Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian running back Malcolm Jones has had a decorated career in his four years with the Lions.
He's been a part of three CIF-SS championship teams, with a fourth just two games away, and won a state title as a freshman, with the chance for another one also still in line.
Jones has always deflected the individual honors he's received, choosing to look at the team aspect of things, where the Lions' have received plenty of honors.
This week, he added another individual honor, one of the highest honors a player in the Golden State can receive.
Jones was named as the Gatorade California Player of the Year for 2009.
The five-star back, the top running back in the West, has rushed for 1,989 yards and scored 34 touchdowns, several coming on defense.
He's helped the Lions to a 12-0 record and a date with Los Angeles (Calif.) Cathedral on Saturday in the CIF-SS Northwest Division.
The UCLA commit is the second player from Oaks to win the award, joining Marc Tyler, who won it in 2006. In an ironic twist, it was a leg injury to Tyler in 2006 in the playoffs, that catapulted Jones into the spotlight, with Jones and his brother Marshall carrying the load in the backfield for the Lions and Malcolm taking over Tyler's linebacker spot in their state championship season.