Meet Fresno Bee’s prep football Player of the Year, the top coach and all-star team
You could always count on Tyus Miller to get things done for the Clovis East High football team.
His work ethic didn’t happen overnight. It took some time — and that development was something Timberwolves coach Brandon Nagle enjoyed the most as Miller became one of the prolific quarterbacks in the Central Section.
That is why Miller made sure that in his senior season, which included aspirations for Clovis East to go all the way to the state championship.
While that didn’t happen, Miller was still beaming about what the Timberwolves accomplished all season.
“There’s been a lot of hard work that’s gone into this and throughout the years,” Miller said. “Football is just an amazing sport. I’m very grateful that I can play it and that I have the opportunities to do what I’m able to do. I just go out there and I work hard. I hope that I play my best.”
Miller is The Fresno Bee’s Player of the Year after finishing the season completing 176 of 240 passes for 2,899 yards and 36 touchdowns against five interceptions. He also had 81 carries for 714 yards and four touchdowns in guiding the Timberwolves to a 12-1 overall record and a 5-0 Tri-River Athletic Conference championship.
“I’m truly honored,” he said. “I’m really thankful that I was able to put on a show out there this year and that I was able to help the community rally around the club and see football again. “
Miller was surrounded by an impressive stable in wideouts Harold Duvall, Blake Mathieu and Donyell Booker Jr. Running backs Lindsey Graves (10 touchdowns) and Taemell Horton (seven touchdowns) also contributed to the team effort.
“I mean 20 years down the road, you’re going to look back at these last four years and what changed Clovis East football and what happened with the culture there — his name is going to be at the top of that,” Nagle said.
“He’s been everything we’ve asked for. He’s never missed a practice, never missed a weight room, been first in conditioning. What better can I ask for?”
Miller is set to play for UC Davis, with the Aggies joining the Mountain West Conference in July 2026.
“What I’m going to take there is just the culture of Clovis East football,” Miller said. “Playing hard and outworking everyone and just having fun and finding joy in football.”
Coach of the Year: Kyle Biggs, Central
There were many uncertainties for Central heading into the 2024 opener.
The No. 1 question was who’d be the starting quarterback. No. 2 was could the Grizzlies maintain their form?
Kyle Biggs was always optimistic about his team’s changes. He never goes into a game feeling like an underdog.
He knows his Grizzlies will always show grit.
His team proved him right, starting off the season 5-0 behind sophomore quarterback Jelani Dippel.
Dippel surprised Biggs this season and showed a competitive fire in him. The Grizzlies rallied behind Dippel.
But in the first TRAC game, the Grizzlies stumbled and lost to then-defending Central Section champions Clovis North 26-21.
In fact, Central lost back-to-back games, the second one to Clovis East.
Biggs got his team together and told the players to believe in themselves and get it going.
The Grizzlies answered the call in a big way.
They won seven straight games including getting revenge on Clovis North and Clovis East, especially in the Central Section Division-1A championship 33-24.
While Central made it to the CIF state championship and lost to Edison-Huntington Beach 21-14, Biggs saw immediate growth from his team.
“Our kids realized: ‘You know what? We’re just as good as they are,’” Biggs said. “We knew if we played them again, we had a good shot to beat them. Our motto in the playoffs was ‘Just Believe. Believe in Ourselves.’ To the kids’ credit, they did that wholeheartedly and the won themselves a championship.”
Biggs has a 109-30 overall record between his time at Fowler and Central, according to section historian Bob Barnett. He has won five league titles and four section titles with three runner-up finishes — and a state title in 2019 with a 15-0 record.
Offensive Player of the Year: Ath/RB Brandon Smith, Jr. Central
Brandon Smith was a force on defense, but more so on offense.
The junior was hard to tackle for defenders, or even his juke moves would leave opponents falling.
His numbers proved that.
Smith rushed for 1,871 yards and 25 touchdowns. He even had 354 receiving yards and four touchdowns.
Defensive Player of the Year: DB McKay Madsen, Sr., Clovis North
McKay Madsen was a problem on offense for Clovis North.
He was just as disruptive on defense.
He had two interceptions, one fumble recovery, forced a fumble and finished the season with 49 tackles (34 solo and 15 assists).
Madsen had three tackles for loss and one quarterback hurry.
Madsen will be headed to Brigham Young after completing his two-year mission. He is set to play linebacker for the Cougars.
Large School Player of the Year: WR Bryson Baker, Sr., Sanger,
Nothing is going to stop Bryson Baker from reaching the end zone.
Whether it’s on the ground or in the air, the University of Utah commit always found paydirt.
His Apaches benefited from it by winning the County/Metro Athletic Conference title.
While known for his receiving abilities, Baker ran for 873 yards and 18 touchdowns in helping Sanger to an 8-3 record and 5-0 mark in the CMAC.
Medium School Player of the Year: Jayden Najera, Golden West
Golden West had one of its best seasons in school history, going 10-2 overall and 5-0 in the East Yosemite League.
The Trailblazers were led by quarterback Jayden Najera, who completed 187 of 274 for 2,755 yards and 31 touchdowns against eight interceptions.
The sophomore also ran for seven touchdowns.
Small School Player of the Year: Noah Tasi, Coalinga
Coalinga High finished the season 14-1 and 5-0 in the West Sierra League.
The Horned Toads were led by their senior.
Tasi was instrumental in Coalinga’s success this season.
He finished the season with 3,243 passing yards and 41 touchdowns against nine interceptions.
Tasi had 232 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
The Bee’s All-Stars
QB Joel Arrellano, Sr., Madera
OL/DL Emilio Ayala, Jr., Kingsburg
WR Malachi Barnes, Sr., Sunnyside
RB Dimareea Banks, Jr., McLane
RB David Bell, Sr., San Joaquin Memorial
OL Michael Hester-Black, Jr., Roosevelt
LB Vaughn Blunt, TE, Kerman
WR/KR/DB Donyell Booker Jr., Clovis East
RB/WR Jimmie Burk, Jr., Redwood
T Alex Carmona, Sr., Golden West
LB Aidan Chavez, Sr., Central
DL Ross Cinfel, Sr., Clovis North
LB Justin Clark, Jr., Hanford
DL Riley Collins, Jr., Golden West
DL Aaron Cox, Jr., Sanger West
DB Jontae Della, Soph., Central
QB Jelani Dippel, Soph., Central
DB Donovan Dunmore, Jr., Buchanan
WR/DB Harold Duvall, Sr., Clovis East
TE David Flores, Sr., Woodlake
QB Tyler Franklin, Jr., Bullard
RB Kourdey Glass, Sr., Hanford
S Nicholas Grewal, Sr., Kerman
QB Daniel Gomez, Sr., Hanford
WR Bayon Harris, Soph., Central
WR/DB Jacob Hernandez, Sr., Selma
WR/DB Ayden Hernandez, Sr., Clovis
RB/LB Ehis Idoni, Fr., Roosevelt
TE/DE Emanuel Jackson IV, Sr., Hanford
WR CJ Jones, Sr., Sunnyside
ST Xavior Jones, Soph., Central
LB Jax Koontz, Sr., Clovis East
LB Josue Madrigales, Sr., Madera
ST Dezjour Malone, Sr., Clovis
WR Blake Mathieu, Sr, Clovis East
DB Kayden McGrew, Jr., Sanger
RB Maddox Merrill, Jr., Clovis
T/TE Tremaine Mobley, Sr., Hoover
QB/S Jacob Molina, Sr., Exeter
OL Johnny Naranjo, Sr., McLane
DL Jack Nelson, Sr., Clovis East
DB Da’Zir Newhouse, Sr., McLane
LB Marcus Nolen, Sr. Central
WR/ATH Pamir Oliver, Soph., Hoover
RB/DB Micah Paden, Sr., Central Valley Christian
WR/CB Taveon Patterson, Jr., Hanford
S Jaden Pena, Sr., Coalinga
WR Rashad Perry, Sr., Washington Union
RB/LB Romulan Phetvixay, Sr., Sunnyside
DE Greg Ramirez, Jr., McLane
DL Juan Raygoza Jr., McLane
DB Masai Richard, Sr., Coalinga
RB/DB Albert Richardson, Sr., Hanford
WR/S Cash Rico, Sr., Redwood
Ath Demaje Riley, Soph., Tulare Union
WR/S Owen Robertson, Jr., Exeter
LB Michael Rodriguez Jr., Roosevelt
LB Tyler Romo, Jr., Immanuel
QB Deagan Rose, Jr., Clovis
WR Tyree Sams, Jr., Clovis North
WR Daylon Scott, Sr., Central
WR/DB Julyen Scott, Soph., McLane
WR Brayden Stevenson, Jr., Tulare Union
RB/LB Amani Sua, Sr., Torres
WR Dylan Teixeira, Sr., Coalinga
QB/DB Adrian Torres, Jr., Kerman
RB Julien Velez, Sr., Kerman
DB Oshea Webb, Jr., Clovis East
TE Dillan Williams, Sr., Porterville
QB Tanner Wilson, Sr., Sunnyside
LB Dominic Wilson, Sr., Tulare Union
OL/DL Jesse Wright, Sr., Central
OL Jonathan Ybarra, Sr., Sanger
WR/CB Carlos Young, Jr., Clovis
QB/TE/LB Noah Zamora, Sr., McLane
This story was originally published January 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
