2008-09 Top 10 Boys’ Athletes Of The Year:

The top-10 male high school athletes of the year were voted on by the Glendale News-Press sports department. These are selections 2 through 10. See Thursday’s edition for the Male Athlete of the Year.

2 Dietrich Riley, St. Francis football/basketball, junior Dietrich Riley, St. Francis football/basketball, junior — The talented Riley had yet another successful season on the gridiron, in addition to helping the basketball program qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

Riley, who is still considering where to go to college, did it all for the Golden Knights in football. The Mission League Offensive Most Valuable Player excelled at running back, outside linebacker and special teams in helping St. Francis go 6-5 and 1-2 in league to reach the CIF Southern Section Western Division playoffs.

The two-time All-Area Player of the Year and a three-time All-Area pick rushed for 1,121 yards in 166 carries. Riley averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Despite missing a couple of games because of an injury, Riley finished with nine touchdowns, including six rushing. He posted 50 tackles and 1,557 all-purpose yards.

To top it off, he became the first Golden Knight to rush for more than 1,000 yards since 2004.

Riley’s best performance came during a 39-34 league home loss to Chaminade on the final week of the regular season. He rushed for 302 yards in 35 carries and caught three passes for 37 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“He strives to become a great all-around football player,” St. Francis football Coach Jim Bonds said. “He wants to be the best that he can be and he knows it’ll make our team better.

“For us, he’s a guy that will never leave the field. He’s just as valuable on both sides of the ball. There’s no question that Dietrich is our go-to player when we need it most.”

In basketball, Riley played forward in a league considered to be one of the most difficult in the state. The forward averaged eight points and eight rebounds per game along with two steals and two assists for the Golden Knights, who advanced to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs.