13 Vaqueros earn All-APL honors

A record 13 SBCC football players have been named to the All-American Pacific League team, led by unanimous choice Cedric Cooper.

      2016 All-APL Team

Cooper, a 5-11 sophomore from Seattle, Wash., was third in the APL in rushing (781 yards, 6.2 average) and first in touchdowns (11). He was selected as the All-Purpose back. He also caught 18 passes for 203 yards and ran out of the Wildcat formation. Cooper was joined on the first team by sophomore tight end Jacob Ortale, offensive tackle Isaac McClain, wide receiver Jason-Matthew Sharsh and punter Trent Schneider.

Ortale (18 catches, 184 yards, 5 TDs) and McClain made the All-APL first team for the second straight year. Sharsh led the Vaqueros in receiving with 46 catches for 650 yards and seven TDs. Schneider was the No. 1 punter in the conference and 15th in the State, averaging 36.8 yards with 14 punts inside the 20-yard line.

The 13 all-conference players are the most the Vaqueros have had since joining the Southern California Football Association in 2008. SBCC went 7-4 this year and hosted a bowl game (the Beach Bowl) for the first time in 33 years. It was their second bowl appearance in the last three years. The Vaqueros tied for second in the APL with a 3-2 record.

The Vaqueros set 12 school records this year, breaking a 46-year-old mark with 2,307 rushing yards. They also set records for scoring average (39.9), rushing TDs (33), total yards per game (406.9) and blocked kicks in a season (10).

Four players made the second-team offense – quarterback Noah Holle, running back Emmanuel Nwosu (665 yards, 6 TD), wide receiver Elijah Cunningham (36 catches, 516 yards, 5 TDs) and sophomore center Bilal Sharmoug. There were four on the second-team defense, led by outside linebacker Dallas Martin, who topped the conference and was No. 6 in the State with 112 tackles (10.2 average). Other second-team defenders were linebacker Thomas Lash (67 tackles), defensive end Edward Jones (41 tackles, 5 sacks) and safety Nakota Shepard-Creer (32 tackles, 4 interceptions).

Sharsh and Cunningham made the All-APL team at two positions. Sharsh was the second-team punt returner while Cunningham was the second-team kick returner. Sharsh was fifth in the State in punt returns (14.7 yards) and Cunningham was No. 15 in kick returns, averaging 25.0 yards with an 88-yard return for a TD.