Centennial's Cornell Hatcher is SBLive's CIF Southern Section Football Player of the Year

Hatcher ran for more than 100 yards 11 times this year, including performances against Mater Dei, Bishop Gorman and St. John Bosco

SBLive's 2023 PLAYER OF THE YEAR

RB - Cornell Hatcher, Corona Centennial, Sr.

He simply couldn't be stopped.

Corona Centennial senior running back Cornell Hatcher proved to be the biggest threat in Southern California football against the best teams - period.

He amassed 2,257 yards rushing on 268 attempts and scored 42 touchdowns in 12 games. He ran for 100-plus yards in 11 of those 12 games, and in the one game he didn't hit the 100-yard marker, he ran for 99 yards.

Hatcher showed his strength with an 8.4 yards per carry average, his durability and endurance with games where he carried the ball more than 30 times three times and 44 times against St. John Bosco.

All-Southern Section high school football team: Meet SBLive's 2023 selections

Corona Centennial's Cornell Hatcher is the SBLive 2023 Player of the Year :: Tarek Fattal/SBLive

His biggest games were against the best opponents. He ran for 105 yards against Mater Dei, 234 against Bishop Gorman(NV), 305 against Liberty (AZ), 245 against Murrieta Valley, 190 against Orange Lutheran in the Division 1 quarterfinals, and 215 against St. John Bosco in the Division 1 semifinals, falling to the Braves 43-42 in a wild finish.

High school running backs running for 2,000 yards isn't impossible to find, but ones that do it at the highest level like Cornell Hatcher are an anomaly.

The Oregon State-bound tailback carries a 4.3 grade-point average and has aspirations to get into law, like his father.

Cornell Hatcher Jr. 'under the radar', but not undervalued

2023 YEARLY AWARDS

• Player of the Year: Cornell Hatcher, Corona Centennial, Sr.

• Offensive Player of the Year: Brady Smigiel, Newbury Park, So.

• Defensive Player of the Year: Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, St. John Bosco, Sr.

• Breakout Player of the Year: Caleb Sanchez, St. John Bosco, Sr.

• Freshman of the Year: Richie Wesley, Sierra Canyon

• Coach of the Year: Mark Carson, Rio Hondo Prep