Avina, Rodgers lead Valley’s Got Talent to Quick 6 championship

A collection of the Stanislaus District’s top high school football players captured the Quick 6 Golden State 7-on-7 Championship at Valley Christian High in San Jose.

Valley’s Got Talent (VGT) defeated Epic 7 of San Jose with a defensive stand in the final minute to complete a come-from-behind victory at the invitation-only event Saturday.

Sonora High’s Kane Rodgers, an All-District and MaxPreps’ Sophomore of the Year for the Sac-Joaquin Section, intercepted a pass to seal the 17-16 win.

Epic 7, sponsored by former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer, was the No. 1 overall seed.

Rodgers “made a great read,” said VGT coach Les Bonsu, also the owner of Bonsu Elite Athletics in Ceres. “He said he saw the play numerous times at safety. When we moved him up to corner, he saw it again, sat in the hole and picked it.”

VGT was seeded third and defeated Bay Area-based teams About that Action, Kenion (twice) and 510 Fitness (twice) en route to the final. The tournament title was the first of the spring season for a team that began to take shape with tryouts in January.

In addition to Rodgers, the roster for the Quick 6 Golden State 7-on-7 Championship included sophomore Bobby Avina of Gregori, junior Chris Lubinsky of Ceres, junior Marcellus Boykins of Ceres, senior Daniel Giannosa of Big Valley Christian, sophomore Marcus Aponte of St. Mary’s, senior Osai Brown of McNair, senior Darius Livingston of Bear Creek, junior Tre Wortham of Bear Creek and senior Brandon Sanders of St. Mary’s.

“It’s been a long season, but this is definitely a great way to end the season … if that’s our last game,” said Bonsu, who may enter VGT in a showcase at Cal on June 4.

“We only had two kids back from last year. Everyone was new, but the kids definitely deserved this.”

Avina and Rodgers were named the tournament’s offensive and defensive MVPs, respectively.

Bonsu believes Avina, a sophomore quarterback, has a chance to be special at Gregori, where coach Jason McCoy will need to replace two-year starter Cam Calton (2,341 career passing yards, 19 touchdowns).

“I think that kid is going to have a tremendous season. He’s gotten so much better,” Bonsu said. “If he doesn’t play as well as he did, we don’t have a chance over the weekend.”

Hoogendoorn signs – Carsyn Hoogendoorn will continue her soccer dream close to home. The leading scorer for the Modesto Christian girls soccer team has signed with Cal State East Bay.

“Carsyn immediately caught my attention,” East Bay coach Amy Gerace said in a news release. “She is very technical, reads the game extremely well, and makes players around her better. She is also versatile and could play in the midfield or up top. Carsyn has a fantastic work rate and is very coachable. She is a team player and will fit in very well with this group. I’m excited to have her join our program.”

The Pioneers land one of the state’s top high school playmakers. Hoogendoorn has 30 goals and 14 assists for the Crusaders, seeded No. 1 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs.

Modesto Christian begins its pursuit of a fourth section banner Thursday against No. 8 Millennium.

Hoogendoorn is ranked seventh in the state in goals, according to MaxPreps, and trails only Ripon sophomore Cindy Alvarez (31) in the Stanislaus District.

East Bay competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, also home to Cal State Stanislaus.

The Pioneers have mined the Stanislaus District for talent through the years and will return four players with local ties: midfielder Tia Sidtikun of Ripon; defender Kianna Lamont of East Union; defender Laura McIntosh of Atwater; and midfielder Sialei Manuleleua of Manteca.

All-WAC volleyball – Jonathan Collazo of Stone Ridge Christian was named the Western Athletic Conference MVP for the inaugural season of boys volleyball in the Stanislaus District.

Collazo, a junior, led the Knights to the WAC title and a berth in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs. Stone Ridge Christian was beaten in five games by Vacaville Christian.

Ken Shaw was named Coach of the Year for guiding the Knights to a 15-2 record, including 13-1 in conference play.

Patterson senior Edrian Zulueta is the MVP setter. The Tigers finished second in the WAC and were the only team to beat Stone Ridge Christian during the regular season. Patterson was swept in the first round of the D-II playoffs by Bear River.

Seven players were named to the all-conference first team, including junior Austin Crain and sophomore Cristian Garcia of Ceres, senior Jarod Iatona and senior Jacob Vierra of El Capitan, senior Avery Dehoyos and junior Jonathen Pimental of Patterson, and junior Davis Greenwood of Stone Ridge Christian.

The second team is comprised of senior Ger Chang of El Capitan, senior Hugo Gonzalez of Patterson, junior Justin Jones of Stone Ridge Christian, junior Wyatt Ogden of Ceres, sophomore Adrian Pacheco of Livingston, and sophomore Mario Valtierra of Pacheco.

Tweetables – The Gregori girls track and field program completed another perfect tour through the Modesto Metro Conference. The Jaguars are 36-0 in MMC duals since the school opened. ... The East Union softball team will be the No. 1 seed out of the Valley Oak League after winning a coin flip with co-champion Oakdale.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Avina, Rodgers lead Valley’s Got Talent to Quick 6 championship."