Football Awards: Lucio Rodriguez SCFA AML Defensive Player of Year, Tucker Co-Coach of Year

Complete 2021 All-SCFA American Mountain League Team

The SoCal Bowl champion Pasadena City College football team picked up more hardware on this week's announcement of the 2021 SCFA All-American Mountain League Team. Lancers' sophomore linebacker Lucio Rodriguez was selected as the AML Defensive Player of the Year while first-year Director of Football Operations/Head Coach Robert Tucker was named Co-Coach of the Year.

Rodriguez (South Gate High) is the first conference defensive MVP for the program in 29 years. The last Lancer to be selected D-POW was Donte Simpson, a nose guard who was then 1992 Mission Conference Northern Division Defensive Player of the Year. That PCC team won the PCC-hosted Rose City Classic Bowl and finished *10-1 overall.

Rodriguez was a big reason why the Lancers were a conference champ (AML tri-champs with Mt. San Jacinto and Grossmont) and a bowl champ in the same season, the first time in 20 years that a PCC team performed the feats. The sophomore led the defense with 80 tackles (44 solos and 36 assists also team highs) and a PCC-high seven sacks. His 17.5 tackles for 90 yards lost led the entire SCFA and was second in the state. Rodriguez added an interception, two quarterback hurries, a pass knockdown, and a recovered fumble for a touchdown. He also caught a TD pass on a fake field goal.

Only five months since taking over the Lancers program, Tucker directed the two titles for PCC and a sparkling 9-2 overall record, finishing the season on a 5-game win streak. He shared the AML Coach of the Year honors with Mt. San Jacinto's Casey Mazzota. Tucker is a remarkable 39-5 in four community college seasons as a head coach, including four bowl champion and three conference champion teams.

Also making All-AML First Team Offense from PCC were SoCal Bowl MVP and 2-year letterman quarterback Kade Wentz, freshman offensive lineman/right tackle Edward Aranda Calixto, and sophomore placekicker Cristian Contreras.

Wentz, from San Marino High, passed for 2,188 yards and 19 touchdowns (155-for-261, seven interceptions, 59.4 competion percentage) as he was eighth in the SCFA in efficiency with a 148.5 rating. He is the first PCC 2,000-yard passer since 2015 and he proved to be an adept rusher as he totaled 360 net yards and ran for four TDs. Wentz, who made All-SCFA Second Team as a freshman, ran for 100 yards exactly in a win over Citrus and exceeded the 80-yard mark three times, including the team's league title-clinching triumph over Mt. San Jacinto. The team was 5-0 when Wentz passed for more than 260 yards in a game. 

From Rosemead High, Aranda Calixto, a 5-11, 300-pounder, was part of an unheralded PCC offensive line that featured a balanced passing and rushing game. The Lancers offense averaged 31.5 points a game and was a solid 47 percent on both third down and fourth down conversions. The work of the O-Line allowed PCC to average a chain-moving 23 first downs per game. The left-footed Contreras (Schurr HS) was the team's leading scorer with 60 points as he made 6-for-11 on field goal attempts and was a solid 42-for-44 on extra point kicks. The 42 extra points is the second-highest season total in PCC football history, trailing only Joe Timchenko's 48 kicked in 2001.

Making All-AML First Team Defense from the Lancers were sophomore cornerback extraordinaire Kaydon Spens (his second All-SCFA First Team selection, also in 2019), frosh inside linebacker and SoCal Bowl Player of the Game Jordan Monroe, and outside linebacker Jaylon McGee. Both Monroe and McGee are from Charter Oak High while Spens played his prep ball at Burbank HS. 

Spens led the state in blocked kicks, several that were game-changers including his blocked field goal that started the PCC rally in Saturday's SoCal Bowl win over Santa Ana. Two of his punt blocks resulted in PCC touchdowns, one by the talented special teams artist. He added 49 tackles (38 solos second on team), a sack, a hurry, a forced fumble, made three interceptions and broke up six other passes. Often, teams refused to throw to Spens side of the field, knowing he was a shut-down type CB. Spens was All-State as a freshman in '19. 

Monroe ran back an interception 97 yards for a TD in the SoCal Bowl and he finished the season with 39 tackles, three pickoffs, 3.5 sacks, and four QB hurries. McGee made 47 tackles, two sacks, three hurries, and one recovered fumble.

The Lancers placed nine players on the AML Second Team. Making the defensive squad were frosh defensive tackle Carlos Ramirez (37 tackles, 11 for loss, 5.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, three pass breakups and a team-high eight QB hurries), freshman defensive end Michelangelo Loretto (44 tackles, nine for loss, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception, three pass breakups, and five hurries), redshirt freshman safety Osvaldo Raigosa (52 tackles, a team-high five interceptions, five pass breakups, a fumble recovery, and a TD off a Spens blocked punt), and first-year safety Roland "Kea" Rodrigues (49 tackles, one interception, a blocked kick, and a PCC-best seven pass breakups).

Also a member of the Second Team was sophomore returner Justen Campbell (led PCC in all-purpose yards per game, 783 yards, 18 kick returns, 24.6 yards average, an 89-yard touchdown, plus 22 receptions, 14.1 yards average, four TD catches, and a 28-yard TD run on a reverse in the SoCal Bowl). Campbell was a team captain and from Rosemead High.

On Second Team Offense were sophomore wide receiver Wheeler Smith (led team with 42 receptions, 777 yards, 18.5 yards per catch, and seven TDs, 813 all-purpose yards led Lancers), who was part of the San Marino High passing-receiving duo with Wentz, 2-year letterman wide receiver (and utility athlete converted from defensive back back in 2019) Jeremiah Hartfield (32 receptions, 462 yards, 14.4 yards average, five TDs, 16 carries for 103 yards and a touchdown, led team with six punt returns for 29 yards, had six kick returns for 117 yards), sophomore all-purpose quarterback/running back Edward Norton, who led the team in rushing with 73 carries, 460 yards, 6.3 yards per attempt and six touchdowns and passed for 161 yards and two other TDs, first-year tight end Kegan Duff (seven catches, 77 yards, two TDs), and offensive lineman Steven Ortiz, a 5-11, 260-pound freshman center.

In all, the Lancers had 17 players make the 74-player All-SCFA AML First/Second Teams. Spens, Wentz, and Norton were the only 2-time selections. Norton closes his PCC career with 1,174 rushing yards (21st on PCC's career rushing list)/12 TD carries and 996 passing yards/13 touchdown throws for 2,170 yards in total offense.

Wentz passed for 2,643 career yards, placing him 10th on PCC's all-time passing list, and 24 touchdowns. His 2,188 yards this season is the eighth highest single-season total in Lancers history. A team captain, Wentz added 636 career rushing yards (seven TD keepers) and finished with 3,279 total yards. Only PCC's all-time passing leader and Mission Conference Offensive Player of the Year David Pittman (2006-2007, 7,225 yards) and Metro Conference MVP Jim Lejay (1973-1974, 3,310 yards) totaled more yards for players who had more than 600 yards career rushing to go with their passing total. 

Lucio Rodriguez makes the sack. He led the SCFA/SoCal Region in tackles for loss

Director of Football Operations/Head Coach Robert Tucker addresses team at SoCal Bowl. 
He was selected AML Co-Coach of the Year after a AML tri-title and a bowl win.