GILROY—It’s been quite a season for Jacob Moen and the Christopher football team. The senior linebacker and tight end helped the Cougars to a Monterey Bay League Pacific Division title, a Central Coast Section playoff berth, their fourth straight Severance Bowl title as well as retaining the South County Championship crown for the second year in a row.
Now Moen can add league MVP to his list of accomplishments, too.
Moen, who racked up 154 tackles for the Cougars this season, was named the MBL Pacific Division’s Most Valuable Player and earned First Team All-League honors Monday. The senior finishes his high school career with 613 total tackles—309 of which were solo tackles—as well as 6.5 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Offensively, Moen scored three touchdowns for the Cougars this season on 11 receptions for 151 yards.
But Moen wasn’t the only Gilroy-area player to receive postseason honors. Athletes from Christopher and Gilroy combined for 38 total league awards.
Teammate Matt Adamkiewicz was named the Most Valuable Offense player for his performance in his rookie season. The junior QB amassed a standout 3,310 yards through 11 games and scored 34 touchdowns. He averaged 300.9 yards per game. Adamkiewicz was also named the First Team All-League quarterback.
Christopher’s 6-4, 270-pound Jared Huddleston was named the Most Valuable Offensive Line player and earned First Team All-League honors, racking up 30 total tackles in his junior campaign. He also had 1.5 sacks as well as a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Gilroy’s Darius Alexander-Jones was named the MBL’s Most Valuable Defensive player and earned First Team All-League honors on both the offensive and defensive lines. Alexander-Jones had 60 solo tackles this year in addition to five assists. He also had a sack, an interception and a fumble recovery for the Mustangs and scored a 5-yard touchdown against Pajaro Valley in the team’s 35-7 win on Nov. 7.
The Newcomer of the Year award went to Antonio Andrade, Gilroy’s dangerous freshman linebacker. Andrade had 99 solo tackles and five assists to finish his rookie season with 104 total tackles. He also had six sacks for a loss of 23 yards, caused a fumble, recovered a fumble and had an interception for Gilroy. Andrade was also named First Team Defense All-League.
Christopher’s Anthony Lopez and Gilroy’s Will Soares were both given the Sportsmanship Award. Lopez had 23 total tackles in his debut season with the Cougars as well as two fumble recoveries and a sack. Soares amassed 14 total tackles for the Mustangs in his first varsity season. The junior lineman also had a fumble recovery.
Gilroy-area athletes claimed more than half of spots on the First Team All-League rosters, taking 16 of the 30 honors.
In addition to Adamkiewicz and Huddleston, Christopher’s Max Sanford, Alex Pacheco and Anthony Sammut also made the list at tight end, wide receiver and running back, respectively. Sanford reached the endzone six times for the Cougars and had a career-high 637 yards on 38 receptions. Pacheco scored eight times this season on 28 receptions, which total 403 yards. Sammut had four carries for 64 yards and touchdown in addition to 52 catches for 886 yards and 10 TDs.
Gilroy’s Riley Filice-Hollar and Patrick Hsu also earned First Team All-League honors along with Alexander-Jones on offense. Filice-Hollar, the Mustangs’ junior wide receiver, had 55 receptions for 654 yards and eight touchdowns this season. Hsu, who was honored as a utility player, had 32 receptions for 349 yards and three touchdowns. The senior also had 84 total tackles, three interceptions and a sack.
Christopher’s Moen and Brandon Lerma as well as Gilroy’s Andrade and Noe Garcia earned First Team Defense All-League honors at the linebacker position. Lerma had 74 total tackles, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in his junior season. Garcia had 142 tackles for the Mustangs—134 solo—in addition to five sacks and three forced fumbles.
Alexander-Jones joined Jacob Zimmerman from Christopher in earning First Team All-League honors at the defensive line position. Zimmerman racked up 64 total tackles and 10.5 sacks for a loss of 82 yards for Christopher in his senior season.
Christopher’s Bryant Huyhn and Raul Tovar were named First Team All-League at the defensive back position. Huyhn intercepted seven passes this season for 157 yards and recovered a fumble. The senior also had 34 total tackles. Tovar had 38 total tackles and three sacks for a loss of 30 yards in his senior season. He also had three interceptions and forced a fumble.
Gilroy’s David Munoz was named the Second Team All-League quarterback for his performance in his junior season. Munoz racked up 1,424 yards through 10 games and scored 11 touchdowns. He averaged 142.4 yards per game. Munoz was also more active on the ground, picking up 155 yards on 39 carries for Gilroy this season.
The Mustangs’ David Montes earned Second Team All-League honors at running back despite missing four games due to injury. The senior RB picked up 469 yards on 83 carries and scored two touchdowns. Three of his six games were 100-plus yard performances.
Christopher’s Victor Sevillano and Joe Criado were also named Second Team All-League for their performances on the O-line. Sevillano had 20 total tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery in his senior season. Criado picked up 10 total tackles and a fumble recovery.
Jacob Liberatore and Isacc McCrimmion also earned Second Team honors at defensive back. Liberatore had 32 total tackles and a fumble recovery for the Cougars, while McCrimmion had 33 total tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Christopher’s P.J. Reichert and Beau Bassian—both wide receivers—as well as junior running back Freddie Mireles and utility player Kyle Ericson received honorable mentions on offense.
Gilroy defensive linemen Devin Nguyen and Azriel Avila as well as defensive back Matt Castillo all received honorable mentions on defense. Christopher linebacker Joseph Lujan and teammate Xander Bowers, defensive lineman, also received honorable mentions.
Christopher claimed the MBL Pacific Division title after going 9-1 in the regular season, 6-0 in league play. It was ousted from the CCS playoffs after losing 28-13 to Wilcox on Nov. 21 at home. Gilroy finished its season 3-7 overall, 3-3 in league play.
