Bay Area News Group player of the year: Los Gatos’ Jaylen Thomas
Jaylen Thomas grew up in a competitive household, with two sisters and a mother who played Division I softball, and a dad who starred in football.
“It’s all about the heart,” Thomas said. “it’s always been a competition about who is the best.”
As a senior at Los Gatos, there was little doubt who the best was when the Central Coast Section Division I champions needed a big play.
Thomas caught 64 passes for 1,180 yards and 14 touchdowns, rushed for two scores, returned a kickoff for another touchdown, had five interceptions, punted, was among the team leaders in tackles, and even threw two touchdowns.
“It’s just part of me to be the guy who everyone looks to to make the big play,” Thomas said.
For this, Thomas was selected over several deserving candidates for Bay Area News Group player of the year. He also is the news organization’s Santa Clara County player of the year.
The 6-foot Swiss army knife was at his best in the big moments. Thomas sealed Los Gatos’ regular season win over Wilcox with an interception. A few weeks later, he ended his rival’s season by scoring four first-half touchdowns in three different ways to capture the section crown.
Thomas caught a touchdown in the NorCal 2-A championship game, and then sparked a wild comeback in the 2-A state final by catching and rushing for a touchdown.
“He gave us everything, all year long,” Los Gatos coach Mark Krail said. “We rode him hard all year long, and he responded.”
The Bay Area hasn’t seen the last of Thomas on a football field. He will continue the family legacy at San Jose State, where his parents and siblings attended.
“I mean, getting to play at the same school as my parents and two older sisters is just God’s work,” Thomas said. “It’s truly something special. I’ve been able to watch my two sisters grind their whole lives and see how far it has taken them. Now, my work is beginning to pay off, but the journey is just getting started.”
– Joseph Dycus
BANG’s Alameda County player of the year: McClymonds’ Troy Hill
McClymonds linebacker Troy Hill holds up the ball after recovering a fumble against Bishop O’Dowd. (Joseph Dycus/Bay Area News Group)
McClymonds dresses, on a good night, 25 or so players.
Oakland’s perennial champion doesn’t need any more than that to dominate the section, since those 25 or so make up the majority of the best players in the city.
And of those select few, no player was more dominant than Troy Hill, the pass-rushing wrecking-ball who had 15.5 sacks, 17 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and an interception returned for a touchdown. He also played wide receiver.
“We don’t have that many people, so we have to go both ways,” Hill said.
For this, Hill was our staff’s choice Alameda County Bay Area News Group player of the year.
Those stats would have been even gaudier had McClymonds not waxed every league opponent en route to another section title in coach Michael Peters’ final season.
“And we tried our best to make it back to state, too,” Hill said.
Led by Hill, McClymonds outscored its section opponents 306-0 in six running clock victories, including a game against Oakland High where the clock started running after one quarter.
In a 56-0 victory over Castlemont, Hill had five tackles for loss, four sacks, and returned a fumble and interception for touchdowns.
He didn’t just put up great stats against overmatched opponents. Facing tougher competition in NorCal, Hill had three sacks against eventual 3-A state champion Marin Catholic.
Hill will attend a junior college for the next couple of years, where he hopes to add weight to his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame.
“I’m gonna work on some stuff, get better for the next two years, and hopefully transfer out and go to a bigger school,” Hill said.
– Joseph Dycus
BANG’s Contra Costa County player of the year: SRV’s Marco Jones
San Ramon Valley’s Marco Jones runs after catching a pass against California in October. (Douglas Zimmerman/Special to the Bay Area News Group)
For any team that played San Ramon Valley this fall, one number on the scouting report was circled in the boldest shade of red.
Twenty-three.
Four-star middle linebacker Marco Jones made that number jump through the screen, dominating opponents with size and quickness as he gobbled up ballcarriers play after play.
When the 6-foot-5, 230-pound junior wasn’t bringing down runners, he chased down passes, as he did in the North Coast Section Division I championship game against Pittsburg.
Jones’ incredible pick-six in the fourth quarter gave sagging San Ramon Valley a shot to stage a dramatic comeback.
The Wolves ultimately lost, 37-21, but Jones had another monster game, finishing with 15 tackles and the interception.
Jones’ dominance on the field – plus significant recruiting interest from most of college football’s major programs – made him our choice for the Bay Area News Group’s Contra Costa County player of the year.
A week before the Pittsburg game, in the NCS Open Division final against De La Salle, Jones had a season-best 22 tackles and an interception in a 17-7 loss.
Asked for his thoughts about his team’s go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter, DLS coach Justin Alumbaugh said, “Block 23 is what I was thinking.”
No doubt, Alumbaugh wasn’t the only coach to feel that way this season.
Jones had double-digit tackles in 10 of his team’s 13 games, finishing with 166. He averaged 12.8 per game for one of the Bay Area’s top teams.
The season didn’t end with more hardware in SRV’s trophy case – the Wolves won section and regional titles in 2022 – but Jones spoke with pride after the team’s final game.
He said he is going to most remember the brotherhood the Wolves built.
“We’re not the most talented team possible,” Jones said. “We don’t have 17 D-1 guys. We don’t have all the glitz and glamor. But we work hard. Every time we’re in the weight room, every single person is in there lifting. Every single person is in there with their head down, music in their ears, getting after it.
“I am proud of everybody on our team. We had a good run. To be quite honest, we played our hearts out. Obviously not the ending that we wanted. But stuff happens. We’re going to come back stronger next year.”
– Darren Sabedra
BANG’s San Mateo County player of the year: Serra’s Jabari Mann
Serra running back Jabari Mann dashes up the sideline against Folsom in the 2023 season opener. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
On a team with less talent than Serra, Jabari Mann no doubt would have stood out more than he did for the San Mateo powerhouse, probably by a significant margin.
He was that good.
The linebacker hit hard. Made big plays. And did what was asked of him on offense, too, even if the ask meant lining up under center in the Wildcat formation against powerhouse Mater Dei-Santa Ana in the Open Division state championship game.
Mann was a big-time player on a big-time team, a player whose varsity career began as a freshman during the abbreviated spring pandemic season in 2021 and ended with Serra cemented as the No. 1 program in Northern California.
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The Padres’ heralded senior class, of which nine are moving on to four-year college programs, elevated the school to new heights.
Mann was a key contributor to the rise, a constant presence among the sea of players who helped Serra go undefeated in the West Catholic Athletic League in 2022 and 2023.
For this, the San Jose State-bound Mann is the Bay Area News Group’s San Mateo County player of the year for the second consecutive season.
Among Mann’s highlights this season were the 10 tackles he had in a 28-0 victory over De La Salle and the seven he made in a 21-14 win over Folsom, the two results that kept Serra at the top of the NorCal rankings.
His career ended with a 35-0 loss to Mater Dei.
“It didn’t end how I wanted it to,” Mann said. “But I love my team. I love what we did this year. Proud of the guys, proud of the coaches for getting us here every year.”
Asked what he’ll remember about his Serra experience, Mann added, “I am going to remember all the football part, all the coaches. They’re so loving and caring. I’ve never seen any coaches game planning as much as our coaches do. They just put so much time into us, so much care into us, and I appreciate them for that. I love my teammates. I love that they trust me and I love that I can trust them no matter what.”
– Darren Sabedra
ALL-BANG football 2023
Coming Wednesday
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Utility players
Coming Thursday
Kickers-punters
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.
