Canepa keeps Mother Lode League MVP in Sonora

Bradley Canepa spent the final month of the football season in street clothes.

An injury reduced the Sonora High School star to a spectator, a thinning one at that. Canepa lost nearly 30 pounds while recovering from a lacerated kidney, and though his No. 29 jersey was nowhere to be found on the field, his presence could be felt everywhere.

Canepa maintained his role as captain, walking out with the others for the coin flip. He even cheered on his replacements – Nate Gookin and Brett McCutchen at fullback, Blake Graham and Killian Rosko at middle linebacker.

That type of leadership, coupled with his seek-and-destroy demeanor on both sides of the ball, made a heavy impression on Mother Lode League coaches.

Canepa was named the league’s MVP, matching the accomplishments of cousin and 2014 graduate Billy Kiriluk, the MLL’s top player as a fullback and linebacker.

“The biggest thing about Bradley, and the other coaches can attest to this, they had to game plan for him on both sides of the ball, whether it was him busting it in from a few yards or bringing that physicality at the point of attack,” Sonora coach Bryan Craig said. “That’s what made him so valuable. For us, his leadership and physicality made him a perfect candidate for the MVP award.”

The league’s major awards were shared by its top teams. Sonora, which went 6-0 in league, was followed by Calaveras, which finished 5-1 and reached the the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV semifinals.

Gookin was the Defensive Player of the Year after ranking among the section’s leaders in sacks, while Calaveras quarterback Dylan Byrd was Offensive Player of the Year and teammate Garrett Heffington the Lineman of the Year.

Craig garnered Coach of the Year. In two seasons in the MLL, his Wildcats are 12-0 with two championships, two section final appearances and a section championship. Craig said he lobbied other coaches to change the award to “Coaching Staff of the Year.”

“My coaching staff does 90 percent of the work,” Craig said. “I’m the guy who takes the heat and gets the credit, but they’re the ones who do the work. The chemistry I’ve had the last two years with this group is probably the best I’ve had.”

Canepa missed the final five games of the regular season while recovering from a small laceration of his kidney. In jeans and a letterman jacket, he watched as the Wildcats completed their quest for a section championship.

Sonora rallied to beat defending Division V champion Bear River, scoring 35 unanswered points for a 42-30 victory. With each section champion guaranteed a berth in a California Interscholastic Federation regional bowl, Sonora found itself on the cusp of its first state championship.

The Wildcats were placed in the Northern California Division IV-AA bowl and awarded a home game against Hanford. The Bullpups and their spread offense were too much for Sonora in a 42-18 loss. Hanford won the Division IV-AA state championship.

Sonora will have the pieces to be back in contention next fall. Canepa is the anchoring point. Despite missing a third of the season, the 5-foot-11, 230-pound junior led the Wildcats in rushing touchdowns with 11 and tied for fourth in tackles with 66.

His per-game average of 7.3 tackles was third to Gookin (8.8) and first-team safety Kane Rodgers (8.5).

Gookin, another tough-as-nails junior, paced Sonora with 97 tackles, including 13 for a loss, and 16.5 sacks. He also forced one fumble and stepped in as starting fullback when Canepa went down. Gookin finished with a team-high 734 yards and eight touchdowns.

“From Day One, he was in the backfield,” Craig said. “He was a force. We expected great things, but not to that degree.”

Rodgers is one of the top underclassmen in the Stanislaus District. He tied a school record with 11 interceptions, including four in a nonconference victory at Lodi and two in the section final. He also had 93 tackles, including 85 solo stops.

Sonora had six others on the first team: quarterback Sammy Page; Rosko, as an offensive lineman and middle linebacker; offensive lineman Graham; Wyatt Faughnan, as a running back and safety; defensive end Garrett Bozzo; and defensive lineman Shane Petrey.

Protected by a line bolstered by Heffington, a 6-5, 280-pound senior, Byrd passed for 1,320 yards and 16 touchdowns through the first 11 games, according to MaxPreps. He threw at least two touchdown passes in four consecutive games.

Heffington and Byrd were joined on the first team by 10 Redskins teammates: center John Kelley, tight end Shane Torre, wide receiver Trevor Ramirez, running back Anthony Giangregorio, defensive ends Nathan Threet and Caleb Hodgson, defensive lineman Austin Garant, linebackers Nick Quinday and Wade McCann and defensive back J.J. Gonzalez.

This story was originally published December 27, 2015 at 3:53 PM with the headline "Canepa keeps Mother Lode League MVP in Sonora."