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Hawks' wide receiver earns all-state honors
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Deangelo Williams dazzled spectators with his big-play ability while playing wide receiver for Central Valley High School's varsity football team during the fall.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior hauled in 58 passes for 1,137 yards and 13 touchdowns as the Hawks compiled a 5-5 overall record and finished in fifth-place at 3-4 in the Valley Oak League.

On Tuesday, Jan. 20, Williams was recognized by ESPN Rise/CalHiSports.com. He earned second-team, all-state honors for medium-school players.

"I'm really happy," Deangelo said. "I worked hard for it."

Williams ranked first in the Valley Oak League in receiving yards and touchdowns, second in receptions and sixth in scoring.

"I loved when they played man-to-man defense," said Deangelo, who received first-team, all-conference honors as well. "I knew I was going to get the ball."

Williams benefited from playing alongside seniors Trevor Mew (quarterback) and Ricky Rogers (wide receiver/cornerback).

Head coach Tim Garcia and receivers coach Debin Cowell were also instrumental in Deangelo's development.

"It's all because of them," Williams said. "They helped me out a lot. They made me better. We had great chemistry."

Mew had the second-best QB rating in the Sac-Joaquin Section thanks in large part to an astounding 73 percent completion clip. The VOL's Offensive Player of the Year passed 2,957 yards and 29 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.

Rogers made the VOL first team on both offense and defense despite missing the final game of the season with a serious knee injury. The third-year starter totaled 62 receptions, 890 yards and 10 touchdowns at receiver.

"Having Ricky there made me work twice as hard," Williams said.

Deangelo caught five passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns during Central Valley's 40-7 rout of Ceres High during Week 10.

Williams' most memorable performance came four days after his father's death. He tallied a career-high 212 yards and three touchdowns on eight catches, and snagged an interception with one hand in a 31-28 loss to VOL runner-up and Sac-Joaquin Section playoff-participant Sierra.

"That's a game I'll never forget," Deangelo said.

Williams admitted he was clueless about football as a freshman. He's grown leaps and bounds since that time.

"When I first came to Central Valley, I was going to play tight end," he said. "I didn't even know what that was."