Five players to watch

•l; Brian Perez

LB/RB, Livingston

Quick enough to gain 7.3 yards per carry last fall (881 yards, 8 TDs), Wolves would love to see him rush for 1,300 yards. He’s one of four returning LBs, as well.

•l;Rey Vega

RB, Central Catholic

A two-year standout at Davis (3,500 yards, 42 TDs), he becomes part of an incredible crewast of RBs in WAC — no other league comes close to this quality.

•l;Ja’Quan Gardner

RB, Central Valley

Led district with 1,985 yards; his 198.5 yards a game was fifth in state, and he had 25 TDs. This is scary: As a junior, he’s even stronger this fall; defenses are nervous.

•l;Blake Hurst

QB, Ceres

Short on numbers, the Bulldogs and Hurst are going to fill the air with footballs. He’ll line up with multiple receiver sets — four and five at times — so get ready.

•l;Blake Escobar

LB/FB Central Catholic

‘Thumper’ is what they are calling Escobar. He bulked up so he could fill the LB role, and still be durable enough to be a crushing fullback in Raiders’ run game.