Tanner Hughes – El Dorado Hills – Football

The fullback rushed for 63 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 26-20 Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal victory over Delta River League foe Pleasant Grove on Nov. 29. Hughes powered in from 6 yards, and added a pair of 3-yard scores to account for the majority of Oak Ridge’s points. The bruising back’s biggest run, though, came on the first play of the fourth quarter with his team facing a 3rd-and-25 from the its own 2-yard line. With a slim 20-14 lead, Hughes burst through the middle, broke tackles, and dragged defenders to get the last of the 25 yards for a first down. He scored his final…

Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills – Football – Senior 

   The fullback rushed for 63 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans’ 26-20 Sac-Joaquin Section semifinal victory over Delta River League foe Pleasant Grove on Nov. 29. Hughes powered in from 6 yards, and added a pair of 3-yard scores to account for the majority of Oak Ridge’s points. The bruising back’s biggest run, though, came on the first play of the fourth quarter with his team facing a 3rd-and-25 from the its own 2-yard line. With a slim 20-14 lead, Hughes burst through the middle, broke tackles, and dragged defenders to get the last of the 25 yards for a first down. He scored his final TD to cap the 98-yard drive that seemingly broke the Eagles’ backs, and propelled Oak Ridge to its second consecutive Division I final.

   IN HIS OWN WORDS: “I knew that it was a big down,” Hughes said of the 3rd-and-25 play, “and I just ran as hard as I could. I knew where I had to get to, and was just able to get all of the yards we needed.”

   WHAT YOU DIDN’T KNOW: The Air Force commit enjoys playing the piano and guitar in the little spare time that he has. While the musical interest may not seem to lend itself to the hard-hitting nature of a fullback, Hughes has a preference for hard-hitting hip hop and rap beats. 

HONORABLE MENTION 

Fiona O’Keefe – The Davis cross country super sophomore won the individual section and state Division I titles, and led the Blue Devils to the SJS Div. I team championship.

Tommy Arnold – The Elk Grove senior QB/LB had an interception that led to a go-ahead score, and iced the game with a 30-yard TD run in a 22-14 playoff win at Rio Linda.

Maddie Deters – Granite Bay’s senior outside hitter recorded 12 kills and nine digs in the Grizzlies’ 3-0 sweep of Palo Alto in a CIF NorCal semifinal on Nov. 30.