University Prep's Sawyer Hokanson is SBLive/Sports Illustrated Northern California Athlete of the Week (10/02/2023)
Sawyer Hokanson evidently learns from his defeats.
The senior quarterback from University Prep of Redding has rebounded greatly from a 27-15 opening-week loss to Fortuna.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pounder has been nearly perfect during a four-game win streak, completing 45 of 61 passes for 928 yards with 10 touchdowns and just one interception..
He was at his best during a 49-23 win over Las Plumas on Sept. 22, completing 13 of 17 for 277 yards and fourth touchdowns. He also rushed for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
That put Hokanson on an SBLive performance list, when his numbers really jump up. He piled up more than 1,000 votes and earned 75 percent of the vote to earn the SBLive Northern California Football Athlete of the Week award games played Sept. 21-23.
Other nominees:
Luke Baker, a senior quarterback at San Ramon Valley, completed 19 of 29 for 364 yards and five touchdowns in a 66-12 win over Liberty. He also ran for a TD. Not bad for one half of play.
Quinn Boyd, a senior quarterback at Granada-Livermore, completed 22 of 26 for a school record 446 yards and seven touchdowns in a 56-20 win over San Leandro.
Cedeno Chavez, a senior for Willow Glen, completed 17 of 20 for 293 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 60 yards and two more scores in a 42-38 win over Overfelt.
Josh Gagni, a 5-8, 180-pound senior running back and linebacker at Live Oak, rushed 20 times for 281 yards and two touchdowns in a 42-21 win over Branham.
Nate Garland, a junior for Berkeley, rushed 14 times for 241 yards and four touchdowns in a 54-37 win over Castro Valley.
Jai’on Gary, a senior running back and safety at Deer Valley-Antioch, accounted for more than 400 yards in a 34-28 win over Dougherty Valley. Gary completed 10 of 16 passes for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and added 15 carries for 235 yards and two more scores.
Omary Gayles, a senior strong safety at St. Mary’s-Stockton, had 13 tackles and an interception in a 41-31 win at Bishop Amat.
Sawker Hokanson, a senior 6-foot-4, 180-pound quarterback at University Prep-Redding, completed 13 of 17 for 277 yards and four touchdowns, and added 60 yards rushing and two more scores in a 49-23 win over Las Plumas.
Zachary Homan, a senior running back at Cardinal Newman, rushed 23 times for 217 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-0 win at St. Mary’s.
DJ Horton, a 6-3, 180-pound senior for Weed, rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns and added seven tackles on defense, leading his team to a 54-15 win over Los Molinos.
Dominic Ingrassia, a senior quarterback at San Marin-Novato, completed 16 of 22 for 226 yards and three touchdowns and added two more TDs on the ground in a 49-7 win over Archie Williams.
Hunter Inkster, a football standout for Berean Christian, rushed for 300 yards and four touchdowns and added three receptions for 60 yards and two more scores in a 49-14 win over Hercules.
Andre Latimore, a senior quarterback at Del Mar, only completed 5 of 7 passes for 48 yards but it was his work as a runner that was key, rushing just eight times for 180 yards and three more scores in a 44-0 win over James Lick. eee
CJ Lee, a quarterback for Jesuit-Carmichael, accounted for 244 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-10 win over Pleasant Grove.
Ezekiel Ozborn, a sophomore quarterback for Shafter, passed for 297 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-16 win over Taft.
Jacob Pruit, a senior quarterback at Rancho Cotate, accounted for 380 yards and six touchdowns in a 39-20 win over Freedom. Pruitt completed 8 of 11 passes for 185 yards and three scores, then rushed 13 times for 195 yards and three more touchdowns.
Herschel Turner, a senior running back-linebacker at Mt. Diablo continued his monster senior season by rushing 25 times for 345 yards and five touchdowns in a 36-33 win over Castlemont. He also had eight tackles. Turner leads the nation in rushing with 1,584 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns at a gaudy 19.3 yards per carry.
Isitolo Tuugamusu, a freshman running back at Riordan, rushed for five touchdowns in a 41-34 home win over St. Ignatius to win the Gil Haskell Trophy.
Tyler Wentworth, a third-year starting QB at Central Catholic, needed just nine completions to throw for 231 yards and four touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Pleasant Valley-Chico.
Braden Young, a senior quarterback at Tamalpais, continued his remarkable senior season by completing 20 of 30 for 287 yards and four touchdowns. He leads the North Coast Section with 1,677 yards passing and 19 touchdowns.
