Burbank’s electrifying Calvin Green had plenty of crowd-pleasing performances at Titans Stadium last season.
The then-junior dazzled at running back, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner to help the Titans go 12-1 arguably the best football season in school history.
Green accounted for 2,433 all-purpose yards, scored 22 touchdowns and had five interceptions, 28 passes defended and 61 tackles.
His ability wasn’t overlooked by Washington State coach Mike Leach. After being recruited hard by the spread offense guru, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Green verbally committed to the Cougars on June 4.
He is the sixth area player in NorCalPreps.com’s Northern California Top 50 to verbally commit. Green (No. 21) joins Cosumnes Oaks tackle Kameron Schroeder (No. 14, Duke), Pleasant Grove defensive back Brandon Lewis (No. 16, Boise State), tight end Dylan Keeney (No. 22, Colorado), wide receiver Wyatt Demps (No. 25, Nevada) and Granite Bay flyback Tony Ellison (No. 35, Arizona).
“Washington State recruited him the hardest,” Burbank coach John Heffernan said of Green. “They really like Calvin, and they think he’ll fit well in their system.”
Green is projected as a slot receiver and kick-return specialist, but Heffernan said he also can run the ball and play defense at the college level.
“What catches everyone’s eye is his speed,” Heffernan said. “He’s got burst and can find seams, so he’s tough to deal with in the open field. But he’s also physical and strong for his size. He ran through some tackles last season.”
In last year’s season opener in Napa, Green rushed four times for 194 yards, including touchdowns of 80 and 68 yards, as the Titans beat the Indians 14-7. Nicknamed “Flash,” Green also had big games in wins over Del Oro in the regular season and Pleasant Grove in the playoffs.
Green averaged 20.67 yards per carry on 57 carries, rushed for 12 touchdowns and was one of three Titans to rush for more than 1,000 yards.
Heffernan said Green had at least 12 scholarship offers, including from Arizona State and Boise State, and he wouldn’t be surprised if schools continue recruiting him, especially as a defensive back.
Green, already polished as a lock-down defender, should be even more formidable this season.
Former Titans defensive back Eddie Elder, who starred at Arizona State before being cut as an undrafted free agent last August by the Arizona Cardinals, has joined Heffernan’s coaching staff.
“Calvin and Eddie, those are probably two of the fastest kids we’ve ever had,” said Heffernan, in his 12th season as Burbank’s coach. “Eddie’s going to have a big impact on Calvin and our staff with his knowledge and his experience.”
Former Dragon’s weighty goal Weightlifter Donovan Ford’s hopes of competing for the United States at the 2016 Olympics are closer to fruition.
The former Sacramento High football player won a silver and two bronze medals in the 231-pound division at the Pan American Games last Friday in Isla Margarita, Venezuela. Ford won a silver medal in the snatch and a bronze in the clean and jerk. His combined total of 817.9 pounds in the two events also earned a bronze.
He ranks as the No. 1 male lifter in the United States, regardless of weight class, according to Paul Doherty, who coaches weightlifting and football at Sacramento High.
Ford, an All-Metro Conference second-team linebacker for the Dragons as a senior in 2007, lives in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he works out at the U.S. Olympic Training Center. He’s now training for the world championships in October in Poland.
Doherty, who gave Ford his start in competitive weightlifting, was the U.S. men’s coach for the Pan American Games.
“I’ve had kids go all over the world, but because of football and teaching, there never was the opportunity until now,” Doherty said. “It was a unique experience.”
Bulldogs earn national ranking Folsom, which returns 14 starters from last season’s 14-1 Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship football team, is ranked No. 19 in Maxpreps.com’s Preseason Xcellent national Top 25.
Call The Bee’s Bill Paterson, (916) 326-5506.
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