Pittsburg’s Jewelous Walls (1) celebrates after sacking Antioch quarterback Yusef Jenkins (9) in the first quarter of their 105th Big Little Game at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Calif., on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023. Pittsburg defeated Antioch 55-6. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FOOTBALL 2023
DEFENSIVE LINE
First team
Chris Biller, De La Salle, 6-0, 220, senior
First-team all-EBAL Mountain. Led NorCal 1-AA champs with 22 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Had four TFL and 2.0 sacks in a victory over El Cerrito.
Troy Hill, McClymonds, 6-2, 210, senior
Alameda County player of the year and first-team all-OAL. Had 15.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss for a team that did not allow a point in six league games, and had three sacks in NorCal game at Marin Catholic.
Collin Tahitua, Serra, 6-0, 230, senior
WCAL co-defensive lineman of the year. One of the stars of a defense that did not allow over 17 points in a regular season game.
Jewelous Walls, Pittsburg, 6-3, 225, junior
BVAL defensive lineman of the year. Had 9.0 sacks and 86 tackles for NCS Division I champions.
Second team
Lyndon Bailey, Los Gatos, 6-4, 220, senior
PAL Bay co-defensive lineman of the year. Had 73 tackles and 4.0 sacks for CCS Division I and NorCal 2-A champions.
Aseli Fangupo, Sacred Heart Prep, 5-10, 275, junior
PAL Bay co-defensive lineman of the year. Had 2.0 sacks, 3.0 tackles for loss and 36 total tackles.
Matthew Johnson, De La Salle, 6-5, 250, junior
First-team all-EBAL Mountain. Had 13.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks for NorCal champions as De La Salle also won its 31st consecutive NCS title.
Rayne Mayo Jr., Valley Christian, 6-3, 285, senior
WCAL co-defensive lineman of the year. Had 4.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss as Valley Christian was the only team to hold Serra under 30 points (24) in the regular season.
Honorable mention
Isaac Achica, Oak Grove, junior
Jordan Alemania, Piedmont, junior
Jonathan Blanchard, Leigh, junior
Nalesoni Fakava, San Mateo, senior
Mason Furtado, Woodside, senior
Angel Gonzalez, Clayton Valley Charter, senior
Asher Kolodziej, St. Francis, junior
Giovanni Kovacs, Amador Valley, senior
Francis Mone, Branham, senior
Timothy Nguyen, Salesian, senior
Zurik Peery, Live Oak, junior
Sione Pekipaki, Kennedy-Richmond, junior
Ethan Price, The King’s Academy, senior
Luke Richey, Live Oak, senior
Bradley Ruffin, Pittsburg, junior
Mikatoa Scanlan, Archbishop Riordan, senior
Jack Schlicher, California, senior
Jordan Snowden, Benicia, senior
Gannon Stein, Fremont-Sunnyvale, senior
Pauliasi Taulava, Tennyson, senior
ALL-BANG football 2023
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Utility players
Offensive linemen
Running backs
Wide receivers-tight ends
Athletes
Quarterbacks
Those eligible for all-BANG honors come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. The news organization’s high school sports staff chooses the players and coaches.
Originally published at Joseph Dycus, Darren Sabedra