Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

High School Football:

Sun Player of the Year: Centennial back made up for lost time, capped season with memorable run against Gorman

High School Player of the Year: Rhamondre Stevenson

Steve Marcus

Centennial High School junior running back Rhamondre Stevenson, the Las Vegas Sun’s high school football player of the year, poses in the Sun’s photo studio Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2015.

High School Player of the Year: Rhamondre Stevenson

Centennial High School junior running back Rhamondre Stevenson, the Las Vegas Sun's high school football player of the year, poses in the Sun's photo studio Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2015. Launch slideshow »

As Rhamondre Stevenson raced toward the end zone against power Bishop Gorman, the near sellout crowd got louder and louder in excitement.

The Centennial High junior running back broke tackles, made would-be tacklers miss, outraced other would-be tacklers and made a nifty cutback move near the Gorman 25-yard line on the way to an electrifying 81-yard touchdown run.

His scamper briefly gave Centennial hope, tying the game at seven before Gorman’s defense tightened to hand the Bulldogs a 52-7 defeat to end the season. The fans in the visiting bleachers went wild, but Stevenson initially didn’t hear the noise. It was Centennial's first play of the game and he was more focused on scoring.

“It was my first time getting the ball and I knew I had to make a statement,” he said. “At first, I wanted to put my head down and get yards. But when (I broke loose) I wanted to make sure nobody caught me.”

Stevenson was ineligible as a sophomore and entered last fall as a relative unknown. One season, and one memorable run later, he’s one of the city’s best. Stevenson, who rushed for 1,457 yards and 17 touchdowns, is the Sun’s Player of the Year.

The award isn’t designed for a player who was already established entering the season. This city has plenty of those, athletes committed to schools such as Notre Dame and USC. Rather, it’s for under-the-radar players whose performances merit recognition and could lead to becoming the next prospect courted by a major university.

Rarely does the Gorman defense yield that type of play. They’ve surrendered just 11 points per game the past six seasons and haven’t lost to a local opponent since 2008. Yet, Stevenson single-handedly broke off one of the longest touchdowns the perennial powers have surrendered during their dynasty.

And they made sure Stevenson knew how good the run was. Following the game, when Stevenson and his teammates were consoling each other on a season-ending defeat, Gorman players and supporters found their way to the Centennial sideline to compliment Stevenson on his game. He rushed for 144 yards and had 46 receiving yards .

“I wasn’t afraid. I was determined to prove people wrong because no one thought you could do that on Gorman,” Stevenson said.

The performance was nothing new.

“That was just one of the many runs he’s had all year long,” Centennial coach Leon Evans said. “There are plays where he's bottled up by five or six tacklers, then somehow he breaks off a run for 15 or 20 yards.”

The 6-foot, 205-pound Stevenson beat opponents multiple ways. One game, he’d score a touchdown because of his speed and ability to make tacklers miss in open space. The next, he’d rush the ball in between the tackles.

“He’s a bruiser,” Evans said. “But in the open field, he will put a move on you. And he can finish. That is what makes him very unique.”

He rushed for more than 100 yards in seven of Centennial's 11 games — he had 94 and 99 yards in two others. Against Cimarron-Memorial, he rushed for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Against Legacy, he rushed for 196 yards and four touchdowns.

“I wanted to get back what I lost my sophomore year,” Stevenson said.

Not only did Stevenson miss every game of his sophomore season, he also missed practice. Evans insisted Stevenson study after school, not take part of practice with the scout team. When his grades improved by the quarter break, he returned for the final three games having learned a valuable lesson: Football and academics go hand-in-hand.

Don’t expect Stevenson to stop working at both because he’s already established. His next goal is to get a college scholarship. He knows that will require more hard work on the football field, and more important, the classroom.

•••

During the past high school football season, the Sun selected under-the-radar players for their Player of the Week award. Instead of giving more attention to already established players, we focused on those athletes who weren’t expected to be stars. Here’s more from our impressive group:

Maurice Bennett, senior running back and kick returner, Cimarron-Memorial

Stats: Had 359 rushing and 317 kick return yards. Accounted for seven touchdowns

Highlight: Scored touchdowns four ways — rushing, passing, receiving and on kick return. Helped Cimarron reach the Sunset Regional quarterfinals.

Kaleb Bodily, senior running back, Moapa Valley

Stats: Rushed for 1,212 yards and 20 touchdowns

Highlight: Helped Moapa Valley win the Division I-A state championship

Herman Gray, senior running back, Arbor View

Stats: Rushed for 1,739 yards and 22 touchdowns

Highlight: Led Aggies to Northwest League title and undefeated regular season. Northeast League’s Offensive MVP

Marckell Grayson, sophomore quarterback, Desert Pines

Stats: Passed for 2,180 yards and 27 touchdowns

Highlight: Helped Jags reach the Division I-A state championship game

Carter Nielson, senior offensive lineman, Green Valley

Stats: Was a first-team All-Southeast League selection

Highlight: Earned full-ride scholarship to Weber State

Andrew Peterson, senior running back and defensive back, Sierra Vista

Stats: Rushed for 789 yards and nine touchdowns. Had three receiving touchdowns and two interceptions on defense.

Highlight: Helped Sierra Vista win its first playoff game in nearly a decade

Dominick Wilson, junior, kick returner and athlete, Shadow Ridge

Stats: Rushed for 945 yards and nine touchdowns

Highlight: Led the Mustangs to the Sunset Regional quarterfinals

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy