Football: Cerritos players honored with postseason awards

Leroy Palu (57) was named All-American, while he and Adam Tomczyk (97) were both All-State selections
Leroy Palu (57) was named All-American, while he and Adam Tomczyk (97) were both All-State selections

Six members of the Cerritos College football team earned 1st Team All-California Region III, while another was named 1st Team All-American. Sophomore defensive tackle Leroy Palu (Warren HS), who was voted the National Division Central League Defensive Player of the Year, earned All-American honors and was joined on defense by sophomore defensive end Adam Tomczyk (Los Alamitos HS/Utah State University). Those selected All-State on offense included sophomore wide receiver Chase Grosfeld (Los Alamitos HS) and sophomore center Kamuta Levasa (Mater Dei HS/Independence, KS CC). On special teams, sophomore punter Christian Guerra (Paramount HS) and utility player Luke Clay (La Serna HS) were also recognized.

All six players were unanimous 1st Team all-conference picks.

On the year, Palu recorded 39 tackles on the year and led the Falcons in tackles for loss (13) and quarterback sacks (5.5), while Tomczyk led all defensive linemen with 43 stops. He also recorded nine tackles for loss and four sacks to go along with two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Both were unanimous picks for 1st Team.

On offense, Grosfeld led the team with 42 catches, with four of his team-leading seven touchdowns coming in the last game of the year. He recorded 499 receiving yards and had two games of over 100 receiving yards. Levasa was crucial in the team's offensive production. As a team, the Falcons finished with 2,154 passing yards and 976 rushing yards in just nine games. The offensive line allowed less that two sacks per game.

Guerra, who also handled the placekicking duties, punted just 28 times on the season but made the most of his opportunities. He averaged 38.9 yards per punt and dropped 15 punts inside the opposing team's 20-yard line. Clay, who handled long-snapping duties, also returned three punts for 66 yards to go along with 21 tackles on defense. He posted 1 1/2 tackles for loss, broke up two passes, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.