High School

San Marcos' Kreet Makihele is SBLive's Southern California Athlete of the Week (9/12/2024)

Kreet had a memorable stat line to lift San Marcos past Tesoro in Week 1

Lance Smith

It's easy to forget that San Marcos quarterback Kreet Makihele is just a junior.

He's now in year three of putting up monster numbers, rocket launching touchdown passes way downfield, and winning games for the Knights. But he's only just eclipsed the halfway point of his high school football career.

In his first two years of high school, Makihele completed a combined 304 of 460 pass attempts (66.1-percent) for 4,319 yards and 51 touchdowns, good for a 117.1 passer rating. That was despite missing five games last year with a broken collarbone – and playing through it during the last four games.

Makihele is off to a strong start once again in 2024, as are his Knights.

He went ballistic in their second game, a 42-28 win at Tesoro on Aug. 30, throwing for six touchdowns and a career-high 469 yards. Makihele connected with seven different receivers, including five who caught at least two passes, and as usual, 3-star San Jose State commit was the top star out wide (seven receptions for 166 yards and three touchdowns).

For his dominant aerial display, fans have voted Makihele SBLive's Southern California Athlete of the Week. He received 1,415 votes, good for 65.3-percent of the polling.

The other candidate to get a strong showing in the voting was Servite senior and 3-star San Diego State commit Quaid Carr, who came in second with 709 votes (32.7-percent).

In Week One, Carr ran 17 times for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a 37-17 win against Murrieta Valley, and tacked on three catches for 25 yards for good measure. Carr broke out as one of the CIF-Southern Section's best – and outright fastest – running backs in 2023 to help lead resurgent Servite through a rebuild. He ran for 1,201 yards and 17 touchdowns, had 27 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns, and was rewarded with offers from Washington, Utah, Colorado State, Nevada, and SDSU in the spring.

Before heading to Tesoro, San Marcos kicked the season off right with a 53-8 demolition of Rancho Buena Vista. In Week Two, the Knights emphatically moved to 3-0 with a 58-14 rout of Mater Dei Catholic thanks in large part to another dominant Makihele outing.

In 23 games, Makihele's career totals now sit at 5,308 yards and 65 touchdowns on 66.2-percent completion, good for a 123 passer rating. San Marcos will be the favorite to stay unbeaten on Friday hosting Torrey Pines.

Meet the rest of the candidates:

Trent Mosley, Santa Margarita: Mosley caught 11 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns in Friday's win over Corona Centennial.

TJ Lateef, Orange Lutheran: Lateef was nearly perfect on Friday night, completing 18 of 21 passes for 258 yards and five touchdowns against Rancho Cucamonga.

Isaiah Arriaza, Damien: Arriaza threw for 357 yards and four touchdowns in Friday's 30-29 win over Loyola.

Quaid Carr, Servite: Carr rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns in Friday's win over Murrieta Valley.

Caden Jones, Crean Lutheran: Jones had 262 passing yards and four touchdown passes in Friday's win over St. Pius X.

Koen Glover, St. Bonaventure: Glover had 192 total yards and three touchdowns in Friday's win over Birmingham.

Steele Pizzella, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame: Pizzella had 324 total yards, finishing with three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a win over Bishop Diego.

Dane Weber, Chaparral: Weber had 362 passing yards and six passing touchdowns and also added 102 yards on the ground and a touchdown in a win over Apple Valley.

Gavin Gray, Agoura: Gray had 352 passing yards and six passing touchdowns in a 58-55 win over Westlake on Friday night.

Talon Spencer, Capistrano Valley: Spencer had 199 total yards on Friday, passing for a touchdown and catching two more.

Dorsett Stecker, Corona del Mar: Stecker caught seven passes, finishing with 147 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Cypress.

Justin Benson, Upland: Benson had six receptions for 176 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Norco.

Kreet Makihele, San Marcos: Makihele passed for 469 yards and six touchdowns in Friday's win over Tesoro.

Quinn Roth, La Costa Canyon: Roth had 255 passing yards and four touchdown passes in Thursday's 49-8 win over Del Norte.

Aden Jackson, Lincoln: Jackson surpassed 100 yards both on the ground and through the air on Friday, finishing with 231 total yards and four touchdowns at Long Beach Poly.

Jake Morrison, Carlsbad: Morrison rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown and also had a pick-six in a win over Palos Verdes.

Avondre Kelley, Francis Parker: Kelley rushed for 308 yards and four touchdowns and grabbed an interception in a win over The Meadows School (NV) on Friday.

KJ Shields, Mount Miguel: Shields rushed for 147 yards and three touchdowns on six carries in Friday's win.

Thomas Donovan, Grossmont: Donovan was 23 of 34 passing for 454 yards and six touchdowns against Olympian on Friday.

Garrett Ace, La Jolla Country Day: Ace rushed for 256 yards and a touchdown in Friday's win over Crawford.

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Lance Smith
LANCE SMITH

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