EDITOR’S NOTE: The CCS does not set their divisions in advance of the postseason, so these are attempts at educated guesses as to which teams could fall where.
Chryst, Carta-Samuels lead a golden era for CCS QB’s Two of the nation’s top 18 quarterbacks invited to the finals of the Elite 11 Camp in Beaverton, Ore. last July were from the Central Coast Section: Palo Alto’s Keller Chryst and K.J. Carta-Samuels, of Bellarmine. No real surprise there. Chryst, a strapping 6-foot-4, 220-pound senior and son of 49ers quarterback coach Geep Chyrst, has been a top 50 recruit overall from the Class of 2014 for at least a couple years. The first day of the camp he announced he would hop, skip and jump across the street to Stanford for his college education and football career. “Everything just fit,” he said. The summer of 2012, before he had even taken a varsity snap for the Bells, Carta-Samuels announced he’d be joining his brother Austyn at Vanderbilt. Also big and physical, the 6-2, 210-pound K.J. Carta Samuels felt an immediate connection to the Tennessee campus and the coaching staff led by James Franklin. Former Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Elite 11 organizer and ESPN commentator Trent Dilfer gushed over both CCS quarterbacks. Of Carta-Samuels, Dilfer said: “I don’t know if I’ve trained a kid more trainable than K.J. Carta-Samuels… When we first saw him there were some real issues. But I told him, A, B and C are real issues and if you don’t fix them, this will be a long process for you. Now we’re looking two and a half months later and it’s unbelievable.” Of Chryst, Dilfer said: “Keller has been Steady Eddie. He’s very cerebral and has a calming influence, but shows some fire and excitement. Keller is a very artistic passer. He’s a graduate-level passer. He changes speeds and trajectories.” Two other Bay Area quarterbacks made the Elite 11 finals — Morgan Mahalak of Marin Catholic-Kentfield and Manny Wilkins of San Marin-Novato – a fact not lost upon Dilfer, who attended Aptos High. “I’m sensitive to this because I’m from that area,” he said. “It’s just a really good year for quarterbacks in Northern California.” Boy, is that a fact. Especially in the CCS. Perhaps its best season ever for quarterbacks. Besides, Chryst and Carta-Samuels, consider these five signal-callers: Nick Bawden (Los Gatos) — Already committed to San Diego State, Bawden has thrown for 1,677 yards and 14 TDs in his Los Gatos career and rushed for three touchdowns. Jack Heneghan (Menlo School-Atherton) — The first sophomore quarterback since John Paye to start at Menlo in 1983, he threw for 2,764 yards and 34 touchdowns last season as a junior and rushed for 452 more yards and nine scores. Jonathan Walters (Saratoga) — As a junior he threw for a CCS-best 3,503 yards and 39 touchdowns with just 13 interceptions. Connor Marden (Carmel) — Just a sophomore a year ago, and in only his second playing competitive football, the right-hander threw for 2,330 yards, 31 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Zach Masoli (Riordan-S.F.) — Tough to evaluate the rugged dual-threat quarterback due to Riordan being largely overmatched in WCAL play in recent years. Many believe he’s the best signal-caller in the WCAL, and with new coach John Lee taking the reigns, perhaps Masoli’s numbers will match his talent. — Mitch Stephens
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SportStars™
August 22, 2013
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