley) linebacker); Victor Ocampo (Soledad) linebacker; Kyle Rajala (Scotts Valley) defensive back; Aaron Rodriguez (Soledad) defensive back; Zach DeZee (Carmel) safety; Trent Walker (Scotts Valley) safety; Ulises Uribe (Soledad) kicker/punter.
Second team offense: Kai Lee (Carmel) quarterback; Dakota Mornhinweg (Carmel) running back; Anthony Locatelli (Scotts Valley) running back; Nico Staehle (Carmel) receiver; Aaron Rodriguez (Soledad) receiver; Howard Forehan (San Lorenzo Valley) receiver; Jackson Williams (Carmel) tackle; Victor Ocampo (Soledad) tackle; Nathaniel Perez (King City) guard; Gabe Michaud (San Lorenzo Valley) guard; Dalton Quilty (Carmel) center.
Second team defense: Christian Stapleton (Carmel) defensive lineman; Collin Manning (San Lorenzo Valley) defensive lineman; Nathaniel Perez (King City) defensive lineman); Elias Avalos (Scotts Valley) defensive lineman; David Cruz (Soledad) defensive lineman;
Soledad honorable mention All-MTAL players were Chad Toy and Marcus Morales. King City’s honorable All-MTAL players were: Daniel Cuevas, Francisco Sandoval, Aaron Leonard, and Alex Villasenor.
