Merced Sun-Star honors fall male high school athletes of the year

Youlas Dickson’s favorite play he made this year came against Tracy in the second game of the season.

It was an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that came in the first quarter against the Bulldogs.

“I think it’s my favorite because how it set the tone for the game,” Dickson said. “We had lost to Tracy the last two times we’ve played them. That kickoff return really lit a spark.”

It was one of seven kick returns for the Thunder star this year.

Dickson was a game-changer with his big-play ability, helping lead Buhach Colony to a Central California Conference championship and a perfect 10-0 run through the regular season.

Dickson was named the CCC Most Valuable Player by the conference coaches. Dickson is also the Merced Sun-Star Football Player of the Year.

“The easiest way to say it is every time he touched the ball, he was dynamic enough to be a game-changer,” said Buhach Colony coach Kevin Navarra.

Dickson was a big play waiting to happen.

He rushed for 648 yards and 10 touchdowns on just 60 carries. He averaged 10.8 yards per carry with a long of 85 yards. He caught seven balls for 236 yards for an average of 33.7 yards per catch.

He also averaged 46.9 yards on kickoff returns and 20.5 yards on punt returns. He scored a total of 18 touchdowns.

He was also a lock-down cornerback, earning the most all-conference votes by the coaches in the CCC.

“Every time we went down it seemed like he would follow it up with a big play,” Navarra said. “It could be a kickoff or punt return, or a sweep play.”

Eventually teams stopped kicking and punting his way late in the season.

Dickson says he loves the way a big play can change the game.

“It’s cool,” he said. “Everyone is showing you love when you come to the sideline. You look up in the stands and you see people cheering for you.”

Despite Dickson’s success, National Signing Day came without a significant offer. Most programs shy away because he doesn’t have the big frame. Dickson is listed at 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds.

“There’s still time until February,” Navarra said. “Either way I’m sure he’ll be playing in college. High quality junior college coaches would love to have him. The size is exactly it. Coaches aren’t sure if he’s big enough to play corner. Is he a slot guy or a specialist. Some schools don’t want to burn a scholarship on a return type of guy.”

Dickson says he’ll remain patient for the right opportunity.

“We’ll see what happens,” he said. “I’ll go with the flow and hope something happens.”

Dickson’s college journey will work itself out. He’ll always remember what he and his teammates accomplished this season.

“What I’ll remember most is the determination and dedication we had, putting in work during zero period early in the morning and then going out to work at practice in the afternoon,” Dickson said. “We won a CCC championship our freshman season and we did it again this year.

“It’s been a while since Buhach Colony had won a CCC championship. It feels good that our team did it.”

Cross Country

Cole McKain, Merced

Cole McKain had another dominant season.

The Bears senior swept the three CCC center meets, won the Sac-Joaquin Sub-Section and Masters Division III championships. He capped his season by setting a school record with a seventh place finish at the CIF State Meet, crossing the finish line in 15 minutes, 35.6 seconds.

His mark was the fastest time by a Merced High runner at the state meet.

McKain is the Merced Sun-Star Boys Cross Country Athlete of the Year for the third consecutive season.

McKain improved from his sixth-place finish as a sophomore to a third-place finish at the sub-section and section meets as a junior. This year he won both races.

“Coming from that far back to finish where I did feels great,” McKain said. “Especially when you look back and see how much I’ve improved To get the school record at state was great. It was exactly what I was going for with a top 10 finish. It was a dream come true.”

McKain’s time at state was 20 seconds faster than his previous best mark at state.

“During the race I knew I was pushing it harder,” McKain said. “I was definitely feeling it. It shows what hard work can do if you put your mind to it.”

McKain said he pushed himself harder knowing it was his final season.

“It has to be something you really want to do,” McKain said. “It would be hard if I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to set a (personal record) at state and get a top 10 finish. That’s what drove me.”

Water Polo

Rocco Cuttone, El Capitan

El Capitan senior Rocco Cuttone wanted to be more aggressive in the pool this season for the El Capitan High boys water polo team.

His approach worked.

The Gauchos star scored 114 goals to help lead El Capitan to a CCC championship and a spot in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III championship game.

Cuttone added 55 assists and 106 steals and was picked by the CCC coaches as the conference MVP.

Cuttone is also the Merced Sun-Star Boys Water Polo Player of the Year.

“I think having a lot more confidence on offense helped me be more aggressive,” Cuttone said. “I wanted to be more of a play-maker and that allowed me to score a lot more.”

The Gauchos finished with a 21-9 record and reached the section title game for the first time, losing 4-3 to Oakdale.

“It was an amazing year,” Cuttone said. “It was great to see the teamwork we had and to go further than our school has ever gone.”

Cuttone said his job was made a lot easier having teammates, who were also offensive threats, like Jacob Gresham, Andrew Koenig and Dylan Webber made his job a lot easier.

“We had really solid players who all contributed instead of having one great player,” Cuttone said. “We worked together to be one unit. I’ll remember the fun we had as a team at tournaments and all the success we had this year.”

All-Area Honors

Football

Offense

QB — Julius Peacock, Atwater

QB — Seth Miguel, Hilmar

QB — Trent Calvert, Dos Palos

RB — Justin Incaprera, Los Banos

RB — Charles Jackson, Atwater

RB — Jabari Phillips, Golden Valley

RB — Desmond Thompson, Merced

WR — Landon Ramos, Los Banos

WR — Zane Merrell, Dos Palos

WR — Aidan Azevedo, Hilmar

TE — J.C. Davies, Mariposa

OL — Tomas Sandoval, Buhach Colony

OL — Jasper Saeturn, Merced

OL — Aristo Prado, Golden Valley

OL — Herbert Sanders, Dos Palos

OL — Julian Gutierrez, Atwater

Utility — MIchael Dinkins, Le Grand

Utility — Tyree Martin, Dos Palos

Defense

DL — Samari Russo, Buhach Colony

DL — Xavier Williams, Atwater

DL — Leo Manera, Atwater

DL — Ryan Subia, Los Banos

DL — Jaylen Thao-Booth, Merced

LB — Xavier Ortiz-Wilson, Merced

LB — Adrian Atangan, Los Banos

LB — O’shea Ward, Buhach Colony

LB — Nate Ruiz, Buhach Colony

LB — Cody Chapman, Merced

DB — Trey Paster, Buhach Colony

DB —Daniel De La Rosa, Atwater

DB — Cole Bailey, Hilmar

DB — Jacob Johnson, Los Banos

K — Eiliud Inzuza, Golden Valley

Coach: Kevin Navarra, Buhach Colony

Cross County All-Area

Jimmie Summers, Buhach Colony

Daniel Herrera, Pacheco

Jonathan Chavez, Hilmar

Eric Maldonado, Atwater

Jace Williams, Merced

Coach: Ken Rhoades, Atwater

Water Polo All-Area

Gannon Groth, Buhach Colony

Jack Bustabade, Buhach Colony

Josh Whitaker, Buhach Colony

Jacob Gresham, El Capitan

Easton Hamm, Merced

Andrew Koenig, El Capitan

Mateo Tangaan, Golden Valley

Brayden Fookes, Buhach Colony

Lucas Avila, Atwater

Vincent Arroyo, Merced

Will Hoyle, Los Banos

Coach: Connor Greene, El Capitan

This story was originally published December 29, 2019 at 6:00 AM.

Shawn Jansen

Merced Sun-Star

209-385-2462

Sports writer Shawn Jansen has been covering Merced area sports for 20 years. He came to Merced from Suisun City and is a graduate of San Diego State University. Prior to the Sun-Star, Shawn worked at the Daily Republic in Fairfield.