Tulare County Football: The best of the 2023 season

The 2023 Tulare County high school football season concluded on the second Saturday of December in Pasadena.

Central Valley Christian and Strathmore each capped off their outstanding campaigns with state championships. The Cavaliers captured the state's Division 2-A title. The Spartans claimed a state Division 7-A crown.

CVC won the first state championship in Visalia history, and Strathmore celebrated its second state title in program history.

Here’s a look at the best of Tulare County football this year:

Best team: CVC

CVC enjoyed a historic season. The Cavaliers won a Tri-County Conference title, a Central Section Division II plaque, a CIF State regional championship and became the first team in Visalia history to win a state crown. The Cavaliers' 15 wins this season also set a new school and Visalia city record for most wins in a single season. Under head coach Mason Hughes and his staff, CVC scored 700 total points. The Cavaliers averaged nearly 44 points per game and are believed to be the first team in Visalia history to reach 700 points in a single campaign. CVC scored 97 total touchdowns and amassed nearly 7,000 yards of total offense, rushing for 3,770 and passing for 3,066. Defensively, Hughes' squad registered 19 sacks with 21 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries. The Cavaliers were recently recognized by Cal-Hi Sports as the state's Division III team of the year.

Best coaching staff: CVC

Led by Hughes, no Tulare County team was as consistent as CVC this year. The Cavaliers scored at least four touchdowns in 15 of their 16 games and dropped 50 points or more five times. CVC's only loss came to Central Section Division I champion Clovis North (13-1). The Cavaliers outscored their foes this season a combined 700-425. Including Hughes, the CVC coaching staff is comprised of Nick Richardson (offensive coordinator), Kyle Glen (receivers), Todd Noeske (running backs), Dane Nelson (offensive line), Mark Gambini (linebackers), Kyle McDonald (defensive line), Ty Davis (defensive backs) and Chris Rajskup (linebackers). The Cavaliers also paid tribute to late coach Kris Ritchie, who died in May, with a "KBR" helmet sticker in 2023.

Best game: Tulare Union at CVC

In a Central Section Division II semifinal showdown showcasing two of the highest-scoring teams in Tulare County, Tulare Union raced out to a 34-13 lead at halftime. CVC came storming back, though, outscoring the Tribe 30-8 in the second half, including 23 in the final quarter to win 43-42. CVC overcame seven turnovers (four interceptions, three lost fumbles) in the victory as star senior running back Bryson Donelson exploded for a game-high 281 yards rushing with four total touchdowns. With 55 seconds left in the final quarter, Donelson scored on a 15-yard scamper to close the gap to 42-41. The Cavaliers went for the win and Donelson converted the two-point conversion to punch the team's ticket to their sixth straight Central Section championship game.

Best player: Bryson Donelson, CVC

Donelson put together one of the best seasons, ever, for a Central Section running back. The Fresno State verbal commit capped off his high school career with 3,297 yards rushing and 58 total touchdowns (47 rushing, 10 receiving, one kickoff return) to spearhead CVC to a state championship. The 6-foot, 205-pound running back averaged 206.1 yards rushing per game and set a single-game school record with 391 yards rushing in a quarterfinal playoff win over Tehachapi. According to Central Section historian Bob Barnett, Donelson's 3,297 yards rushing this season is the fourth-highest in section history, and his 58 touchdowns rank second in section history behind only former Tulare Union great Kazmeir Allen, who set a national record with 72 touchdowns in 2017. Allen went on to play at UCLA and is currently on the Washington Commanders practice squad. Donelson averaged 10.9 yards per carry. He also caught 37 passes for 654 yards receiving and finished with 4,262 all-purpose yards. Donelson served as the team's punter, too, booting 21 punts for 757 yards with 11 landing inside the 20-yard line. He averaged 36 yards per punt.

Best quarterback: Brent Kroeze, CVC

The moment never got too big this season for the first-year starter. Kroeze threw for 2,989 yards, completing 192-of-292 attempts, with 38 touchdowns against only nine interceptions. He had one of his best performances in the state championship game, throwing for 246 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cavaliers to Visalia's first state title in football. Kroeze threw at least one touchdown in every game and culminated his preps career with a 15-1 record as a starter. An effective ballcarrier as well, he ran for 120 yards this season and picked up a couple of key first downs on the zone-read in the state title game.

Best running back: Andrew Camarillo, Orosi

Defenses keyed in on Camarillo all season long and the senior Cardinal still delivered. Camarillo rushed for 2,562 yards on 315 attempts and scored 38 total touchdowns (35 rushing, two receiving, one punt return) to lead Orosi to a share of the East Sequoia League championship and a 10-win season. He surpassed 200 yards rushing or more eight times this season and erupted for a season-high 314 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a playoff win over Hoover. Camarillo concluded his high school career with back-to-back 2,000-yard rushing seasons and finished his four-year varsity run with 6,540 yards rushing and 92 total touchdowns.

Best receiver: Brayden Stevenson, Tulare Union

Stevenson headlined a receiving corps that featured two 1,000-yard receivers (Stevenson and Damaje Riley) and another 10-touchdown wideout (Franklin Lockard). Only a sophomore, he led all Tulare County pass catchers with 1,236 yards receiving and 16 receiving touchdowns on 78 receptions. He averaged nearly 16 yards per catch and posted six games of 100 yards receiving or more. Stevenson had his best performance of the season against eventual state champion CVC when he hauled in 12 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. In three playoff games, he totaled 27 catches for 467 yards and six touchdowns.

Best all-around: Kenny Jackson, Mission Oak

Team captain? Check. Running back? Check. Receiver? Check. Decoy? Check. An effective blocker? Check. Return specialist? Check. Defender? Check. A four-year varsity player, Jackson checked off all those boxes during the 2023 season. The senior running back was instrumental in helping Mission Oak win its first Central Section championship in school history. Jackson amassed 1,809 all-purpose yards (783 rushing, 749 receiving, 268 kick return, nine punt return) and scored a team-best 16 touchdowns (seven rushing, eight receiving, kick return). Jackson also started on defense at cornerback and made 29 tackles with two interceptions and four pass deflections. Mission Oak won 10 games this season as the Central Section Division III and CIF State South Division 4-A Regional champs.

Best offensive line: CVC

CVC fielded one of the best offensive lines in Tulare County history this season. The Cavaliers paved the way for nearly 7,000 yards of total offense. CVC scored 97 total touchdowns behind an offensive line featuring left tackle Karter Oliver (6-6, 275), left guard Caleb Noeske (6-2, 265), center Wyatt Rose (5-11, 230), right guard Tyler Hughes (5-11, 275) and right tackle Jacobus DeGroot (6-4, 275). The Cavaliers starting offensive line averaged 264 pounds. That group helped CVC average nearly 44 points per game. Rose even caught a pass on a deflection in a win over Kingsburg. Hughes, the son of head coach Mason Hughes, anchored the unit as the 2023 Tri-County Conference's Lineman of the Year. The Cavaliers allowed only three sacks in 16 games.

Best defensive line: Redwood

Some teams didn't even attempt to establish the run this season against Redwood. Why? Because if they did, senior defensive ends Chase Dempsey and Kai Preisendorf, junior defensive tackle Moses Saulsbury, and senior defensive tackle Jesse Bautista made sure to clog up holes and take away any open running lanes. In five EYL games, the Rangers surrendered a combined 260 yards rushing on 102 attempts, giving up an average of just 2.5 yards per carry. Eighty-six of those 260 yards came on one play — an 86-yard touchdown run by Monache's Ty Baxter — the 2023 East Yosemite League Most Valuable Player. In other games, Tulare Union gained just six yards on four carries and Clovis North's power-rushing attack managed 142 yards rushing, 62 of which came on junior star Jackson Cinfel's 62-yard touchdown scamper. Dempsey led Redwood with 10.5 sacks. Preisendorf had 9.5 sacks.

Best linebacker: Dominic Wilson, Tulare Union

Wilson was a tackling machine. In stats reported to MaxPreps.com, Wilson finished second in the Central Section with 155 tackles. He averaged nearly a dozen tackles per game and 107 of his stops were solo. The 5-foot-11, 225-pound linebacker had double-digit tackles in eight of the Tribe's 13 games. He posted a season-high 22 tackles, 18 of them solo, in a loss to Dinuba. He was at his best in the playoffs with 42 total tackles in three postseason games. He even forced a fumble against Donelson in a semifinal playoff showdown. Wilson also had two interceptions, including a pick-six against Mt. Whitney.

Best defensive back: Jason De La Cruz, Orosi

De La Cruz is the definition of a ballhawk. During his breakout sophomore season, De La Cruz registered 11 interceptions, which ranked as the second-most in the state in stats reported to MaxPreps.com. He had four interceptions in a win over Avenal and had three multi-interception games, including back-to-back playoff games with two picks each against Hoover and Morro Bay. De La Cruz also led the section in interceptions.

Best play: Fourth-down tackle in overtime seals Cowhide victory for Mt. Whitney

In one of the best Cowhide rivalry games of the 21st century, which featured no turnovers, the Mt. Whitney Pioneers came out on top in overtime. Mt. Whitney linebacker Mario Rodriguez's fourth-down shoestring tackle of Redwood running back Jimmie Burk inside the 10-yard line helped preserve a 20-14 win against Redwood in October. Burk fell just a couple yards short of the first-down marker and the Pioneers captured an outright East Yosemite League championship and the Sid Hosking Trophy city title in the 68th Cowhide game. The EYL championship marked the program's first absolute league crown since 1989.

Best moment: Strathmore wins state championship

In July, Strathmore head coach Jeromy Blackwell and those closest to him didn't know if he was going to make it after he suffered a heat stroke that led to a medically induced coma. But, inspired by his players, he worked his way back onto the field and coached his team all season long, not missing a single game or practice. On Dec. 9, the former College of the Sequoias and Fresno State fullback led the Spartans to their second state championship in school history as they defeated Bell Gardens 42-7 with a running clock to bring home the state's Division 7-A title. Strathmore culminated their outstanding season with a dozen victories. The Spartans and CVC were the only Central Section programs to capture a state title in 2023.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare County Football: The best of the 2023 season