After watching the Crenshaw High School football team dismantle then undefeated Culver City High School, it comes as no surprise that the Cougars catapulted themselves into the CIF State Championship Open Division game with an unblemished 14-0 record. Coached by Robert Garret, the Cougars proved to be disciplined, composed, and relentless on their way to being crowned LA City Section Champs in 2009. The Cougars were led by many standout players, including: Hayes Pullard (LB/2010), DeAnthony Thomas (DB/2011), Geoffrey Norwood (RB/2010), Marquis Thompson (QB/2011), Le'jon Baker (TE/2010), and Geno Hall (WR/2010).
Although many athletes on the Crenshaw High football team received much deserved recognition throughout the season, it was Geno Hall who proved to be a consistent threat on offense and special teams. Hall was recently crowned as the LA City Section Player of the Year by a panel of sportswriters. Even though Hall received one of the most prestigious awards among Los Angeles area prep football players, he has nevertheless fallen under the radar. ESPN's high school football recruiting service ranked the undersized Hall (5'10", 170) a 40 overall on a scale of 100 with no evaluation, while Scout.com provides no ranking for Hall. This being said, it is easy to see how many recruiting platforms are quick to overlook LA City Section schools, however, Hall and the Cougars proved naysayers wrong throughout the season on their way to the CIF State Championship vs. national powerhouse De La Salle High School (Concord, CA). The Cougars were ultimately defeated by De La Salle (28-14), however, the respect they earned on the field that night will be in their memories for a lifetime.
Hall finished the year with 49 catches for 751 yards, and 8 touchdown receptions. On defense Hall registered 2 interceptions, and on special teams the Crenshaw star proved to be equally dangerous. Hall averaged over 16 yards per punt return, and an astounding 40 yards per kick return, and over 600 yards.
Geno Hall is undoubtedly a prime time player on the gridiron. After scoring 4 touchdowns vs. Culver City in Week 5, Hall gave an explanation for his tenacious work ethic and stellar performance. "Earlier in the game I was dropping passes, and making mistakes, so I had to redeem myself and make big time plays," Hall told CLA Sports after the game. As far as advice to other student-athletes who want to play at the next level, the undersized Hall simply stated, "If you're small, just play big. Big hearts win the game." Geno Hall proved to have the biggest heart in the LA City Section this season, and you can expect the letters to start flowing from schools across the country after proving himself as a home run threat each time he touched the ball this season. Congratulations to Geno Hall for earning LA City Section Player of the Year.
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