It’s been quite a week for LiAngelo Ball of No. 10 Chino Hills (Calif.), the defending Super 25 boys basketball champions.

The UCLA-bound Ball scored 56 points against Orange Lutheran, then he went for 72, including 13 three-pointers the next night against Rancho Christian.

On Saturday, he hit the game-winner in a 78-75 victory against Long Beach Poly as Chino Hills won the the Battle Zone 24. Ball finished with 28 points to earn MVP.

Here is the game-winner from Baller Visions:

San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon (Photo: Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports)

Players around the NFL are wearing custom cleats this week as part of a social campaign My Cause My Cleats for various causes selected by the individual players.

San Diego Chargers running back Melvin Gordon will be wearing cleats in support of youth sports funding as part of the DICK’S Foundation’s Sports Matter campaign.

According to DICK’s, the company and its foundation pledged $50 million to support teams and raise awareness. The company says Sports Matter has helped nearly 2,000 youth sports teams.

You will note the green shoelaces on the cleats. DICK’S announced in late November that it will donate $2 for every shoelace sale to Sports Matter. The green shoelaces are available at DICK’S stores on at dicks.com.

Stefon Diggs wore cleats in support of DICK’S on Thursday night football against the Cowboys. A number of NBA and MLB players also are part of the Sports Matter campaign.

Here are Gordon’s cleats:

Najee Harris (Photo: Army All-American Bowl)

Antioch (Calif.) running back Najee Harris, the nation’s No. 1 recruit, was playing in his last high school football game — win or lose — Saturday night.

He ran for 179 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown in a 42-18 loss to Monte Vista in the North Coast Section Division 1 championship.

Harris, an Alabama commit who took an official visit last weekend, finished with 7,947 career yards, fourth in California history, according to Cal-Hi Sports. His total was 2,775 as a senior, after 165 yards as a freshman, 2,263 as a sophomore and 2,744 as a junior.

His one touchdown gave him 99 for his career (94 rushing and five receiving).

Harris is also a finalist for the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Offensive Player of the Year.

“I’m proud of my team. I always told myself if I can win like a man, I can lose like a man. It sucks to lose, but it doesn’t faze me,” Harris told SFGate.com after the game. “I’m just glad we came this far.”

Despite the loss, Antioch has four playoff wins in Harris’ four years. The school had three from 1975 to 2012 and had reached the section championship game only once before Saturday – in 1977.

“It’s been the toughest season of my four years,” Harris told SFGate.com last week. “Every time we play, you know the other team is going to play their best. You hear everyone on the sideline yelling, ‘Najee is right there!’ Everybody just adjusts to where I am, or to the strong side.”

He will play one more game as a high schooler in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7 in San Antonio. Harris is a finalist for Army Player of the Year and will be in New York this week with the other finalists.

Under Armour All-American Drew Singleton’s season senior at Paramus Catholic (N.J.) ended when he suffered a torn ACL in a September game played in Ann Arbor, Mich.

While he has been aggressively rehabbing the knee, the nation’s No. 3 outside linebacker prospect never wavered in support for his team and the leadership the Palladins program has come to expect from him. That included inspiring his teammates as he led them out of the tunnel and on to the field for the state Non-Public Group 4 title game at MetLife Stadium.

“I have such love for my team I’d never leave them,” Singleton told USA TODAY High School Sports last month. “I’ve been at practice helping coach up the linebackers, helping make sure things run smooth like I never left. I’m a warrior. I never give up, and my work ethic is second to none, no matter what I’m doing.”

The program also provided him the opportunity to step on the field one last time for the final play of the game as Paramus Catholic used a dominant second half to beat St. Peter’s Prep, 33-28. The ball was never snapped so the stat sheet won’t reflect that he played, but that was not the point, as far as he was concerned.

Afterward, Singleton and his parents headed to East Lansing for an official visit to Michigan State. It was his first official visit. Singleton has 24 reported offers. He announced a top 12 over the summer of Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia, Michigan, Cal, Clemson, Pittsburgh, Maryland, Rutgers, and Penn State.

Sierra Canyon’s Marvin Bagley on the sideline last season (Photo: David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports)

The 6-11 Bagley, an American Family Insurance ALL-USA Preseason team member, last played in a high school game when he led Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) to its fourth consecutive state title in 2014-15. He averaged 19.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 2.3 assists for a team that went 33-1.

RELATED: ALL-USA Preseason Boys Basketball Team

Bagley then transferred to Hillcrest Prep (Phoenix) in August 2015 but played only in preseason games before he left the school. He enrolled at Sierra Canyon last winter but was denied eligibility and sat out the season.

Younger brother Marcus also will play for Sierra Canyon. He also left Hillcrest Prep.

Sierra Canyon is loaded with 6-9 F Cody Riley, a UCLA signee; PG Remy Martin, an Arizona State signee; 6-4 CG Adam Seiko, a San Diego State signee; and 6-2 CG Terrance McBride.

The Wendy’s High School Heisman will be awarded Friday in New York and the organization has again put together a stirring video to pay tribute to the 10 national finalists.

The most prestigious award in high school scholar athletics, High School Heisman celebrates athletes from around the nation who give back to their communities along with their athletic accomplishments. The award was created in 1994.

The two national winners — one boy and one girl — will receive a $10,000 scholarship, a $500 Wendy’s gift card, a national winner patch and the High School Heisman Trophy, and will be recognized during ESPN’s broadcast of the college football Heisman Trophy. The remaining eight finalists receive a $5,000 scholarship and a $100 Wendy’s gift card. In all, the program awards $150,000 to 100 students in scholarships.

“Since its inception in 1994, Archie Griffin has been the face for this great cause,” Eddie George, the Wendy’s Heisman ambassador who won college football’s Heisman at Ohio State. “It’s amazing to see the amount of lives its impacted since 1994. We’re talking about more than 600,000 of the most esteemed students. In 1995, when I won the Heisman, I had a chance to be at the ceremony and meet the two winners of the High School Heisman. About two years ago, I got to talk to them again. They have exceptional jobs and families and they come back time and again so you know how much it means to them.

“This represents not cutting corners and putting in the hard work and being passionate about the things you want to be in life, not just on the field but in the community. Those core values are really in concert with me and makes me want to help get the word out. It’s so important that these kids have a platform to show how multi-faceted and talented they are, not just in sports but in terms of their education and impacting their community. How they impact their community is even more important in the days we live in today. These kids are being an example and that is important.”

Here are the 10 finalists; their individual stories can be found here.

FEMALE FINALISTS
· Frelicia Tucker, Aiken High School, Aiken, S.C.
· Kiara Mickens, Springfield High School, Springfield, Mass.
· Cortney VanLiew, Columbus East High School, Columbus, Ind.
· Rebekah Lescenski, Faith Lutheran Junior/Senior High School, Las Vegas
· Jordan Rudd, Veterans Memorial High School, Brownsville, Texas

MALE FINALISTS
· Will Moten, Westlake High School, Waldorf, Md.
· Rohan Angadi, Clovis High School, Clovis, N.M.
· Daniel Orcutt, Fort Walton Beach High School, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
· Joseph Pavlak, Wadsworth High School, Wadsworth, Ohio
· Davis Dubbert, St. John’s Catholic School, Beloit, Kan.

“I think it’s an awesome accomplishment because the criteria for the award means that you have to excel in many different areas,” said VanLiew, a Florida Gulf Coast volleyball signee who started Rebound for Reading, a tutoring program at an elementary school in her area. “Impossible doesn’t exist for me. I’m fueled by my relentless pursuit of excellence.”

St. Thomas Aquinas head coach Roger Harriott during spring practice (Photo: Steve Mitchell, USA TODAY Sports)

But rarely do you see an outburst similar to what Venice High (Fla.) coach John Peacock offered after his team lost to No. 8 St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) on Friday night.

Aquinas scored 43 points in the first half and went on to a 46-8 victory in Class 7A state semifinal. Aquinas will play for its third consecutive state title Friday in Orlando, facing Plant (Tampa). The school has won nine state titles overall.

Venice finished 12-1, its most successful season since winning a state championship in 2000.

“We didn’t have a chance from the start,” Peacock told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “We prepared hard. The kids fought hard. It’s tough when you’re playing against a stacked deck. We had to have them make tons of mistakes and us be perfect.

“They’re just better than us. Bottom line. … When you can pick your cards playing poker, you’re probably going to win every hand. It was a tough night.”

“They have 40 guys with BCS offers,” Peacock said. “How in the world are we supposed to compete with that I’m not sure. I’m not sure what you do. How do you approach the next offseason? Do you approach the next offseason and say, ‘Hey, we have to face a team that has 40 Division 1 offers.’ How are we going to beat them? Maybe hire a magician.”

The disdain also was apparent when a Venice fan heckled Aquinas coach Roger Harriott during an interview using coarse language. Among the fans’ comments, “They’re exploiting black men – black men from all across the country,” according to the Miami Herald. “They’re exploiting them. And when this is over they’re not going to have [expletive] to do with them.”

Canisius (Buffalo, N.Y.) trailed Cardinal Hayes (New York City) 44-42 with under 15 seconds left, had no timeouts, and lined up for a 38-yard field goal attempt to win the New York State Catholic High School Athletic Association championship Sunday.

It was your run-of-the-mill make-or-break kick. Then, Hayes jumped offsides, giving Canisius a first down.

Instead of celebrating the fact the kick was five yards closer, Canisius decided to take a shot for the endzone, and it paid off.

That’s Zeke Margaritis hauling in the game-winning score (he’d catch the two-point conversion, as well), giving Canisius a thrilling 50-44 victory.

Ja’len Parks receives his Army All-American honorary jersey (Photo: Army All-American Game)

Ja’len Parks grew up about 20 miles from the University of Florida, but he’s a born Seminole.

Parks, a top-10 defensive tackle in the Class of 2017, is the son of John Parks, who played for Florida State in the mid-1980s and was a teammate of Odell Haggins, the Seminoles’ current defensive tackles coach. Parks has described Haggins as like an uncle to him.

So when it came time to even consider a college choice, Ja’len picked the Seminoles and did so more than two years ago. Parks was the second member of the Florida State recruiting class for 2017 when he announced in July 2014, only a day later than wide receiver D.J. Matthews, a wide receiver from Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).

But before he gets to Tallahassee, Parks from Newberry (Fla.) has one more high school football game to play.

Parks received his honorary jersey for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Monday when the Selection Tour presented by American Family Insurance came to his school. He was honored in front of friends, family and teammates.

The Army Bowl is Jan. 7 in San Antonio.

Parks is ranked as the No. 8 defensive tackle in the class and No. 22 prospect overall in Florida by the 247Sports Composite. At 6-4 and 307 pounds, Parks has plenty of size, but also has amazing quickness in engaging off the snap.

Parks will be joined at Florida State by fellow Newberry defensive tackle Cory Durden, who is ranked as the No. 20 DT in the class. Durden, who is 6-4, 293, committed to FSU in June.

They are cousins, but Parks says, “We’re more like brothers.”

Odua Isibor receives his honorary Army All-American jersey (Photo: Army All-American Game)

Odua Isibor is a highly regarded defensive end; he’s 6-4 and 220 pounds; and he’s a cat-quick tackling machine.

But he also recognizes a higher calling than playing football, even if the game becomes a means to a more significant end.

“The ideal child would be (growing up) to be the doctor, the lawyer, the fireman or whatever,” Isibor told Gannett partner AZCentral. “But growing up, I was always wanting to help people in some way. Whatever helps to contribute to society. Become a doctor. But also I want to give my future family a better life than I have, than my parents have. I feel if I can be successful enough, I can help out my children and help out the world, too.

“I really want to get to a place where I’m influential enough so that I can say the truth, and have people listen.”

Isibor from St. Mary’s (Phoenix) will be on a bigger stage at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7 in San Antonio.

Odua Isibor presented his parents, Christopher and Osarimen Isibor, with the Dream Champion Award. (Photo: AAG)

He received his honorary Army Bowl jersey Monday during a ceremony at his school as part of the Selection Tour presented by American Family Insurance. He was honored in front of friends, family and classmates.

Isibor, ranked as the No. 7 recruit in Arizona and as the No. 31 weak-side defensive end, is choosing among  Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State and Texas A&M among others. He also recently took an official visit to Yale and is attracted to the Ivy League education.

His goal is to become an anesthesiologist.

“Sure, you’d love to go to the NFL,” Isibor said. “But even if I do get to the NFL, there is so much life after that, that I have to worry about.”

Contributing: Richard Obert

Trey Smith receives his Under Armour All-American jersey. (Photo: Under Armour)

Trey Smith, the No. 1 overall football recruit in the ESPN 300, will announce his college destination Tuesday during College Football Daily on ESPNU (4 p.m. ET), the network announced.

Smith, an Under Armour All-American offensive tackle from University School of Jackson (Tenn.) is expected to chose from among Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Tennessee. He has more than 20 reported offers.

“I haven’t made my decision yet because there are plenty of good reasons to go with any of those schools,” Smith said last week after being presented with Tennessee’s Mr. Football for the second consecutive year. “But my family and I will talk about it and pray about it and figure out where the best option for me to go is.”

He had set Tuesday as decision day well in advance.

There is a lot to like about Smith.

“An outstanding combination of size, ability and toughness has helped elevate Trey Smith to the top spot in the ESPN300,” ESPN national recruiting analyst Craig Haubert. said in statement. “The five-star prospect has made noticeable strides since his sophomore year in filling out his frame and adding quality size.

“In addition to measurables, Smith is also a flexible and agile big man with the tools to protect the edge in pass pro and generate lanes in the run game. Among the impressive traits the top tackle possesses is his tenacity, as he is a big man that plays with attitude and a demeanor to finish every play. Smith is a talented prospect at a premium position and demonstrates the ability to develop into a premier college tackle, with the ability to be a quick contributor once arriving on campus.”

Here are the 10 candidates for this week’s Super 25 Top Star. Vote now in the poll below.

RELATED: Super 25 Expert Rankings | Super 25 Computer Rankings

NOTE: Players can only win once per season

Dylan Moses of No. 2 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) was named the winner of the Butkus Award, given to the nation’s top high school linebacker, on Monday.

Moses was given the award by Dick Butkus and Butkus’ son, Matt, during a surprise presentation at the IMG Academy team banquet.

Moses, an Alabama commit originally from Baton Rouge, La., had 116 tackles during the Ascenders’ unbeaten season. IMG held its opponents to fewer than nine points per game.

In selecting Moses, the committee said, “Moses is a prototype linebacker with rare speed and exceptional knockback body power. He’s been a force the last four years since he arrived in high school and is consistently impactful wherever he lines up. He has immense potential, and his future looks extremely bright. This year’s linebacker class was one of the strongest the last decade and included many exceptional football players.”

Other finalists were Baron Browning (Kennedale, Texas); Nate McBride (Vidalia, Ga.); Levi Draper (Collinsville, Okla.); and Anthony Hines (Plano East, Texas).

The selection committee is made up of coaches, recruiters, talent scouts and journalists.

The banquet capped a day in which Moses also got a visit from Alabama coach Nick Saban and outside linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi.

No. 7 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) easily dispatched of then-No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 42-21 in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship game Saturday, and RB Demetrious Flowers certainly did his part.

Bosco was able to get almost whatever it wanted on the ground, and Flowers was one of three Braves to rush for 100 yards or more, joining RB Terrance Beasley (146 yards) and QB Re-al Mitchell (131 yards).

Flowers finished with 129 yards, including a 66-yard touchdown scamper.

Check out his highlights from the game below, courtesy of #D1Bound.

The 2016 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Volleyball Second Team was selected by USA TODAY High School Sports based on in-season performance, level of competition and strength of schedule.

MORE: First Team | Third Team

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lexi Sun, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.)

COACH OF THE YEAR: Zach Young, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.)

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Volleyball Team

Click on the gallery to meet the players:

The 2016 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Volleyball team was selected based on in-season performance, level of competition and strength of schedule.  The ALL-USA Coach of the Year is Zach Young from Lafayette High School (Wildwood, Mo.).

MORE: First Team | Second Team | Third Team

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lexi Sun, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.)

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Volleyball Team

Zach Young (Photo: Wildwood Middle School)

Without one big-time player to rely on this season, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.) used its family atmosphere to power through to a Missouri record sixth consecutive state championship, breaking a record the Lancers shared with Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis), which won five state titles in a row from 1983-87.

And leading that Lafayette family is head coach Zach Young, who won his fifth state title in his five years coaching the Lancers.

Lafayette (33-6-1) lost only once in its final 24 matches, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Francis Howell (St. Charles, Mo.) on Oct. 13. Just 16 days later, the Lancers got another shot at Howell in the Class 4 state final. Lafayette dropped the first set of the best-of-three match and trailed 23-20 in the second set before rallying for a scintillating 20-25, 27-25, 25-21 victory.

“Lafayette didn’t win six titles in a row without having composure,” Howell coach Stacey Smith told stltoday.com. “Zach is an amazing coach and he made amazing alterations throughout the game.”

Staciana Stock, a sophomore, led the Lancers with 16 kills in the match. Senior captains Merry Gebel (13 kills), Hannah Flowers (11 kills) and Emilie Orlando (39 assists) also did their part to ensure their final prep match ended in victory.

“We didn’t have that big-name superstar that some other teams did,” said Young, 37, who was an All-American setter at Lindenwood (Mo.) University where he played for, and coached with, his father, Ron. “But we had a lot of great players with a ton of heart, unity, perseverance and trust.”

Those players were challenged the entire year. Before the season even started, junior setter Ala Blaszczyk was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma — now in remission — ending her year before it even began. And on Sept. 5, Young made room for some additions to his other family as his wife, Jill, gave birth to triplets Daniel, Matthew and Hope who joined older sister, Leah, 3.

Young stepped away from the team for a few weeks, leaving the Lancers in the hands of assistant coaches Kim Aschoff, Steve Burkhard and Sue Tillery — Burkhard was the head coach in 2011 when Lafayette started its record run of state titles. Once Young returned to the sideline, the Lancers really took off, culminating in title No. 6.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be surrounded by phenomenal players, great parents in the program, the best assistant coaches you would ever want to work with and amazing family support,” Young said. “This season was special.”

The 2016 American Family Insurance ALL-USA girls volleyball team was selected based on in-season performance, level of competition and strength of schedule.

With All-USA Player of the Year Lexi Sun leading the way, California tops the team with three selections while Illinois and Kansas each garnered two picks. Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin all have one honoree.

MORE: Second Team | Third Team

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lexi Sun, Sante Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.)

COACH OF THE YEAR: Zach Young, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.)

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Volleyball Team

Click on the gallery to meet the players:

The 2016 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Volleyball team was selected based on in-season performance, level of competition and strength of schedule.

MORE: First Team | Second Team

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lexi Sun, Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.)

COACH OF THE YEAR: Zach Young, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.)

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Volleyball Team

Click on the gallery to meet the players on the third team:

The 2016 American Family Insurance ALL-USA girls volleyball team was selected based on in-season performance, level of competition and strength of schedule. The ALL-USA Player of the Year is Lexi Sun from Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.).

MORE: First Team | Second Team | Third Team

COACH OF THE YEAR: Zach Young, Lafayette (Wildwood, Mo.)

LOOKBACK: ALL-USA Preseason Volleyball Team

Click the gallery below to meet Player of the Year Lexi Sun:

School:  Santa Fe Christian (S0lana Beach, Calif.)
Position:  Outside hitter
Year:  Senior
College:  Texas

Lexi Sun spent the summer of 2015 playing for the USA Volleyball Under-18 Girls National Team and was the team’s leading scorer at the World Championships in Peru.

That followed a long season with her club team, COAST Volleyball Club, as well as a busy sophomore year with her high school team in which she continued to establish herself among the nation’s best. Needing a rest, Sun decided not to play high school volleyball for Santa Fe Christian (Solana Beach, Calif.) as a junior.

Sun spent the summer of 2016 playing for the USA Volleyball Women’s Junior National Team. That again followed a long season with her club team. But miss out on her senior year with Santa Fe Christian? Not a chance.

“A lot of thought and time was put into to playing or not,” Sun said. “It was definitely a good decision to come back and play my senior year with my best friends and to be able to represent my school.”

Sun has more than proven that she made the right call. She led the Eagles (32-8) to unprecedented heights this season: a San Diego Section Open Division championship and the semifinals of California’s Open Division state tournament, where they lost to Santa Margarita Catholic (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.), ranked No. 3 at the time in the USA TODAY Sports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Super 25.

“Lexi [was] the biggest driving force in our success this season,” first-year Santa Fe coach Amanda Miles said. “She not only led us physically but she was our most vocal captain. Although I have only had Lexi for a few short months, she has made a strong impact on me as a coach and helped create a season I will never forget.”

Miles, and assistant coach Drew Burdette, had quite the influence on Sun, as well.

“I loved having Coach Amanda and Coach Drew this season; and without them, we wouldn’t have had the success we had this year,” Sun said. “They came in and turned the program around and made it such a memorable season for my last year.”

A 6-foot-2 outside hitter, Sun delivered 31 kills in a 3-0 state quarterfinal victory over Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) on Nov. 22 that had Monarchs coach Dan O’Dell looking on in awe.

“She was everything I knew she would be,” O’Dell told OCVarsity.com. “I was joking with her dad before the match, saying if we can keep her at nine kills per set or below, it will be pretty good for us. But if she got 10 or higher, that’s not going to be good.”

Sun, who will play for the University of Texas next fall and is ranked as the top player in the Class of 2017 by PrepVolleyball.com, finished the season with 630 kills, a .556 kill percentage and a .431 hitting percentage. She also recorded 288 digs, 60 blocks and 45 service aces. She finished her three-year prep career with 1,360 kills and 687 digs.

She’s excited for what the future holds.

“I’m looking forward to my club season this year,” Sun said, “so I can prepare to win a national championship at Texas next year.”

Skutt Catholic (Omaha), who finished the season a perfect 44-0 and took come the Nebraska Class B state championship, is up to No. 2 in the final USA TODAY Sports/American Volleyball Coaches Association Super 25 volleyball rankings.

Illiniois state champs Mother McAuley (Chicago) was named the Super 25 champion two weeks back.

MORE: Final Super 25 volleyball rankings

Kentucky state champion Sacred Heart (Louisville) finishes at No. 3, while Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), winners of the CIF Open title, re-enters the rankings at No. 4.

Arizona state champ Corono del Sol (Tempe) rounds out the top five.

The remainder of the poll largely mirrored the previous rankings, with the exception being former No. 2 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) falling to No. 9 after losing against Archbishop Mitty.