Ex-Aztecs Dombrowski, Osgood Top December Stars
by Steve Brand
The San Diego Chargers can thank nearby San Diego State for two of their key players, Brandyn Dombrowski and Kassim Osgood, as they raced through the month of December unbeaten and into the post-season playoffs.
Dombrowski and Osgood were selected as Stars of the Month by the San Diego Hall of Champions along with six amateurs and another six high school players. They will be honored at the 64th Salute to the Champions Feb. 22 at the Town and Country Convention Center.
A swift, sure-tackler who always seems to zero in on the ball, Osgood earned a spot in the Pro Bowl for the third time in his seven-year career after leading the Chargers’ special teams.
Dombrowski was expected to learn his trade as a backup offensive lineman this season but was suddenly thrust into the starting lineup when the Chargers suffered injuries at both guard and tackle. The Chargers never missed a beat.
San Diego State’s men’s basketball team went 7-1 for the month as junior D.J. Gay and freshman Kawhi Leonard were key performers. They were cited along with Brandon Johnson and Sam Child off the USD men’s and women’s teams, Quenese Davis from SDSU’s 5-1 women’s club and Tiffany Kracy, who led the Point Loma Nazarene women to a second place finish in the NAIA soccer playoffs.
Oceanside High two-way lineman Thomas Molesi led the Pirates to the state Division I Bowl Championship and topped the list of prep standouts which included Poway wrestler Victor Lopez, Eastlake quarterback D’Angelo Barksdale, Foothills Christian’s high-scoring basketball player Troy Leaf, and girls hoop standouts Yvonte Neal of Mount Miguel and Deanna Bembry of Monte Vista.
PROFESSIONAL
Brandyn Dombrowski (Football, San Diego Chargers)—While players like Philip Rivers or Vincent Jackson can point to glittering statistics, they know it would be impossible without teammates like Dombrowski, the 6-5, 323-pound former San Diego State player who stepped up to fill glaring holes at both guard and tackle after veteran starters were injured. Dombrowski was a key member of the team that rolled unbeaten through December.
Kassim Osgood (Football, San Diego Chargers)–It would be difficult to find anyone who has made the most of his situation better than the former San Diego State wide receiver. Finding himself in a backup position at WR, Osgood grew with the Chargers as a special teams standout. The seven-year veteran was selected to the 2010 Pro Bowl after amassing 15 tackles this season, all on kick return coverage.
AMATEUR
Kawhi Leonard (Basketball, San Diego State)—Freshmen rarely step right in and make an impact, but the 6-foot-7 Leonard has done just that for the Aztecs this season. When SDSU rolled to a 7-1 record for the month, losing only by three points to Arizona State, the Riverside Martin Luther King High grad was the leading rebounder in six of the eight games. His top performance came against Cal State Fullerton when he scored a season high 23 points while pulling down 18 rebounds, also tops for the year.
Brandon Johnson (Basketball, USD)—The senior started off the month with 21 points in a 69-62 overtime loss to San Diego State, and closed out the month with a personal-best 31 points in a 77-68 loss to Mississippi State. Johnson led USD in scoring (15.0) to go with 22 assists and 18 steals. He improved on his No. 2 all-time numbers for career scoring (1,583) and assists (461).
D.J. Gay (Basketball, San Diego State)—When the Aztecs needed someone to step up in two key December contests, Gay, a junior from the San Fernando Valley by way of Poly High, was the go-to player. The 6-foot guard tossed in 22 points as SDSU downed cross-town rival USD 69-62 in overtime and led the team with 18 points when Drake pushed the Aztecs into an extra session before SDSU prevailed, 76-73.
Tiffany Kracy (Soccer, Point Loma Nazarene)–A freshman goalkeeper, Kracy led the unseeded Sea Lions to a second place finish at the NAIA National Championships. Kracy was named as the Defensive Player of the National Tournament, which included 18 saves in four contests. She also stopped all three Azusa Pacific penalty kick attempts in a 3-0 shootout win in the semis. The All-American allowed only 12 goals all season.
Sam Child (Basketball, USD)—Child, a junior guard, led USD to a 5-2 record, including helping lift the Toreros to the championship of the Maggie Dixon Surf N Slam Classic where she was selected to the All-Tournament team. She paced the Toreros in scoring with a 15.3 average, including recording a career-high 28 points in the win over Nevada. In that same game, Child set a career-high with six steals.
Quenese Davis (Basketball, San Diego State)—Clearly, the senior point guard picked up her game as the Aztecs went 5-1. Davis posted a team-best 19.7 scoring average while pitching in with 6.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists. She had four 20-point games, including a career-best 26 on a 10-for-13 shooting night against Loyola Marymount University. Davis was named MVP of the San Diego Surf N Slam and MWC Player of the Week.
HIGH SCHOOL
Yvonte Neal (Basketball, Mount Miguel)–While the Matadors were racing to an undefeated month, Neal provided the push as she averaged 15.1 points a game, scoring in double figures in all 15 victories, capped off with a resounding 83-47 romp over highly-rated Bishop’s. Additionally, the 5-7 senior headed to Cal State Fullerton averaged 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 steals and hit 18 three pointers.
Deanna Bembry (Basketball, Monte Vista)–Just a junior, Bembry was a virtual double-double machine for the Monarchs as she collected 10 in her first 13 games. One of those was even better as she also had a triple-double in the season-opener when she scored 16 points, had 12 rebounds and dished out a whopping 12 assists in a 60-57 victory over Oceanside.
Troy Leaf (Basketball, Foothills Christian)—Sitting at the edge of the section career scoring record, the UC Santa Barbara signee put on quite a display in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic as his 42 points against Long Beach Jordan was high for the tourney. In the first 15 games Leaf averaged 29.5 points in leading the Knights to a 12-3 record.
Victor Lopez (Wrestling, Poway)–It isn’t often that a San Diego-area wrestler wins the Reno Tournament of Champions but that’s just what the freshman did, pacing Poway to the team title. Lopez captured the 103-pound weight class at Reno with an 11-6 victory in the title match, earning All-American honors. He also won the Grand Canyon dual meet competition and was second in the El Dorado Invitational.
D’Angelo Barksdale (Football, Eastlake)–When things weren’t going all that well for the Titans after the loss of Tony Jefferson in the section Division I title game against Vista, the senior quarterback rallied Eastlake, leading them to a 21-14 victory. Barksdale completed 7-of-11 passes, including a 52-yard TD pass to Jordan Hines in the third quarter and a 59-yarder to Daniel Diaz, as Eastlake recorded its first section football title.
Thomas Molesi (Football, Oceanside)–You won’t see a lot of stats next to Molesi’s name but the ones that really matter are in the record book—two state bowl championship titles anchoring the Pirates’ line. Molesi shook off an injury to stand tall on defense as the Pirates edged San Jose Bellarmine Prep 24-19 in the State Division I Bowl Championship in Carson after helping Oceanside to its sixth straight section title, 26-10 over Helix.
Posted on January 7, 2010 by Christian Deleon
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