2018 Season in Review - COD Football

The complete list of All-American Division-Mountain Conference honorees can be found HERE

Under fifth-year head coach Jack Steptoe, Desert finished the regular season with a record 4-6 overall and 2-3 in conference. The team was bestowed with four first team All-Mountain Conference honors and four second team All-Mountain Conference honors.

Named Region IV All-California First Team Offense and first team All-American-Mountain offense was sophomore wide receiver Jaurice Thomas (South Elgin, IL). He placed 2nd in state and 1st in conference in total yards, collecting 1090 receiving yards on the season. Finishing with an average of 109 receiving yards per game, he placed 3rd in state and 1st in conference. Thomas completed a total of 57 receptions earning him 10th in state and 1st in conference. His longest gain was 78 yards, the second most on his team and the 4th most in conference.

Also being named first team All-American Division-Mountain Conference was sophomore running back Tony Williams, Jr. (Indio Shadow Hills). He placed 2nd in conference and 18th in state with 148 total rushes on the season. Averaging 79.9 rushing yards per game, he placed 3rd in conference and 23rd in state. In week four at home against LA Pierce on September 29, Williams collected his season high of 3 touchdowns, and 211 rushing yards on 21 rushes. That performance earned him the selection as the SCFA-Offensive Player of the Week.

Sophomore defensive lineman Datona Jackson (Union City, OH Mississinawa Valley) was named Region IV All-California First Team Defense and was also named first team All-American-Mountain Conference. He placed 2nd in conference and 15th in state in sacks with 8 on the season. Forcing a total of 51 yardage loss on his opponents, he placed 2nd in conference and 20th state. Jackson was selected the SCFA-Offensive Player of the Week for his performance at home on September 15 versus Cerritos, where he collected 8 tackles and 2 sacks resulting in a loss of 13 yards for his opponents.

Freshman defensive back Jerry Kinney (Detroit, MI Oak Park) was also named to first team All-American-Mountain. For the season he collected 25 tackles with an average of 2.5 tackles per game. Kinney went for a total of 4 interceptions landing him 3rd in conference and 18th in state for interceptions. He worked for 1 fumble recovery and added 16 solo tackles this season. His best game this season was on September 1 at Pasadena City College where he went for 2 interceptions, broke up 3 passes and had 1 fumble recovery.

Being named to second team All-Mountain Conference was sophomore wide receiver Kerrion Ringo (Evansville, IN Francis Joseph Reitz). He went 4th in conference in receptions, with a total of 41 caught passes. Ringo collected a total of 752 yards on the season placing 3rd in conference and 20th in state with an average of 75.2 yards per game earning him 2nd in conference and 21st in state. He contributed 7 touchdowns for the Roadrunners, scoring the second highest on his team with 42 points.

Sophomore quarterback Noah Shoeman (Murray, UT) was named second team All-Mountain Conference. He completed 190 passes on the season placing him 2nd in conference and 8th in state. Shoeman placed 3rd in conference and 11th in state in total yards with 2527. Throwing for 21 touchdowns landed him 3rd in conference and 12th in state. On September 1st at Pasadena City College, Shoeman landed 5 touchdown passes, completed 29 passes and passed for a total of 537 yards for the game.

Also being named second team All-Mountain Conference was sophomore defensive lineman Scott Arnold (Lancaster Eastside) and sophomore center Andres Rosales (Indio Shadow Hills). Arnold completed the season with 58 tackles, 28 of which were solo tackles. He went on to collect 6.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries, leading to 1 fumble return touchdown. Rosales anchored a solid offensive line which offered protection to a Roadrunners offense throwing 2,727 yards and rushing 1,389 yards, while only allowing 11 sacks throughout the course of the season.

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For additional information, please contact the COD Sports Information Office at 760.423.6641.

Information & Photo provided by COD Sports Information. Story by Ebony Macias (COD Sports Information office)