SBVC Football: Shipp named Coach of the Year

Under second-year coach John Shipp, SBVC finished with a record 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference. As a reward for winning the American Division-Mountain Conference title and going to the Golden State Bowl, Coach Shipp was handed Coach of the Year honors. This is the first Coach of the Year award for head coach John Shipp who guided SBVC as the top three scoring team in the state and his offensive juggernaut was consistently ranked throughout the year, averaging 41.4 points per game. As a reward for their winning record, the team was bestowed with six first team All-Mountain Conference honors and eight second team All-Mountain Conference honors. On the field, sophomore wide receiver Mason Rutherford (Ashland (KY) Fairview) was a beast as the tip of the spear for the SBVC passing attack, finishing top ten in the SCFA with 919 yards garnering him a first team All-Mountain Conference offense selection. He played in 10 of 11 games for SBVC, scored 8 touchdowns; his 119.8 yards per game put Rutherford in the top three in Conference and had 200+ yard reception games against Victor Valley and East L.A. Also being named first team All-Mountain Conference offense was freshman running back Deion Walker (Matthews (NC) Butler), who punished teams as the leader of the SBVC rushing game. He led the entire State of California in yards per game with 144.3 and finished second in the state in rushing yards with 1,259. Walker finished second in the state in rushing touchdowns with 19 and second in the state in yards per carry with 8.7. Of the nine games he played, six of those games he had over 115 yards and had a dominating performance against Southwestern on Homecoming Night, where Walker collected 273 yards and three scores. In week three at home against Glendale, Walker collected Mountain Conference Player of the Week honors. Also being named first team All-Mountain Conference offense and the reason that Walker and Rutherford could grab all of those yards was the hard work and dedication by sophomore center Sheldon Edwards (Etiwanda H.S.) and sophomore offensive lineman Paul Ramirez-Diaz (Rialto H.S.). Being named first team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore inside linebacker Temerick Harper (Rialto W.A. Carter). Known for his devastating tackles, especially on quarterbacks who decided to try and run, Harper was the leading tackler for SBVC with 80 total, collecting three sacks and two picks. Harper had a 32-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 4th quarter against Southwestern on November 7. Also being named first team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore outside linebacker Colbert Calhoun (Riverside John Wesley North). He was the second leading tackler for SBVC with 66 total tackles, grabbing 3.5 sacks, an interception and nine broken up passes. It was Calhoun’s 4th quarter performance at home versus Victor Valley which saved the 28-27 victory for SBVC. He not only recovered a fumble and carried it 24 yards, eventually leading to a game tying passing touchdown, but with just under 2:30 left in the game Calhoun also blocked an extra point attempt by Victor Valley. On the second team offense All-Mountain Conference is sophomore quarterback Daniel Epperson (Phelan Serrano), a second team All-Mountain Conference selection, who became the leading career passer in SBVC Football history with 4485 yards, had the top completion percentage in the Conference, completing 60.7% of his passes. He started all 11 games for SBVC in 2015, with three games of 300+ yards of passing and three 4 touchdown games. He also finished top three in completions, attempts, yards, yards per game, and touchdowns. In week one at home against Santa Barbara City, Epperson collected Mountain Conference Player of the Week honors. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference offense was freshman place kicker Alex Raya (Beaumont H.S.) who was devastating with his extra point attempts, converting 95% (41-43) and was 9 of 16 on his field goal attempts. Raya connected on four field goals over 35 yards and two over 40 yards. His skill set was the difference in victories at West LA, at home against Victor Valley and at East LA. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference offense was freshman tight end Samuel Dominguez (Riverside La Sierra) who was brilliant in short yardage red zone situations. He had 6 catches for 74 yards and two touchdowns, but had his biggest touchdown of the year at home against Victor Valley on October 17th when Dominguez caught the winning touchdown for SBVC with 4:39 left in the game. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference offense and the reason that Epperson and Raya could collect all of those points was the hard work and dedication by freshman offensive lineman Joey Palmer (Thornville (OH) Sheridan). Being named second team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore defensive tackle Nick Aguirre (Fontana Henry J. Kaiser) who finished third on the team in total tackles with 63 and collecting 2.5 sacks. His best performance was week one against Santa Barbara City, where he grabbed 13 total tackles and for his efforts he was named Mountain Conference Player of the Week for week one. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore defensive end Chibuike Nwuda (La Verne Damien) who finished 6th in the State of California with 13 sacks, finishing 11th in the state in tackles for loss with 19, totaling a loss of 91 yards. Nwuda had a pick-six at home against Mt. San Jacinto on September 26th, rumbling 36 yards for the score and was in absolute “beast mode” at home against Glendale on September 19th when he had 5 sacks for a loss of 38 yards and was awarded Mountain Conference Player of the Week for week three. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore corner back Daniel Gonzales (Redlands East Valley) who was tied for 10th in the State of California for interceptions with five, none bigger than the interception in the end zone to secure the victory at West LA in overtime. Also named second team All-Mountain Conference defense was sophomore safety Jeffrey Harman (Redlands East Valley) was a force in the secondary as he finished 5th on the team in total tackles with 51 and two interceptions.