Central Section Playoffs: Opening Week Offensive Breakout Stars

Sever is one of the top rushers across the central valley and has been having a great Junior season so far through the first 11 weeks of play for Buchanan. He is a very well balanced back that has power, speed and elusiveness in the hole and is extremely tough to take down in the open field. He shows a strong initial burst, vision in tight spaces and runs behind his pads with good physicality and looks for contact in the hole while driving his legs through tacklers. In the open field he displays a third level gear to create seperation and is a natural pass catcher out of the backfield that should draw college attention this off-season. He erupted on Friday night against Clovis North and rushed for nearly 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and should have another big showing in the central section quarter-finals.     Devany is perhaps one of the more under-rated signal callers across the central section and put together a stellar campaign in 2025 with still two years left in his prep career. He is a strong armed passer with a quick release, flicks the ball downfield and can fit it into tight windows with throw anticipation and good zip on the ball at the second two levels. He has a high IQ, strong pocket presence and can move around while keeping his eyes downfield and throwing on the run and off-platform without losing zip or ball placement. His ability to buy time with his legs, scramble and create plays while having very impressive throwing mechanics makes him a very intriguing prospect that should start seeing FCS+ interest/offers this off-season. He exploded in the opening round against Clovis North and threw for over 280 yards and 3 scores and has the Bears moving on into next week.     Huerta has really came into his own through this season on both sides of the ball, and is a twitchy and elusive athlete with a high IQ and outstanding ball skills at the POA. He runs precise routes and can get downfield seperation with good ball skills and strong hands when going up to get the ball in traffic. After the catch he flashes some wiggle and cutback abilities while making defenders miss in space and doubles as an elite cover corner as well. Defensively, he plays with disciplined eyes, is physical near the line of scrimmage and can close on ball carriers quickly while able to come up and help in run support as well. He had a big Friday night and erupted for 2 interceptions and 1 receiving touchdown. Golden West plays Kennedy-Delano on Friday night for a big time quarter-final matchup.     Torres is one of the best available signal callers in the northern California region and has been delivering big time performances week in and week out for Kerman through his final prep season. He has the mechanics and IQ needed for the college level and is very athletic in the pocket with a strong arm downfield and touch over the top while able to spread the ball around to multiple weapons. Torres has exploded onto the scene this year and thrown for 2,600 yards and 30 touchdowns while adding another 2 scores rushing. Friday night in the opening round of post-season play was no different as he threw for a ridiculous 5 touchdowns and had 275 yards through the air.     Nzoule has had an outstanding breakout Junior campaign for Patterson so far this year, and had another stellar performance in the opening week of the playoffs on Friday night. He is a exciting and explosive runner with natural lean, leg drive through contact and can win in tight windows with cutback abilities and natural hands out of the backfield while quickly knifing upfield. Heading into the off-season and next year, he will be one of the top returning stars across the section in the '27 class and should draw plenty of next level interest. In the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin section playoffs, he rushed for over 170 yards and 3 scores and has finished the season off strong.