Oregon State-bound QB Tristan Ti'a, rising junior RB Jhadis Luckey could decide NCS Player of the Year tonight

Playoff positioning will be in play when Amador Valley hosts California, but the showcase of two of the section's biggest offensive talents will draw loads of attention

Amador Valley QB Tristan Ti'a has committed to Oregon State but not before putting up huge numbers his senior season, accounting for more than 3,300 yards and almost 40 touchdowns heading into a season-finale versus California. / Photo: Jason Weed

Both of their teams are longshots to win North Coast Section championships, only because two fo the top 10 teams in the state will likely be in their bracket.

But Amador Valley senior quarterback Tristan Ti'a and California junior running back Jhadis Luckey could be vying for another sort of title: The unofficial NCS Player of the Year award.

Their teams converge in Pleasanton Friday night to close the regular season in East Bay Athletic League play. Both will be vying for higher NCS Division 1 seeds.

Ti'a, a highly athletic dual threat standout, has put up monster numbers all year while largely carrying the Dons to a 6-3 record. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder committed to Oregon State on Oct. 21, picking the Beavers over 10 other schools including Boston College, Colorado State, Montana, San Jose State. UNLV, Utah and Utah State.

"I loved the way Oregon State operated and the ideologies that the coaches preached," Ti'a texted us this week. "That said, it was hard considering I had other opportunities."

He's made the opportunies by putting up huge numbers in his first season as a full-time starter. He had to sit out half of the 2023 season after transferring from Granada just up the road in Livermore.

"It was most difficult watching games from the sideline last year, knowing I could make a difference," he said.

A tremendous dual threat, Amador Valley senior quarterback Tristan Ti'a heads into his regular-season ending game versus California-San Ramon with nearly 600 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns to go along with 2,627 passing yards. / Photo: Jason Weed

What a difference he's made this season, completing 163 of 211 passes, a remarkable 77 percent, for 2,627 yards and 22 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Last week he throw for a career high 406 yards while completing 24 of 30 in a 32-28 win at Monte Vista-Danville.

That, of course, is just part of his skill set as a quarterback. He's also rushed for 586 yards and 12 touchdowns on 72 carries. That's an 8.1 average which takes into consideration sacks as well.

A three-sport standout growing up — he also played baseball and basketball just like his father — Ti'a actually played wide receiver and defensive back until he got to high school. Besides his dad's athleticism, his mom grew up competing in gymnastics and dancing as well.

He's loved the move to quarterback not so much because he has his hands on the ball every down, but "I most enjoy that I can be a role model and someone to look up to."

Lucky to land Luckey

Luckey is rapidly someone kids at the San Ramon campus look up to after he also transferred from another high school, Sac-Joaquin Section powerhouse Manteca.

In his first season, the 5-foot-9, 180-pounder is NCS leader in rushing yards with 1,558 to go along with 23 touchdowns for the 7-2 Grizzlies. Last week in a 48-10 loss to state No. 5 De La Salle-Concord, Luckey rushed 16 times for 108 yards and had a terrific 39-yard scamper after taking a screen pass.

Jhadis Luckey, a California-San Ramon junior running back, leads the North Coast Section in rushing with nearly 1,600 yards for the 7-2 Grizzlies heading into a regular-season finale at Amador Valley / Photo: Jason Weed

The game before that, he rushed for a career-high 317 yards and five touchdowns ina 50-36 win over Monte Vista, which probably can make a pretty good evaluation which player — Luckey or Ti'a — should be the Player of the Year.

California coach Danny Calcagno, who has coached some good ones during a decade run at San Leandro and Chabot College, thinks it would be hard to beat Luckey, who'd he'd never seen before last spring.

"His parents called last January, said they were moving to the area and asked about our program," he said. "Frankly I didn't think much of it."

Turned out he and the Grizzlies got lucky. Very Luckey.

Sharp cuts, broken tackles, massive yards

He was a good player on a good Manteca team as a sophomore with 460 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Frankly, he was more impressive at his strong safety spot, where he had 67 tackles and three interceptions for the 8-4 Buffaloes. 

He was good enough to impress Washington State, which offered him a scholarship in June. It wasn't until Calcagno saw Luckey in a scrimmage during the summer did he and the coach take serious notice.

“He made some cuts and broke a lot of tackles,” Calcagno said. “Then the Patterson game confirmed our thoughts.” 

In a season-opening 41-34 win over the Tigers, Luckey rushed 22 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns. Over the next three games he rushed for 324 years, then took it into a another gear, rushing for more than 200 yards in three of the next four games, capped by the Monte Vista contest.

“He’s fast — runs about a 4.5-second 40-yard dash,” Calcagno said. “But it’s his ability to make people miss is what makes him a great back.He has great forward lean so defenders have a hard time wrapping up his legs”

And just as good off the field, Calcagno said. 

“Great kid,” he said. “He has a great personality. He’s very social, very outgoing and loves to be around people.”

Just not on the football field. He tends to separate. 

“Luckey is outstanding,” De La Salle coach Justin Alumbaugh said. “Great speed and vision and runs really hard. He often makes the first guy miss and pulls right through arm tackles. He’s really, really good.”  

That was before Luckey burned the Spartans for almost 150 total yards in a game that was played under a running clock the second half.

True grit

Both players figure to put in a full 48 Friday. The game figures to be close. CalPreps.com projects the final score to be California 35, Amador Valley 31.

Amador Valley has been involved in some offensive haymakers, including loss to Downey-Modesto (47-36), Liberty-Brentwood (34-28) and San Ramon Valley-Danville (29-28). They have wins over Acalanes (24-23) and the four-point win over Monte Vista.

"I'm most pleased with the grit of my team," Ti'a said. "We've gone through adversity and let it toughen us up instead of bringing us down."