Bay Area Regional Semi-Finals: Top Players

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>This weekend was action packed with games across all Norcal sections with some surprising wins and upsets. Below we will highlight some of the top players that had terrific weeks in the Norcal semi-finals and punched their ticket to the California State Finals. The Greater Sacramento area list of top players will be released later this week. </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id='195562' first='John' last='Pau Mendoza'], San Ramon Valley HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>The Junior back has had a very nice season and will be one of the top backs in the Bay Area next Fall. Going over the 1k mark rushing this season, he exploded against a stout Marin Catholic defense on Saturday night and rushed for 150 yards and a score punching SRV's ticket to the state finals this weekend in Southern California. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB Ben Langford, San Marin HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Langford is one of the top offensive prospects across the North Bay and has a very physical running style, while an excellent receiver out of the backfield and when blocking in pass protection. Against Menlo in the semi-finals, he was a physical presence out of the backfield and showed contact balance, a burst through the first level and the ability to finish runs and get downhill in a hurry. He is a no brainer D-III+ college caliber player. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DB/WR [player_tooltip player_id='401256' first='Jaden' last='Jefferson'], De La Salle HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Jefferson is a kid that we will be hearing about a lot more as he progresses through his high school career. He is young, talented and not afraid to play against the best competition in the state. He is a twitchy, downhill and very physical corner that can play both press man and off while understanding zone coverage, baiting quarterbacks into bad throws and breaking well to ball carriers/taking good angles in the open field while exploding through contact. Against Folsom on Friday night, he showed fluid hips, recovery speed and is a patient player out there when on an island by himself. He is a no brainer power five kid by the time its all said and done. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id='282689' first='Derrick' last='Blanche'], De La Salle HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Blanche is a top running back in the state in the 2025 class and ran through a tough and physical Folsom front over the weekend. He is a low to the ground compact runner that waits for his blocks to develop, always falls forward and shows strong contact balance through the hole with a second level burst and can make defenders miss in the open field. He broke off a few very impressive runs against the Bulldogs and gained the tough yards when needed between the tackles. As he continues to grow and develop, he is a no brainer FBS caliber back and already has offers from FAU and North Texas. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>RB [player_tooltip player_id='261783' first='Jaivian' last='Thomas'], McClymonds HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Thomas is the top back in Norcal for the 2023 class and week in and week out shows out and goes for 200+ against very solid defenses. In the Norcal Semi-finals against a very impressive Lemoore squad, he exploded for 294 rushing yards and was unstoppable down the stretch of the game. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DE [player_tooltip player_id='25385' first='Dylan' last='Greeson'], De La Salle HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Greeson made the change this year from linebacker to defensive end and has been a terror coming off the edge for the Spartans while one of the most disruptive defensive lineman across Norcal this Fall. He is a relentless pass rusher with heavy hands, good leverage and creates immediate knock-back in the run game across the LOS. He flashes a quick use of hands with multiple pass rush moves at his disposal, while going speed to power on bigger tackles and winning with a low hat. Backside, he shows he can counter back inside and collapse the pocket with closing speed and brings a nice thump at contact. He is a high motor kid with a good football IQ. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>LB Brandon Broch, Bellarmine HS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Broch is one of the most active linebackers across the Bay Area and had a monster game against a explosive Vanden defense. He had 10 total tackles, 3 for loss and one FF in the Bells big time win before punching their ticket to state. Broch is a smart instinctual player that is a sure tackler in the box and thumps while able to take on blockers and make plays outside the tackles. He shows he can scrape over the top with plus lateral agility and can apply a pass rush as well while flashing closing speed and some cover abilities out of the backfield as well. </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>Other Top Performances from around the Bay...</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>RB Elijah Bow, Pittsburg HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>QB Jake Bianchi, Menlo School </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>DL Avery Romain, Menlo school </em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>QB [player_tooltip player_id='406693' first='Toa' last='Faavae'], De La Salle HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>RB Ferrari Miller, McClymonds HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>LB Elijah Cota, Manteca HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>DL [player_tooltip player_id='384895' first='Riley' last='Gann'], San Ramon Valley HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>RB Ben Pfaff, Bellarmine HS</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->