6 local football players, gymnast made college commitments last month
CONCORD, CA (Feb. 1, 2023) — Concord’s two powerhouse high school football programs saw six senior student athletes make their college commitments during December’s National Letter of Intent early signing period.
Besides the six football players, Sienna Blake of Concord, a standout performer at East Bay Gymnastics the last five years, is headed to Illinois after committing to the Greenville University gymnastics team. Blake home schools through the Visions in Education program
Northern California 1-AA champion De La Salle, which returned to a State Bowl game after missing out in 2021, had five players ink their national letter of intent Wednesday including four-star tight end Cooper Flanagan to Notre Dame. Flanagan starred on both sides of the ball this year before an injury against Pittsburg in the North Coast Section Open Division championship game end his season.
His Spartan teammates who also made their commitments official this week were:
Charles Greer, runningback to Fresno State
Cooper Powers, offensive line TCU
Journey McKoy, defensive back to Nevada
Derek Thompson, offensive line to Harvard
Spartan coach Justin Alumbaugh had high praise to his seniors who helped lead the team to its 30th successive North Coast Section championship in spite of many injuries and the toughest schedule in NorCal high school football.
Richard McKay lineman for Clayton Valley Charter, the East Bay Athletic League Mountain Division champions for the third time running and NCS Division I finalists, committed to Sacramento State Hornets who just completed a record-breaking season.
All six local football signees were named first team all-EBAL for their performances this fall with Flanagan cited as co-defensive player of the year. The five Spartan players each earned all-league honors as juniors as well.
Jay Bedecarré
Jay Bedecarré is a long-time resident and writer in Concord and Clayton. He began his newspaper writing career while still a senior at Mt. Diablo High School and he has been part of The Pioneer since its inception in 2003. Jay also operates Bay Area Festivals, presenting events around the San Francisco Bay Area including Bay Area KidFest annually in Downtown Concord.