Central Catholic’s Rice 2.0 leads cast of stars filling big shoes in 2016

When your last name is Rice and you carry the football for the Central Catholic High School football team, there is pressure.

Jared Rice spent his junior season backing up two-time All-District Player of the Year Justin Rice, now a freshman at Fresno State and the only player in Stanislaus District history to record two 2,000-yard seasons.

The younger Rice, no relation, realized he would have big shoes to fill this fall.

Not only was Justin Rice the area’s best football player, but he guided the Raiders to a fourth straight Sac-Joaquin Section and CIF small-school State Bowl title.

“There was a lot of pressure, and everyone kept reminding me of it,” Jared Rice said. “Justin was close to me. Being under his wing for those two great seasons and playing in all those big games was a great experience for me. I was his backup, and it helped playing behind him.”

Now it’s his turn.

After a roller-coaster start to the season, one that saw him debut with 272 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Marin Catholic-Kentfield✔ and then sit out the first half of an ugly loss to St. Mary’s because of disciplinary reasons, Rice is stirring up images of, well, the other Rice.

Jared Rice has six straight 100-yard games, including three with 170 yards or more. In that span, he’s watched his season totals soar. He ranks among the Stanislaus District’s rushing leaders with 1,334 yards and 15 touchdowns following Friday’s 41-0 homecoming win over East Union.

Central Catholic’s prospects have improved as Rice has gained speed. The Raiders (7-2, 6-0 Valley Oak League) limped into VOL play at 1-2 but have reeled off six consecutive wins and now rank among the top teams in many Division II prognostications.

“I feel like I’ve gotten better at reading holes, knowing where to go on the field and how to be patient when I get the ball,” Rice said. “Most people think it’s all about speed and hitting the hole as hard as you can. That’s still important, but through Justin and other running backs I know, being strategic and patient are just as important.”

While he may fall short of the 2,000-yard club, Rice’s versatility cannot be understated. He’s a dynamo on kick returns and a ball-hawking safety. He has two kickoff returns and an interception return, giving him a team-high 15 total touchdowns.

“I’m trying to do my part,” he said. “Whatever coach needs me to do, I’m going to go out there and do it. That’s been part of my maturity and becoming that leader. I think I’ve developed into that type of player.”

Rice is one of a handful of stars filling big shoes this fall. His counterparts in Friday’s VOL finale, Will Semone and Cameron Cherry, have filled vacancies in Oakdale’s Wing-T offense left behind by record-setting graduates Brad Aquino and Austin Burke.

Aquino set the program record for rushing yards and touchdowns in a season, while Burke averaged a program-best 11.7 yards per carry en route to a 1,200-yard season. Semone topped 1,000 yards Friday in a 30-22 loss to Manteca, while Cherry is fast approaching the milestone. He would be the seventh Mustang in three years to log a 1,000-yard season.

On the West Side, quarterback Josh Barron has kept high-scoring Orestimba (8-1, 6-0 Southern League) firing on all cylinders. A year ago, the Warriors fielded an all-time backfield with 2,000-yard running back Austin Martins and do-everything quarterback Joe Sheldon. The duo led Orestimba to a perfect regular season, a Southern League title and a semifinal appearance in the Division V playoffs.

Martins is now a freshman at Linfield College in Oregon, while Sheldon has been hand-picked to run Modesto Junior College’s NASCAR offense in the next year or two.

While Martins was the heartbeat of that Orestimba team, Sheldon was a dependable spread triggerman. With his athleticism, coach Aaron Souza often referred to Sheldon as the perfect weapon.

Barron may not be the “perfect weapon,” but he’s earned Souza’s trust by being efficient with the football. The 6-foot-1 senior has quietly assembled a Sheldon-like season. He’s thrown 21 touchdown passes against just three interceptions and rushed for four scores.

Barron’s most important intangible: He’s a winner. Orestimba clinched its second consecutive SL title last week at Delhi and hasn’t lost since a 36-0 shutout to Mendota, a team projected to play for a state title this fall.

Speaking of state title hopes, Sonora (9-0, 5-0 Mother Lode League) has blossomed into a small-school contender under first-year quarterback Josh Harris, who had the unenviable task of following Sammy Page, a charismatic two-year starter.

In 2015, when linebacker Bradley Canepa was lost for the season with a lacerated kidney, Page carried the Wildcats to MLL and Division V titles. The latter earned Sonora a berth in a CIF regional bowl, the first in school history. The Wildcats hosted Hanford at Dunlavy Field, where their dream season came to a screeching halt.

Harris, though, was a revelation over the offseason, developing a voice his teammates listened to and coaches respected. He organized team workouts and took Page’s place on the leadership counsel.

Physically, there are few quarterbacks in the Stanislaus District with his skill set. Harris moves like a running back and is strong enough to win one-on-one battles. He was the Wildcats’ leader in rushing, all-purpose yards and total touchdowns entering Friday’s victory over Argonaut.

Downey senior Malcome Green has been another all-purpose dynamo after an injury-shortened 2015 season. He missed nearly a month with an injury and then watched as two-way player Tyran Daniels was given a bigger stake in the offense.

Green had just six carries in a season-ending loss to Granite Bay, two fewer than Daniels, now playing at Fresno City. Daniels proved to be the most dynamic athlete in the Modesto Metro Conference, the Swiss Army knife in coach Jeremy Plaa’s arsenal.

This fall, Green has been just as dynamic, and the result has been a balanced attack. Green’s carries (127), yards (730) and yards per carry (6.9) are up, and he’s on pace to surpass his reception total from last fall.

Defensively, he’s even contributed an interception.

Whether it was a conscious decision or a natural progression, today’s high school stars have met – and in some cases, exceeded – the standard set by their predecessors.

“I knew there were big shoes to fill,” Jared Rice said, “but I knew it was going to be fun. I looked forward to the challenge. Ask anyone – I’m the most competitive guy around. My dad would remind me all summer. He’d say, ‘Keep working hard. You know you have big shoes to fill next year.’ All summer long, that was in the back of my head. I had to step up.”

This story was originally published October 30, 2016 at 7:48 PM with the headline "Central Catholic’s Rice 2.0 leads cast of stars filling big shoes in 2016."