Blue Devils sweep major awards after winning Golden Coast Conference co-championship

Merced College freshman Hanisi Lotulelei closed the season strong, rushing for 585 yards and three touchdowns in the final three games.

Lotulelei became the Blue Devils workhorse, carrying the ball 72 times in those three games.

After finishing with 1,300 rushing yards and six touchdowns Lotulelei was selected as the Golden Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year.

“Down the stretch we rode him pretty hard,” said Merced College coach Bob Casey, who was also named the conference’s Coach of the Year after leading the Blue Devils to a 9-1 record overall and 5-1 in the GCC. “We were able to do some things up front to get our running game going. That took some pressure off our passing game, especially when we got in the red zone.”

The Blue Devils swept the GCC major awards as outside linebacker David Perales was also selected as the Defensive Player of the Year.

Perales led the conference with 12 and 1/2 sacks on the season and finished second on MC with 58 tackles.

“From the very beginning of the season he’s been a great player for us,” Casey said. “Early on teams didn’t know much about him so he got a lot of one-on-one opportunities. Later on teams started sending two or three players his way. Yuba had a tight end and a back help out on him.”

“To receive that honor is a great achievement for me,” Perales said. “I thank God for the opportunities I’ve been given.”

The Blue Devils are preparing this week for the Living Breath Foundation Bowl against Los Medanos (8-2) on Saturday afternoon at Hartnell College in Salinas. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

It’s Merced College’s first nine-win regular season since 1984.

Merced College also had 10 other players receive all conference honors along with Lotulelei and Perales.

Leading the way was quarterback Frank Cocio, who set a school record with 27 touchdown passes. He was joined on the team by receiver Nick Cook was named to the team as a receiver and an all-purpose player after catching 16 touchdowns.

Receiver Elijah Macklin, offensive linemen Dallas Reins and Jonte Frederick and kicker Joseph Lema were all named to the all-conference team on offense.

On the defensive side the Blue Devils were represented on the all-GCC team by defensive lineman Ronald Reyes, linebackers Soane Voahea and Daniel Chavez and defensive back Jac Yurow.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 1:03 PM with the headline "Blue Devils sweep major awards after winning Golden Coast Conference co-championship."