There are a lot of good returning quarterbacks in the Redwood Empire, and all of them got a mention in the 2019 NCS Quarterbacks to Watch feature by Nate Smith on July 20, but things have changed a little since then.
We can’t go in-depth for every quarterback in the Redwood Empire so in Part 1 of this feature we tell the story of two seniors who are the top two returning quarterbacks from the region, and who share two things in common. Both had seasons with difficult and disappointing endings, and both received their first offer within a day of each other, and from the same school.
Part 2 to run soon will have a little recent history of Redwood Empire signal-callers and will feature a fresh new face and a player from behind the Redwood Curtain that put up some huge numbers last season.
Jackson Pavitt, Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa
There are some solid signal-callers in the Redwood Empire this season, but the top two are from the North Bay League – Oak Division and Pavitt is one of them.
When things are taken out of your hands as a player, and then you come up on the short end of a coin flip, it can be disheartening for an adult let alone a teenager that has a limited number of chances at winning something as meaningful as a state championship.
Cardinal Newman quarterback Jackson Pavitt was part of a 2018 team that had a decision to make. Because the fires last year pushed the NCS Division III playoffs to the point where they were running into the state playoffs, either both Newman and Eureka would agree to play for an NCS title, or if one of them wanted to move on to the Northern Regional Bowl Games, they would flip a coin, the winner would advance and the D3 title would be “vacated.”
Well, Pavitt was part of a Newman team that voted to go for the gusto only they came up on the short end of the stick and Eureka advanced and was a 27-20 loser to Menlo-Atherton-Atherton, leaving Cardinals fans to wonder if they might not have done better then Eureka.
“At that point I was torn,” Pavitt answered when asked about the decision to not play for the NCS championship. “But you can only control what you can control. We played our best every game."
The best was an 11-1 record with the only loss coming in a 31-14 defeat at the hands of CIF Division 1-A Bowl Game champion Liberty-Brentwood in a game where they were competitive.
There was no NCS D3 championship game so it is pretty much a given that Pavitt and his Cardinals teammates have a burning desire to get back to where they were last year, and that was in a title game that never took place, but Pavitt has something to prove as well.
“Personally, my goal is to be the best player I can be, and hopefully bring Newman a state championship,” Pavitt said. “But I can’t make that the focus all the time, I have to take it a step at a time.”
“We’re not even into the first week yet of real games,” Pavitt continued. “If I stay focused on the things we need to focus on right now my teammates will too.”
Pavitt certainly would have been over 2,500 yards passing had Newman played another game but even so his numbers were excellent. He passed for 2,494 yards and 30 touchdowns with only three interceptions. Pavitt was also the second-leading rusher on the team in yards and TDs with 552 yards and 11 scores.
Like his teammates Pavitt has been working hard in the weight room and it showed as he now has 193-pounds on his 6-2 frame but still hopes “to get another five to six pounds before the season starts.”
As for improvement Pavitt makes no bones about it when asked in what areas he feels he wants to improve.
“Everything, all over the board,” was his initial response. “Everyone obviously likes to say they’re getting better at everything but I’m really, really, really trying to increase my speed, increase my size, praying for a little bit more height, working on my accuracy, working on understanding of coverages, of defenses, and I’ve definitely improved my arm strength from last season. I’ve gone from around 50 yards to where I have 62 or 63 in me.”
“Besides picking up around 15 pounds from last season and being at a real good playing weight Jackson has made some huge jumps from his junior to senior year because now he’s doing things for the third time,” Newman Coach Paul Cronin remarked “He’s more comfortable and knows the system better so he’s able to make better decisions.”
And where does Cronin feel Pavitt has improved the most.
“He’s done a wonderful job this summer. He's just been super accurate with the football, so I think throwing the football he’s way better than he was a year ago.”
“He’s a really good runner and we really only ran him when we felt we had to in games where the margin of victory might be close,” continued Cronin when asked about Pavitt running more.
“I like to run the ball,” Pavitt said. “A lot of people are afraid of a quarterback that can run the ball and I like that.”
Pavitt saw no action as a sophomore and last year was a breakout season for him, but he’s still under the radar, and not making it to a big stage didn’t help.
“A lot of colleges are talking to me but I don’t have any offers,” said the 3.55 GPA student-athlete who has a few major D1 schools talking to him as well as several mid-majors and others. “I was focusing on a college offer more than I should have but now I feel like if I focus on having a great senior year that should lead to some great things.”
After the interview for this feature Pavitt did receive his first offer and it came Saturday afternoon from Whittier College.
Right now, it’s the upcoming season, and Cronin has another dual-threat quarterback that’s hungry, bigger and stronger, and that could put up numbers even greater than last season.
“We’re expecting big things from Jackson this season. He should have a really good year,” summarized Cronin.
Stay tuned. Newman opens with Fortuna at home, and then goes on the road to CIF Northern Section small school power Sutter, CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division III runner-up Placer-Auburn, and then to Brentwood for the second half of the home and home with Liberty.
Jared Stocker, Rancho Cotate-Rohnert Park
The demeanor and body language of Rancho Cotate quarterback Jared Stocker in the Cougars final game last season was nothing like during the interview for this feature.
Like Jackson Pavitt of arch rival Cardinal Newman, Stocker had his last game as a junior yanked from under him, however not because of a coin flip like Pavitt but because of a concussion.
There he sat on the sidelines behind the bench with slumped shoulders and looking dejected, helpless as he watched his Cougars teammates go down 7-2 to Marin Catholic in the North Coast Section Division III semifinals.
What made it even more disheartening was Stocker was one day away from being cleared by the doctor to resume action.
While he couldn’t help his backup Ryan Hoxsie even by letting him wear his No. 18 jersey in the game, the adversity has lit a fire under Stocker. He’s ready for the season after working hard and even added some bulk to where he’s now 6-2, 188-pounds and looks very solid, and with a sparkle in his eyes and a smile that wasn’t present that day back in late November.
“It was a tough loss and it hurt because I worked so hard with my brothers for the whole summer and leading up to the game, and I was stuck on the sidelines for the biggest game of the year,” Stocker reflected.
“Even though I did all I could do and was in full support of (Ryan) Hoxsie, it motivated me to work harder than ever before to never let that happen again,” continued Stocker. “I feel like I have something to prove because I’ve just always had that chip on my shoulder and now I want it more than ever.”
Coach Gehrig Hotaling admitted the loss ate at him for “four months” but it’s behind him now and he’s looking for big things from Stocker this season.
“Jared is the most underrated quarterback in Northern California,” Hotaling remarked. “He can still improve his footwork but he’s improved the speed of his throwing motion to a quicker release, and he’s gotten bigger and faster.”
“We’re expecting him to lead the offense and take what defenses give us in terms of making the right decisions to hand it off or throw it in our RPO (run/pass/option) scheme,” Hotaling continued.
His numbers last season were very solid for an 11-2 Rancho Cotate team that never reached its full potential when Stocker was sidelined. Even so, he passed for 2,522 yards and 25 TDs with seven interceptions.
“Jared could easily throw for 4,000 yards but he doesn’t need to be a hero most of the time with the run game we have,” Hotaling said.
Speaking of the running game, the Cougars rushed for 2,214 yards and 38 TDs, and both top running backs Rasheed Rankin (1,295 yards 22 TDs) and Sumari Jones (595 yards, seven TDs) return for their senior season. For his part Stocker did have one TD on the ground but minus-five yards running the ball.
With the work he put in this summer Stocker sees himself running more and upping his passing yardage, and being the team leader as part of his personal goals.
“Over the summer I took on the leadership role more, improved my velocity and accuracy of the ball, and I put on almost 20 pounds and got faster,” remarked Jared. “My personal goals are to use my size and speed to rush for over 300 yards, and pass for over 3,700 yards. I’m still looking to improve my footwork, be more accurate and have more velocity on my ball, and I also want to get bigger and have a more consistent long ball.”
“As a team I’m hoping we bond even more and the ultimate goal is the win an NCS Division III championship and a (CIF) state title,” continued Stocker.
Stocker already has proven himself as a junior and put up some solid numbers, but his biggest numbers are in the classroom where the prototype student-athlete is carrying a 4.35 GPA, and that’s pretty spectacular and attractive to schools at the next level.
“I was talking to a lot of Ivy League schools like Columbia, and some D2 schools have taken an interest,” said Stocker, and not surprisingly with those kind of grades. “When I tell them what my GPS is they say ‘oh really’ and they get more interested.”
Speaking of interest, Stocker got his first offer after the interview for this feature took place, and it beat Pavitt by a day when on Friday he was the firt to receive an offer from Whittier College.
What’s of interest right now is how the Cougars gel with Stocker as their leader, and how he comes out of the summer for his senior season.
It all starts on August 23 when Rancho Cotate visits a Sacramento team they beat 16-12 last year at home. From there its Vanden-Fairfield and El Cerrito at home, and then road trips to Pleasant Valley-Chico and Campolindo-Moraga before opening North Bay League – Oak action on October 4 at home against Cardinal Newman.
