ALL-S.D. COUNTY CC FOOTBALL TEAM

EL CAJON —- Many factors determine awards like players of the year on offense or defense. Statistics and winning rank among them.

However, when it comes to the Joe Roth Award, which returns following an 8-year hiatus, the mold of such a champion also features leadership on and off the field, a pattern in positively influencing his teammates, and so much more, all to bear semblance to Roth, the former Grossmont College and University of California quarterback, who lost his opportunity of becoming a first-round draft selection in the National Football League after losing his life to cancer in the mid-1980s.

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With all this in mind, the 2021 recipient of the Joe Roth Award is presented to Brady Abt, the sophomore quarterback for Grossmont College.

Abt, who hails out of Northland Christian High School, in Houston, closed the regular season with five consecutive regular-season victories, propelling Grossmont into a dramatic tie-breaker contest at Pasadena City College for a berth into a CCCAA state bowl game after the Griffins were coming off back-t0-back one-win seasons leading up to the resumption of play following the pandemic hiatus, which left many community college veteran players in a state of flux.

In his campaign, Abt completed 194 of 337 passes (57.6 percent) for 2,556 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Abt becomes the first winner since the award was last offered following the 2012 season, when another Grossmont quarterback, Chris Bonner, was honored. Bonner, out of Clairemont High, went on to play two years of NCAA Division II ball for Colorado State-Pueblo and was offered a pro tryout by the Denver Broncos and general manager John Elway. He also had another pair of NFL looks from Carolina and Kansas City.

Abt passed for more than 400 yards on two occasions, including a season-high effort of 490 yards against Moorpark — one of the top single-game efforts in Grossmont College history — as the Griffins went on to post a 7-3 overall record to finish in a 3-way deadlock for first place with Pasadena and Mt. San Jacinto for the Mountain Division title in the CCCAA American Conference.

While Abt claimed the Roth Award, the offensive player of the year is Palomar quarterback Zeke Payne, out of Rancho Bernardo High.

The freshman led the Comets to a 6-5 record, which included a bowl win Santa Barbara. He passed for nearly 2,800 yards and had 26 touchdown passes while throwing just four interceptions.

The defensive player of the year is sophomore defensive lineman Julian Sanderlin, of San Diego Mesa College.

Despite missing three games, Sanderlin recorded 25 tackles, which included five sacks and nine total for loss. He also had a 3-yard interception return for a touchdown

The Grossmont High grad was originally headed to Dixie State before arriving at Mesa. Sanderlin now holds offers from Fresno State, Nevada, and San Jose State.

The Joe Roth Award was slated to have been revised following the 2020 season, but the season was canceled because of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

The local award is not to be confused with the honor of the same name that has been given previously to a University of California player that “best demonstrates courage, attitude, and leadership.”