Bay Area High School Sports. Basketball (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) boys Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Nov. 28-Dec. 3.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and, starting Sept. 30, in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Ryan Beasley, Dougherty Valley basketball: The senior standout scored 37 points to lead Dougherty Valley to a 68-52 victory over Vanden-Fairfield at the Oscar Frayer Invitational at Moreau Catholic on Saturday. Earlier in the week, the USF commit scored 22 points in a 95-51 rout of Irvington.
Elijah Bow, Pittsburg football: On a cold and rainy night, the sophomore rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries as Pittsburg beat visiting Manteca 35-14 for the Northern California Division 1-A championship. Both touchdowns came in the third quarter as Pittsburg stretched its lead to 20 points. The Pirates will play for the 1-A state title Saturday against Liberty-Bakersfield in Mission Viejo.
Adolfo Garcia, Hercules soccer: The senior piled up the points in a 5-0 victory over Swett, finishing with two goals and two assists as Hercules evened its record to 1-1 on the season.
Johnathan Guerrero, De La Salle football: In a tense battle on a chilly night at Folsom, the junior defensive back intercepted a pass in the waning seconds of the first half Friday to set up a touchdown that stretched a three-point lead to 10 at the break. Guerrero finished with eight tackles (seven solo) and a sack — along with the interception — as De La Salle won the NorCal Division 1-AA title 17-14. The Spartans will play Lincoln-San Diego for the 1-AA state championship on Friday in Mission Viejo.
Sam Norris, Sacred Heart Prep basketball: The senior made the all-tournament team at Riordan’s Crusader Classic, averaging 19.3 points over three games. He scored 21 in a 73-55 win over Menlo School and 17 in a 63-60 victory over Tamalpais. In a 52-50 loss to University, Norris had 20 points.
Ben Pfaff, Bellarmine football: The senior ran for 140 yards in 21 carries and scored two touchdowns to help lead the Bells to a 35-21 victory over Vanden-Fairfield in the NorCal Division 3-A championship game at San Jose City College on Saturday night. The Bells will return to SJCC on Saturday to play Laguna Hills for the 3-A state title.
Javier Rocha, Del Mar soccer: The freshman scored a goal and assisted on another in a 3-1 victory over James Lick. Later in the week, he found the back of the net in a 2-0 win over Mt. Pleasant as Del Mar improved to 4-1.
Derek Sangster, Archbishop Mitty basketball: Facing the host team at the Oscar Frayer Invitational on Saturday, the Princeton-bound senior finished with 30 points as Mitty defeated Moreau Catholic 86-66 to improve to 2-0.
Austin Shelton, San Ramon Valley football: With his team trailing by a point, 18 seconds on the clock and a chilly rain falling, the junior split the uprights from 37 yards out to lift host San Ramon Valley to a 19-17 victory over Marin Catholic for the NorCal Division 2-A championship on Saturday night. Shelton also kicked a 35-yard field goal in the third quarter. SRV will play Granite Hills-El Cajon for the 2-A state title on Saturday in Mission Viejo.
Maddox Wu, Pinole Valley football: Completed 8 of 11 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns as Pinole Valley captured the Division 7-AA state championship on Saturday night with a 34-21 victory at Mendota. The win followed a playoff run that included the program’s first North Coast Section championship since 1979 and completed a 9-4 season for the Spartans.
Originally published at Darren Sabedra