The San Marcos and Dos Pueblos football teams each made great first impressions in their first season in the Tri-County League this year.
Both the Royals and Chargers earned automatic bids into the CIF-SS playoffs after finishing second and third, respectively, in the league standings.
The two teams couldn’t have snapped their respective playoff droughts without standout seasons from student-athletes up and down the roster who were rewarded with All-Tri-County League honors.
The Royals garnered a pair of individual honors as senior Manny Verdugo was named the league’s Defensive Lineman of the Year while senior Anthony Obispo earned Linebacker of the Year honors.
Obispo racked up 93 tackles and five tackles for loss while Verdugo ended the year with 53 total tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss as the team’s lead interior lineman.
Meanwhile, senior Zach Gesswein was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end for the Chargers and as a result, he picked up the league’s Defensive Back of the Year award.
Gesswein piled on 100 total tackles for Dos Pueblos while also coming away with three interceptions and five tackles for loss.
The Royals were well-represented on the All-Tri-County League First Team thanks in large part to a strong senior class ending its high school career on a high note.
San Marcos seniors Danny Diaz, Oliver Martinez, Giancarlo Vargas, Quinn Donnell, Charlie Angeles, Nate Jones, Roman Gislimberti and Jacob Murrillo all pulled in All-League First Team honors.
The junior trio of TJ Deakyne, Max Silva and Cole Dominguez along with sophomore standout Remi Boykin joined their senior teammates on the All-League First Team.
As for the Chargers, seniors Kaleb Williams, Simon Alexander and Javier Manzanarez played key roles in helping the team reach the CIF-SS playoffs for the first time since 2019 and picked up All-League First Team selections.
Meanwhile, junior wideouts Ivan Velez and Brady Walbridge were also named to the All-League First Team.
San Marcos’ big senior class earned All-League Second Team nods as well as seniors Daniel Soto, Alejandro Garcia, David Ramirez, David Martinez and Alfredo Villalba made the team. Junior Dominic Christmas rounded out the Royals’ honorees on the All-League Second Team.
Dos Pueblos also had plenty of All-League Second Team honorees as seniors Andrew Newendorp, Rafael Perez and Danny Perez were named to the team along with junior Andrew Cook, junior Iyad Ahmad-Reda and sophomore Wyatt Mitchell.
Charger junior Damien Gomez, junior Damian Martinez and sophomore Patrick Sullivan rounded out the local honorees with Honorable Mention honors.