Check out which 49 Redding area football athletes made the All-Northern Section team
The 2023 All-Northern Section football team features 49 of the top gridiron standouts from the recently completed season.
Among the honorees are Offensive Player of the Year, Dion Coleman of Chico; Defensive Player of the Year, Gavin Garrettson of Pleasant Valley; and Coach of the Year, Mikey Badaluco of state champion Colusa.
All-Northern Section teams are selected by area media members from the Redding Record Searchlight, Enterprise-Record, Paradise Post, Marysville Appeal-Democrat and MaxPreps.
There were nine Shasta County players chosen as first-team selections and eight named to the second team. There was one pick from Siskiyou County and a first- and second-team selection from Tehama County.
Among the nine first-team picks were four U-Prep players. Quarterback Sawyer Hokanson led the Panthers with 2,653 yards and 29 touchdown passes while Devin Huegel was a standout on the defensive side of the ball with 67 tackles and 14.0 sacks.
Center Asher Edwardson was the anchor of a 10-2 U-Prep line that paved the way for Panther backs to rush for 2,289 yards this season. Kicker Aiden Bunas converted on 56-of-57 point-after attempts while booting 9-of-11 field goals with a long of 36 yards.
U-Prep also had a second-team selection in Bailey Wurzer at the wide receiver spot. He led the team with 696 yards receiving and seven scores. He also rushed for 687 yards and eight touchdowns.
Tackle Gabe Miller, cornerback Alonzo Borchert and safety Chris Hall were first-team nods from Foothill. Miller was on a line that helped 6-6 Cougar backs to nearly 2,000 yards this season. Borchert had a pair of interceptions and 26 tackles while Hall had 79 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions.
Enterprise wideout Porter Fischer was among the section’s leading receivers from the start of the season with a breakout game in the opener. He finished with 876 yards on 58 receptions and 14 scores. Named to the second team as a cornerback was J.J. Johnson, who also played quarterback for the 4-7 Hornets. Johnson had 21 tackles while also adding 1,737 yards passing and 21 scores along with 1,075 yards rushing and 16 more TDs.
Red Bluff’s Adan Rodriguez was chosen from the Spartans on the first team. The guard helped Red Bluff to a 5-6 record as his squad gained 2,511 yards with 25 touchdowns. Spartans safety Mickey Cohn landed on the second team after leading the team and section in tackles with 150, while adding 6.0 tackles for loss and four interceptions.
The final first-team player was Central Valley’s Diego Recio, slotted at the linebacker spot. A two-way player for the Falcons, Recio led the team with 134 tackles, including 10.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He also was second in rushing in the Northern Section with 1,745 yards and 21 scores on 225 carries. He also threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns.
Shasta had two second-team nods in guard Manny Limon and linebacker Ryder May. The 8-4 Wolves gained 2,364 as a team behind the senior anchor of the line while May led the ground attack for Shasta with 1,037 yards and 10 scores. He tallied 62 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
Fall River’s Remington Blue was named second-team tackle while Carter Kroschel made it as a cornerback. The Bulldogs rushed for 2,605 yards behind Blue and his crew while Kroschel had eight interceptions, three fumble recoveries and a blocked field goal along with a team-high 106 tackles.
West Valley’s Jesus Cervantes was a second-team linebacker after logging a team-high 130 tackles and 10.0 tackles for loss for the 3-8 Eagles.
Finally, D.J. Horton was picked to fill the second-team all-purpose spot after helping Weed to an 8-3 record. Horton, a dual-threat quarterback, ran for a team-high 1,606 yards and 33 touchdowns along with 507 yards passing and seven scores. He added 53 tackles on defense.
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First Team Offense
WR — Omar Sanchez, Hamilton
WR — Porter Fischer, Enterprise
TE — Isaiah Travis, Colusa
T — Reegan Dunten, Lassen
T — Gabe Miller, Foothill
G — Adan Rodriguez, Red Bluff
G — Grady Lloyd, Orland
C — Asher Edwardson, University Prep
QB — Sawyer Hokanson, University Prep
RB — Dion Coleman, Chico
RB — Lucas Benson, Pleasant Valley
K — Aiden Bunas, University Prep
AP — Diego Sanchez, HamiltonFirst Team Defense
DE — Gavin Garretson, Pleasant Valley
DE — Devin Huegel, University Prep
DT — Travis Dobson, Chico
LB — Christian Padilla, Orland
LB — Diego Recio, Central Valley
LB — Will McCoy, Colusa
LB — Gabe Rodriguez, Chico
CB — Alonzo Borchert, Foothill
CB — Keith Thompson, Pleasant Valley
S — Dathen Moore, Lassen
S — Chris Hall, Foothill
P — Ashton Carr, Pleasant ValleySecond Team Offense
WR — Landon Humphrey, Colusa
WR/SB — Bailey Wurzer, University Prep
TE — Logan Traenor, Chico
T — Remington Blue, Fall River
T — Cam Higgins, Winters
G — Manny Limon, Shasta
G — Hayden Tuccori, Portola
C — AJ Schkerynec, Orland
QB — Bo Coronado, Colusa
RB — Jaime Albarran, Orland
RB — Magnus Berg, Portola
K — Garrett Powell, Pleasant Valley
AP — DJ Horton, WeedSecond Team Defense
DE — Khalil Coley, Orland
DE — Luke Henderson, Chico
DT — Van Chambers, Pleasant Valley
LB — Ryder May, Shasta
LB — Gio Jimenez, Winters
LB — Jason Davis, Gridley
LB — Jesus Cervantes, West Valley
CB — Carter Kroschel, Fall River
CB — JJ Johnson, Enterprise
S — Adan Travis, Colusa
S — Mickey Cohn, Red Bluff
P — Drake Sahagun, Las Plumas
Aaron Williams has covered North State sports for more than 20 years in print and on the radio. He works at MaxPreps as the national volleyball and girls basketball editor while also writing about football nationally.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Redding area football athletes make All-Northern Section team
