All-Area: Sun-Star honors fall male athletes of the year.

Nobody was better late in the season than Hilmar High running back Isaac Sharp.

The Yellowjackets junior helped fuel Hilmar’s postseason run to a Sac-Joaquin Section Division V championship with his big-play ability.

In Hilmar’s four playoff games, Sharp racked up 715 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. He finished the season with 1,329 yards and 13 touchdowns.

After his stellar season Sharp is the Merced Sun-Star Football Player of the Year.

“I think having such a young team we finally got to a point late in the season where we started playing with a sense of urgency,” Sharp said. “We knew each game could be our last game and we stepped it up a notch. Our offensive line had good chemistry and I started trusting them more.”

Despite finishing the regular season with a 5-5 record, Hilmar went 3-0 with wins over Summerville, Escalon and Modesto Christian to win the section championship. The Yellowjackets then played a NorCal Regional Bowl Play-in game against Strathmore and lost 53-52 in double overtime. Strathmore eventually went on to win the CIF State Division-AA championship.

Sharp started the season slow with only 72 rushing yards in the first three games. However, the more he got the ball, the more he produced as the season went on.

“The confidence blossomed for him as the year went on,” said Hilmar coach Frank Marques. “It was a combination of our offensive line getting better and as his confidence grew, he found another gear. At first he was timid going through the hole. Late in the season he made one move and he was gone. His explosiveness was at another level those last four games.”

Sharp also made an impact on special teams, returning three kickoffs for touchdowns, including an 89-yard return for a score against Escalon in the playoffs. He averaged 40.7 yards per kickoff return.

With Sharp and many key players returning next year Hilmar will have high expectations next season.

Sharp would like to experience winning another blue section banner.

“Honestly, that was such an amazing feeling,” Sharp said. “Growing up in Hilmar we always talked about winning the blue banner. To actually do it, it’s hard to describe what it felt like.”

Boys Water Polo

Athlete of the Year: Connor Norton, Atwater

Connor Norton capped his water polo career by winning the Central California Conference Most Valuable Player award this season. Norton helped lead the Falcons to a second-place finish in the CCC this season and the second round of the playoffs.

Norton was one of the top scorers in the conference this season despite drawing the focus of opposing defenses. Often Norton saw double and triple teams as defenses tried to force the ball out of his hands.

Norton was still able to do a lot of his damage from the perimeter or hurting teams in transition.

“The season was bittersweet for me,” Norton said. “It was a four great years of water polo. David (Svendsen) was a great coach and Chad (Parreira) coming a long my junior and senior years. My teammates were super and fun to play with. The end of the season was bittersweet because the four years just went by so fast.”

Cross Country

Athlete of the Year: Richard Cole McKain

The Bears sophomore turned in a great season in a very competitive Central California Conference. McKain battled Atwater’s Raul Flores and Abraham Maldonado as the trio combined to win all three conference center meets this season.

McKain won the second center meet in Atwater with a time of 15 minutes and 47 seconds. McKain also finished second in the other two center meet.

McKain also won the Merced County Championship and finished sixth in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II Sub-Section championships. McKain also finished sixth at the Sac-Joaquin Section championships to qualify for the state meet.

“I had the success I had because I kept pushing it and kept striving to do better,” McKain said. “Making it to state made me feel accomplished and that I could do better, and push myself harder after seeing all the athletes out there.”

This story was originally published December 25, 2017 at 10:45 AM with the headline "All-Area: Sun-Star honors fall male athletes of the year.."