Los Banos dual-threat quarterback named top offensive player by WAC football coaches
Opposing teams had a tough time slowing down Los Banos High quarterback David Herrera.
The Tigers dual-threat quarterback was a big reason the Tigers went a perfect 7-0 in the Western Athletic Conference en route to winning a WAC championship.
The WAC coaches tabbed Herrera with one of the top awards in the conference, naming him the Offensive Player of the Year.
“Everything ran through him as you can tell with his stats,” said Los Banos coach Dustin Caropreso, who was also named the WAC Coach of the Year. “Running the ball, throwing the ball, he meant a lot to us.”
Herrera carried the ball 138 times for 879 yards and 13 touchdowns during the regular season. The junior also threw for 1,206 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“The good thing is he’s a junior so we have him for another year,” Caropreso said. “At the end of the year he was playing about as well as you can play.”
Ceres star Tarrell Lee Gill was named the WAC Most Valuable Player. The Bulldogs senior rushed for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns.
Ceres linebacker Faiva Tuakalau was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
Pacheco’s Manvir Gakhal and Ceres’ Jeremiah Diaz were named co-Defensive Lineman of the Year. Ceres’ Nicky Vierra and Mountain House’s Montgomery Carey were named co-Outstanding Kicker.
The all-WAC first-team selections on offense were quarterback Landyn Hudson (Ceres), running backs Abel Bravo (Pacheco), Mark Carreiro (Los Banos), receivers Roy Gardner (Mountain House), Kayson Welch (Los Banos) and tight end Gakhal (Pacheco). The offensive linemen was Salvador Garcia (Los Banos), Faiva Tuakalua (Ceres), Caden Hale (Pacheco), Daniel Baker (Ceres) and Jackson Silva (Los Banos).
The defensive first-team selections were defensive linemen Lebron Stallworth (Ceres), Jett Lindeman (Los Banos), Jamon Cannon (Los Banos), TJ Tito (Davis) and Sean Teu (Lathrop), linebackers Kahmi Smith (Ceres), Orlando Syph-Timmons (Mountain House), Cobi Twist (Davis), Lorenzo Chavez (Los Banos) and defensive backs Gardner, Reis Smith (Ceres), Jeremiah Green (Lathrop) and George Garcia (Los Banos).
The second-team picks on offense were Amare Brooks (Mountain House), running backs Kameron Jones (Lathrop), Green (Lathrop), receivers Ricky Stanley (Ceres), Jamal Davis (Beyer), offensive linemen Danny Valencia (Davis), Gabriel Escobar (Pacheco), Carlos Bernal (Johansen).
The second-team defensive picks were defensive linemen Louie Setterberg (Pacheco), David DeAnda (Lathrop), Nate Martinez (Lathrop), linebackers Cedrick Major (Mountain House), Justin Tisdell (Lathrop), Isaac Valencia (Pacheco), Brandon DeReza (Pacheco), defensive backs Carreiro (Los Banos), Davis (Beyer), Arturo Anguiano (Pacheco and Black Gross (Beyer).
