Folsom QB Tremain is SFL MVP

What has annually become one of the fiercest football leagues in all of California handed out its all-league awards on Wednesday. After the Folsom Bulldogs completed a 6-0 campaign, the Sierra Foothill League MVP went to quarterback Tyler Tremain. The junior joined a long line of Folsom quarterbacks that have helped keep a stronghold on the SFL. "It's an honor to be named MVP of the SFL," Tremain said. "It's unbelievable. I couldn't have done it without my teammates around me and my coaches." Tremain led all California QBs with 2,024 passing yards and 27 touchdowns and led the Sac-Joaquin Section with 130 completions (61.9%) and 337.3 passing yards per game. "I thought I played pretty well, but there's definitely a lot of room for improvement and that's what we're going to work on this summer," Tremain said. Another SFL quarterback took home the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Granite Bay senior Nick Poulos was second in the league with 1,223 passing yards, completing 63.4% of his passes for six touchdowns. "We felt Nick was the best football player in the entire league," Granite Bay coach Jeff Evans said. "Him being the Offensive MVP is just something that makes total sense. Nick had a great year and played as well as anybody against the toughest, meanest and best teams in the section." Poulos led a Granite Bay team that was one of just five teams in the section to compete in all six weeks of the COVID-shortened spring season (Folsom, Christian Brothers, Inderkum and Natomas). Of those teams, only Folsom had a better record than the Grizzlies (4-2). "It was awesome just getting the chance to play a few more times with the team in general, especially since some of us on the team have played together for 11 years," Poulos said. "It was definitely a memorable season, and I know all of us that got to play had a blast. It was great to win the award as it demonstrates all the hard work that my teammates and I put in throughout the year." Whitney senior Austin Hauptman was the winner of the SFL's Defensive Player of the Year. "After being a junior on the All-SFL First Team last year, he wanted to repeat that and raise the bar," Whitney coach Zac McNally said of Hauptman. "He's always pushing the envelope and pushing to be the best player for himself. He's set the standard for linebackers at Whitney High School." Hauptman, who often walks out to the pregame captain's meeting rocking a WWE-style championship belt, led the defensive smackdown for the Wildcats. He had 60 tackles, including 16 for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovery. He tallied 221 tackles in his three-year varsity career. "He's come full circle," McNally said. "I first met him when he was a freshman and brought him up to varsity as a sophomore. He took his lumps then, but this year everyone was scheming around him. Everyone knew where he was on the field. He embodies the Defensive Player of the Year." Rocklin junior Bobby Piland was named the league's Lineman of the Year after helping the Thunder finish the season at 4-0. The 6-foot-1, 280-pound two-way trenchman was often the lead blocker or pulling guard on Rocklin's 12 rushing touchdowns. "Being selected LOY by the SFL coaches is an honor," Piland said. "It makes me just want to work harder and come back this next season bigger, faster, stronger and ready to dominate." A repeat All-SFL selection, Piland has an impressive list of collegiate offers. A varsity starter since his freshman year, Piland has offers from Cal Poly, Harvard, Army, Air Force, Northern Arizona, Idaho State and surely more to come. "Although he's been at the varsity level for three years, he continues to bring a lunch pail attitude to practice every day," Rocklin coach Jason Adams said of Piland. "He treats every rep in practice as if it will be his last and there's nothing more you could ask for from a coach's perspective. He's taken on more of a leadership role this year and he's pretty good at that too." With no official league championship on the line this season, Folsom finished 5-0 against SFL competition, followed by Rocklin (4-0), Granite Bay (3-2), Oak Ridge (2-4), Whitney (1-4) and Del Oro (0-5). 2020-21 ALL-SIERRA FOOTHILL LEAGUE FOOTBALL Most Valuable Player: QB Tyler Tremain, Folsom, JR Offensive Player of the Year: QB Nick Poulos, Granite Bay, SR Defensive Player of the Year: LB Austin Hauptman, Whitney, SR Lineman of the Year: OL/DL Bobby Piland, Rocklin, JR FIRST TEAM QB Richie Watts, Rocklin, SR RB Cole Roth, Granite Bay, SR RB Logan Foster, Del Oro, SR RB Anthony Parker, Whitney, JR WR Brandon Barthel, Oak Ridge, SR WR Justin Arnaz, Folsom, JR WR Rico Flores, Folsom, SO WR Talsen Smith, Granite Bay, SR WR Nick Tawney, Whitney, SR OT Brennan Ellison, Oak Ridge, SR OT Ilaisa Gonebure, Rocklin, SR OG Christian Clingerman, Folsom, JR OG Isaiah Rheaume, Folsom, JR OG Jacob Tupou, Granite Bay, SR C Dan Bracone, Rocklin, SR UT Reese Catchings, Oak Ridge, JR UT Jaylen Pickens, Rocklin, SR PK Cole Becker, Rocklin, SR DL Peyton Vota, Oak Ridge, SR DL Elijah Hansen, Oak Ridge, SR DL Jake Melander, Folsom, SR DL Walker Lyons, Folsom, SO DL Ben Newman, Granite Bay, SR DL Nic Johnson, Rocklin, SR ILB Hunter Nabers, Oak Ridge, SR ILB Josh Tremain, Folsom, JR ILB Hunter Houser, Rocklin, SR ILB Brandon Wong, Whitney, JR OLB James Stabbert, Granite Bay, JR OLB Dylan Hale, Whitney, SR DB Austin McMillan, Folsom, JR DB Michael Chavez, Folsom, SR DB Christian Perry, Granite Bay, SR DB TJ Willson, Del Oro, SR DB Elias Mullican, Rocklin, JR P Nick Verdugo, Del Oro, JR SECOND TEAM QB Kenny Lueth, Rocklin, JR WR Aiden Parry, Del Oro, JR OT Braidan Freeland, Folsom, JR OT Brad Baur, Rocklin, JR OG Brian West, Del Oro, SR C Vinny Scalise, Folsom, SR DL Jelani Latson, Granite Bay, SR DL Evan Niemi, Rocklin, SR DL Jordan Tinetti, Whitney, SR ILB Justin Eklund, Folsom, JR ILB Azary Matsuda, Granite Bay, SR ILB Jacob Birch, Del Oro, SR OLB Luke Armstrong, Oak Ridge, JR OLB Derek Houston, Rocklin, SO DB Greco Carillo, Folsom, SO DB Teeg Slone, Rocklin, JR DB Phoenix Rose, Whitney, FR HONORABLE MENTION WR Mason Norberg, Folsom, SO WR Cole Christoffersen, Granite Bay, SR WR Peyton Smith, Rocklin, JR WR Nathan Kent, Rocklin, JR OT Talae Tuimaunei, Granite Bay, SO OG Noah Garcia, Whitney, JR UT Dom Soares, Granite Bay, JR DL Drew Van Komen, Oak Ridge, SR DL Dalton Cook, Oak Ridge, SR DL Hunter Masterson, Folsom, JR DL Ryan Wenstrom, Granite Bay, SR DL Cole Gustafson, Rocklin, SR DL Wesley Houck, Whitney, JR ILB Ryan Enney, Oak Ridge, SR ILB Jake Hall, Oak Ridge, SO ILB Zach Annis, Granite Bay, JR OLB Reagan Arney, Del Oro, SR DB Lonnell Turbin, Folsom, SR DB Kevin MacIntosh, Granite Bay, JR