Manning tops local football players honored

Golden West College sophomore receiver Zimari Manning tops the list of Rustlers and Orange Coast College Pirates recognized on the All-Southern Conference football selections.

Manning, who was a first-team honoree in 2014, earned first-team laurels again, despite missing two games with a knee injury.

Manning caught 36 passes for 441 yards and a team-best 10 touchdowns. His touchdown total was second among conference receivers. Also operating out of a wildcat formation, Manning rushed for 128 yards on 25 attempts.

Additional first-team choices were OCC freshman running back Derrick Hunt, OCC sophomore offensive lineman Will Martin, Golden West middle linebacker Joseph Inda and Rustlers cornerback Kory Garcia.

Hunt carried 120 times for 754 yards, a 6.3-yard average, and scored three touchdowns.

Inda, a sophomore, had 48 tackles, including 11 for losses and two sacks. He also intercepted one pass and broke up six pass attempts.

Garcia, a sophomore, led his team with four interceptions and added 24 tackles. He returned one interception for a touchdown.

Leading the second-team honorees was record-setting OCC quarterback Kody Whitaker, who also earned second-team plaudits as a freshman in 2014.

Whitaker completed 158 of 287 passes for 1,986 yards and 16 touchdowns. He threw eight interceptions. Whitaker set OCC career records for passing yards (4,079), touchdown passes (32), pass completions (333) and attempts (601).

Also on the second-team offense were Golden West sophomore running back Gabe Ford, OCC freshman receiver James Rutledge, OCC sophomore receiver-running back A’Brae Booker-Curin, Golden West linemen Ofa Kuma and Chris Alvarez, as well as OCC center Zack Hickman.

Hickman and Alvarez are sophomores. Kuma is a freshman.

Ford had 506 rushing yards and 266 receiving yards on 20 catches. He scored two touchdowns.

Booker-Curin had 297 yards and four touchdowns on 46 rushing attempts and also had 16 receptions for 187 yards. He averaged 17.3 yards on 15 kickoff returns.

Rutledge had 36 receptions for 604 yards and four touchdowns.

The second-team defense included Golden West end Jaime Diaz, tackle Bobby Orellano, outside linebacker Trevin Kahunanui, and safety Matthew Posey, as well as OCC end Preston Hendry, linebackers Charlie Morris and Michael Archer, and cornerback Sharky Reza.

Kahunanui, a sophomore, led the Rustlers with 55 tackles, while Morris, a freshman, had 49 tackles for the Pirates.

Archer, a freshman, had 42 tackles, while Reza, a freshman, had 34 tackles and a team-best four interceptions.

Posey had 38 tackles, three interceptions and two sacks and recovered a blocked kick in the end zone for a touchdown.

Hendry, a sophomore, had 30 tackles and three sacks, while Diaz had 29 tackles and a team-leading five sacks, with nine tackles for losses.

Orellano made 21 tackles.

Golden West sophomore punter Quentin Conaway, who averaged 39.3 yards on 62 punts, was the second-team punter.

Golden West freshman receiver Sheldon White was named the second-team kick returner. He averaged 19.9 yards on 14 kickoff returns.

Golden West, which upset Saddleback and won its first three conference games, finished 4-6, 3-2 in conference for third place.

OCC was 3-7 and tied for last in conference with a 1-4 mark.

Fullerton freshman quarterback Jordan Hoy was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Fullerton freshman linebacker Justin Parcells was named Defensive Player of the Year.

Fullerton’s Tim Byrnes and Saddleback’s Mark McElroy shared Coach of the Year honors.

— From staff reports