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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: Previewing the big high school football game of zero week
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. Zero week has arrived for high school football. Let's examine some of the big games. After months of preparation, the high school football season begins this weekend. Here are some attractive games to watch. North Hollywood at Granada Hills. If you want to see a game that lasts less than 90 minutes, this Thursday game is it. Two double-wing teams running the ball again and again. They played in last year's City playoffs. You better eat that hot dog quick. The pick: Granada Hills. Mayfair vs. Yorba Linda at SoFi Stadium, 5 p.m.. You'll have to pay a hefty fee for parking and to get in on Thursday night, but Yorba Linda is a top 25 team. The pick: Yorba Linda. Eagle Rock at Kennedy. It's two All-City quarterbacks going at it on Friday night, with Liam Pasten vs. Diego Montes. Both teams are favored to win their respective leagues, so this is big for playoff seedings. The pick: Eagle Rock. Leuzinger vs. Long Beach Poly at Veterans Stadium. It's the senior season for the little running back that will run through a brick wall if needed, Leuzinger's Journee Tonga. Combined with quarterback Russell Sekona, that's a formidable duo. Poly returns veteran quarterback Deuce Jefferson for first-year coach Justin Utupo. Look for a close, intense matchup. The pick: Leuzinger. Mission Viejo vs. Santa Margarita at Trabuco Hills. Carson Palmer debuts as head coach for the Eagles, which have perhaps the toughest schedule in Southern California. It won't be easy taking down quarterback Luke Fahey & Co., but the return of Trent Mosley at receiver, the arrival of Trace Johnson at quarterback and a strong defensive line makes this the most intriguing game of the night. The pick: Mission Viejo. Downey at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Downey quarterback Oscar Rios is a magician with his arm and legs. Notre Dame won't have USC commit Luc Weaver at receiver (injured). Quarterback Wyatt Brown debuts for the Knights. This game is certain to go down to the final seconds. The pick: Downey. JSerra at Sierra Canyon. Keep track of touchdowns allowed by Sierra Canyon this season. There won't be many. That's how good defensively the Trailblazers are. Sierra Canyon has aspirations of being a Final Four team in Division 1 and this will be the first big test. The pick: Sierra Canyon. Newbury Park at Long Beach Millikan. It's the final season for quarterback Brady Smigiel, and he'll have to wait until the sit-out period ends to get his full complement of receivers, giving Millikan the opening to try for an upset. The pick: Newbury Park. Hart at Birmingham. The Patriots begin their annual five-game stretch of playing Southern Section teams. They intend to feature an offensive line filled with 300 pounders. One lineman won the pizza eating contest with 10 slices in seven minutes. Hart returns a veteran quarterback in Jacob Paisano. The pick: Hart. Orange Lutheran at Miami Northwestern. This was supposed to be a big national game, with Teddy Bridgewater coaching Northwestern. He was suspended, so now Orange Lutheran gets to show off its powerful offensive and defensive lines to help its new quarterbacks. The pick: Orange Lutheran. St. John Bosco at Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee. The Braves get a nice trip to Florida to show off their many skill-position players. The pick: St. John Bosco. Mater Dei at Florida St. Aquinas. It's another national TV game on Saturday in which the No. 1-ranked Monarchs are going to dominate. Who's going to stop their exceptional receiving group featuring tight end Mark Bowman, a USC commit, and two Ohio State commits? The answer is no one. The pick: Mater Dei. Here's the link to the complete zero week schedule of games. The Valley Mission League held a media day. Kennedy and San Fernando are considered the league favorites but don't forget about Van Nuys and quarterback Carlos Herrera. Here's a report. Here's the top 10 City Section preseason rankings. Here's The Times' top 25 preseason rankings. Here's a look at scrimmages last week and how Palisades could have the best passing duo. Here's the Foothill League media day. Here's the West Valley League media day. There were three games played last week with Los Alamitos and Long Beach Millikan picking up wins. Here's a report. West Adams, Dymally and Maya Angelou canceled games this week in the City Section because rosters were not ready to play. The Times' nine-part series previewing top high school football players continues this week with top linebackers on Monday. Here's the link to the series. Dos Pueblos came close to pulling off the shocker of the early season in flag football, taking unbeaten Orange Lutheran to triple overtime before falling 23-21 in the championship game of a tournament at Beckman High. JSerra has three of the best freshmen players in Tessa Russell, Katie Meier and Ava Irwin. Irwin is the sister of former Hart, Stanford and NFL receiver Trent Irwin, so catching passes comes in the family. Redondo Union started the season going 8-1 in Hawaii, including a win over Sierra Canyon, to finish runner-up in the Iolani tournament. Here's a preseason girls volleyball preview, with Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Redondo Union looking like the teams to beat. Logan Brooks from El Segundo has committed to San Diego baseball. . . . Guard Nick Giarrusso has transferred from Oaks Christian to Crean Lutheran. . . . One of the state's top basketball players, Brandon McCoy, is not returning to St. John Bosco for his senior season. He was not enrolled when classes began this week. There has been speculation he might transfer to Sierra Canyon. Top Eastvale Roosevelt sophomore guard Cam Anderson has enrolled at St. John Bosco. . . . Capistrano Valley has added a football game against Crean Lutheran on Sept. 5. Most notable: Capistrano Valley's head coach, Sean Curtis, is the son of Crean Lutheran coach Rick Curtis. Someone is going to have to pay for dinner after a loss. . . . Offensive lineman Blake Graham of Leuzinger has committed to Cal Poly. . . . Eagle Rock is scheduled to get a new football field and new track in 2026. Construction would begin in December. . . . Erik Zimmerman is the new boys water polo coach at Mater Dei. . . . Junior outfielder Tyler Vladic of Cypress has committed to Oregon. . . . St. Francis quarterback Shawn Sanders suffered a broken collarbone in a scrimmage last week and will be sidelined at least a month. . . . Newport Harbor water polo standout Kai Kaneko has committed to Stanford. . . . Santa Margarita softball player Camryn Legeny has committed to Utah State. . . . Defensive back Dillon Booth from Crean Lutheran has committed to Hawaii. . . . Pierce College has closed its cross-country course for 2025, forcing City Section schools to scramble for a new site. Here's the report. , , , Pete Cassidy, a former basketball coach and teacher at St. Genevieve and later Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, has died. He was always confused with the late former basketball coach with the same name at Cal State Northridge. He became a much-beloved teacher at Notre Dame and lover of sports who'd ride his bike to games. Lorenzo Booker was once one of the top running backs in California, if not the nation, in 2001 at St. Bonaventure. He ended up playing for Florida State and had four seasons in the NFL after being a third-round draft pick, retiring in 2012. He's a member of the Ventura County Hall of Fame, He played on three unbeaten St. Bonaventure teams and rushed for nearly 8,500 yards and 137 touchdowns. Now he's an assistant coach at Newbury Park with another former St. Bonaventure standout, Whitney Lewis. His son played for the Panthers last season. Here's a story from 2006 about his days at Florida State. From a story on new high school transfer requirements in Georgia. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Jaime and Gabriella Jaquez hosting a basketball camp. From a story on former Murrieta Valley QB Bear Bachmeier challenging for starting job at BYU. From a story on former Santa Margarita football player Jacob Bower making impact at Nebraska. From MaxPreps, a story on more than 100 former NFL players being high school coaches this season. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on X at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: These are the best defensive backs and kickers/punters in SoCal high school football
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. The Times begins a nine-part series previewing Southern California's top high school football players Tuesday. In a final sneak peek, let's look at defensive backs and kickers/punters. The hardest projection this coming season involves which school has the best secondary. That's how much depth and talent some teams have at defensive back. Sierra Canyon has two USC commits, Madden Riordan and Brandon Lockhart, plus an LSU commit, Havon Finney Jr., and a terrific junior safety, Myles Baker. Gardena Serra is loaded with Duvay Williams, Marcellous Ryan, Wesley Arce and Devohn Moutra Jr. Mater Dei has Cory Lavender, Aaryn Washington and Ace Leutele. St. John Bosco counters with USC commit Josh Holland, standout junior safety Isala Wiley-Ava and improving junior cornerback Dorian Franklin. Murrieta Valley has the Johnson brothers, Derrick Johnson Jr., an Oklahoma commit, and junior Darius Johnson. Long Beach Poly has juniors Julius Johnson and Donte Wright Jr. Rancho Cucamonga has cornerbacks Joshua Mensah and Justin Lewis, both committed to UCLA. There's top defensive backs throughout the region, from Jeron Jones of Mission Viejo to Davon Benjamin of Oaks Christian. Sophomore Jalen Flowers of Palos Verdes is coming off an exceptional freshman season and keeps getting better and better. Sophomore Jordan Slye Jr. of Salesian is someone to keep your eye on because of his athleticism and size. Sophomore Micah Hannah of Simi Valley already has proven himself as a freshman. The band of kickers and punters keeps getting better aided by an army of private coaches. Aiden Migirdichian of Orange Lutheran was nine of nine on field goals last season. Jacob Kreinberg of Loyola could be doing double duty after making 11 field goals. Dylan Moreno of San Pedro is headed for All-City honors for his accuracy. Oscar Reyes Ramirez of Hemet returns after making 15 field goals as a junior. Jackson Shevin of Mira Costa is headed toward averaging better than 40 yards on punts. Washington commit CJ Wallace of St. John Bosco reaches his senior year ready for a big season. Sophomore Jerry Shifman has left Agoura for Mater Dei and junior Carter Sobel has left Chaminade for Sierra Canyon. Each has shown strong kicking skills. Gabriel Goroyan of Westlake is a junior who figures to receive lots of kicking opportunities. Carter Montgomery of Claremont holds a school-record 48-yard field goal. Drum roll, please. The Times' top 25 preseason football rankings are out, and Mater Dei starts out as the No. 1 team. The Monarchs went unbeaten last season and there's no reason they can't go unbeaten again. Their receiving group is exceptional but there are top players throughout positions. Here's a look at the top 25 rankings. Los Alamitos and Inglewood will open the football season on Friday night at Inglewood in an official game a week ahead of most schools. Los Alamitos has a game scheduled in Hawaii on Aug. 22, so it gets to have a double zero week game. Simi Valley is playing Spanish Springs at Simi Valley. Santa Monica is traveling to Honolulu to play Kaimuki on Saturday. Long Beach Millikan is also opening on Friday in Nevada against Foothill in Henderson. Most schools will be playing scrimmages this week, such as Corona Centennial hosting Sierra Canyon on Thursday night. Scrimmages are considered practices, so players who won't be eligible because of a sit-out transfer period are allowed to play. The Moore League, led by Millikan and Long Beach Poly, held its first media preview session. Here's a report. Mira Costa is turning to twins Liam and Luke Meeker, surfer and football dudes. Here's a report. The Tri County League held a media day in Ventura. Here's a report. The Marmonte League held its media day at Oaks Christian. Here's a report. Narbonne is engaged in another rebuilding year after an exodus of players because the team is banned from the playoffs for the next three years. Here's a report. Dymally has canceled its scheduled season opener against Palisades on Aug. 22 for lack of players. The flag football season has begun with new rules and new pressure on quarterbacks to adapt to having defensive players only one yard away from the line of scrimmage to start a play instead of seven yards. Here's The Times' flag football preview. Panorama has some key players returning and could be a factor in the City Section. Here's a report. Former Loyola High, UCLA and NFL linebacker Anthony Barr, 33, has retired from football. His coach at Loyola in 2009, Jeff Kearin, said, 'He was real pleasure to coach. High level and high profile and he knew his hard work would get him to where he wanted to be. Never felt a need to thump his own chest or transfer three times to feed his own ego. And believe me, the sharks were swimming around. His mom and family were well grounded. Different time. And different kind of guy.' Here's a look at Barr in a story from 2009 when he was a star running back. Transfers in California during the 2024-25 school year totaled 17,041, according to CIF stats. That's down from the record 17,068 the previous school year. . . . The CIF announced a record number of students — more than 820,000 — participated in high school sports during the last school year in California. . . . Brock Livingston, Crespi's long-time lacrosse coach, has resigned to move back east to take care of his family. . . . Max Luchs is the new boys lacrosse coach at Chaminade. . . . Mater Dei and Santa Margarita have won the Southern Section Commissioner's Cup for boys and girls sports as the top athletic programs for 2024-25. . . . Pitcher Grayson Martin of Temecula Valley has committed to Cal Baptist. . . . The girls volleyball season begins this weekend with teams traveling to Hawaii for the Ann King Invitational. Top teams entered include Mira Costa, Sierra Canyon, Redondo Union, JSerra, Los Alamitos, Huntington Beach and Harvard-Westlake. . . . Golfer Hill Wang from La Serna has committed to Pepperdine. . . . Standout girls soccer and flag football quarterback Makena Cook of Orange Lutheran has committed to Georgia. . . . Pitcher Juju Diaz-Jones from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has committed to Cal. . . . Junior pitcher Roy Kim from Great Oak has committed to Stanford. . . . Softball pitcher Liliana Escobar of JSerra has committed to Florida. . . . Outfielder Ethan Price of Harvard-Westlake has committed to Santa Clara. . . . Cory Skinner is the new softball coach at Chaminade. . . . Standout junior guard Grayson Coleman is leaving Calabasas for Milken. His father, Ryan, will take over the Milken program after being head coach for many years at Shalhevet. . . . Incoming Harvard-Westlake freshman baseball players Louis Lappe and Mateo Mier have made the U.S. 15U national baseball team. Also selected was Mira Costa sophomore Kekoa Delatori. Lappe was the hero on El Segundo's championship Little League team in 2023. They will compete at the U-15 Pan American Championship in Mexico Sept. 13-18. . . . Former Mira Costa and UCLA third baseman Kyle Karros made his major league debut for the Colorado Rockies on Friday and got a single and RBI in his first at-bat. Former Sherman Oaks Notre Dame standout Giancarlo Stanton continues to move forward in his pro baseball career with the New York Yankees. Last week he hit his 438th career home run, tying him for 46th on the all-time list. Stanton will go down as one of the three greatest athletes in Southern California high school history, having been All-CIF in football, basketball and baseball. Here's a story from 2016 on Stanton talking about being a multi-sport athlete in high school. Here's a story from 2007 when Stanton's first name was Mike and his skills were becoming known. From FIBA basketball, a story that shows former Harvard-Westlake guard Robert Hinton playing for Taiwan. From a story on a high school in Georgia opening its $62 million stadium. From a story on a high school football player in Tacoma who got too big to be a UFC fighter. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
04-08-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: Looking at the best high school defensive linemen in Southern California
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. With one week to go before The Times begins a nine-part series looking at the top players by positions on Aug. 12, let's give a sneak peek at the strongest position in Southern California this season: defensive line. And look at some talented linebackers. Defensive line, in my opinion, is the strongest position in Southern California when it comes to elite players who could make an impact at the college and even NFL level one day. Tomuhini Topui of Mater Dei is a 320-pound man among boys. He will be the crown jewel in the USC 2026 recruiting class. He's so athletic he'll also be seeing time on Mater Dei's offensive line. But make no mistake about it — he causes havoc in the middle for the Monarchs. Marcus Fakatou of Orange Lutheran is a 6-foot-7, 265-pound sophomore who continues to grow into his body and becomes meaner every game. Khary Wilder of Gardena Serra is an Ohio State commit who routinely sees double teams. Richard Wesley of Sierra Canyon is a Texas commit and part of a Trailblazers defense that might be best in the Southland. Don't sleep on his teammate, Mikhal Johnson, a two-sport athlete who had 16 tackles for losses. Dutch Horisk of St. John Bosco and Anthony Jones of Crean Lutheran are committed to Oregon and UCLA, respectively. Elijah Harmon of Inglewood is 280-pound junior with immense potential. Simonte Katoanga has transferred from JSerra to Santa Margarita and is committed to USC. St. Pius X-St. Matthias has Malik Brooks, a 330-pound USC commit. JD Hill of Mission Viejo is a Northern Arizona commit with improving skills. Devyn Blake of Edison is a 275-pound Sacramento State commit. Elyjah Staples of Marquez had 13 sacks as a sophomore and is the younger brother of UCLA receiver Ezavier Staples. Corona Centennial defensive lineman Kingston Schirmer is a Cal commit. When it comes to linebackers, there's an impressive list to admire. Tristan Phillips of Ventura is an Oregon commit and tackling machine. Shaun Scott of Mater Dei is a USC commit with the speed to sack quarterbacks. Samu Moala of Leuzinger is a Texas A&M commit who keeps getting bigger and stronger. Dash Fifita of Santa Margarita is an Arizona commit who fills up the middle better than anyone even though his 5-9. Isaiah Leilua of Servite and Isaiah Phelps of Oxnard Pacifica who are two juniors ready for big seasons. Taylor Johnson of Cajon is a USC commit who averaged double-digit tackles. St. John Bosco is filled with quality linebackers, led by UCLA commit Matthew Muasau. Jackson Reach at Mira Costa is a top tackler and long snapper. Official football practice began on Monday. Senior quarterback Jeremy Pacheco of University was particularly happy. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opening game last season. To get back onto the field healthy was something he had worked hard to accomplish. Here's a report. Bellflower went 0-10 last season but is ready for a big change under first-year coach Keith Miller. Here's a report. The City Section preseason top 10 rankings are in. Here's the report. The Conejo Coast League held its media day, with Newbury Park leading the way as the team to beat. Here's the report. The rule changes in flag football are immense, from allowing punting for the first time to figuring out screen blocking and what's legal and what's a penalty. Then there's the defense starting from only one yard from the line of scrimmage instead of seven yards last season. All these changes will make the early season game important for everyone — coaches, players, officials, parents. Here's a report from a City Section meeting in which coaches asked repeated questions to the official explaining the new rules. The high school basketball player who has made big-time progress in terms of attracting attention from elite college programs this summer is Maximo Adams of Sierra Canyon, younger brother of Arizona State's Marcus Adams. Duke is the latest program to offer Adams. . . . Corona Centennial guard Isaiah Rogers has committed to Stanford. . . . Left-handed pitcher Drew Slevcove of Cypress has committed to UC Santa Barbara. . . . Oaks Christian cornerback Davon Benjamin has committed to Oregon. . . . Southern Section high school football television games are moving to Spectrum this season. The first game will be Sierra Canyon vs. Oaks Christian. Bally Sports has been the primary TV channel in years past. . . . Standout point guard Acen Jimenez from La Habra has committed to Dartmouth. . . . Mater Dei's football team will make an early appearance on ESPN, traveling to Florida to face St. Thomas Aquinas on Aug. 23 at 12:30 p.m. . . . Mater Dei running back Justin Lewis has committed to Massachusetts. . . . Nick Itkin, a Palisades grad, and Bryce Louie, a Campbell Hall grad, helped the USA Men's Foil team claim a silver medal at the World Fencing Championship in Tibilisi, Georgia. . . . Former Newbury Park distance star Nico Young won the USTA national championship in the 10,000 meters, running 29:02.12. . . . Robert Prieto is the new baseball coach at Bishop Amat. He was an assistant at Mt. SAC. . . . Girls volleyball teams begin official practice next week, but Mater Dei and Santa Margarita made it to the championship of the Queen's of the Court summer tournament. Corona Centennial and JSerra were the other semifinalists. Mater Dei won. Long Beach Poly also won its divisional championship. . . Audrey Flanagan from Mira Costa is playing for the U.S. Girls U19 national team at the Women's U21 World Championships Aug. 6-17 in Indonesia. Former Santa Monica and USC guard Jonah Mathews was a standout player for Besiktas in leading the team to the Turkish finals in June. Mathews was a top scorer during his Santa Monica and USC days. Here's a story from 2016 when he led Santa Monica to the 1A championship. Here's a story from 2016 about the rise of Mathews. From the Los Angeles Times, a story on former NFL punter Chris Kluwe suing the Huntington Beach Union School District. From Oaks Christian, a story on Quentin Young starting his pro baseball journey. From the Los Angeles Times, a story about renewed concerns about getting CTE playing football. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
28-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: These offensive linemen will be throwing their weight around this season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. This week, with official football practice beginning on Monday, let's look at the players who never pass up doughnuts, steaks or pancakes — the offensive linemen. Those with ambitions of winning football championships know it starts with the offensive line. In the City Section, Birmingham has weaknesses to fix, but a big, experienced offensive line that will create openings for two promising running back transfers will be key to the Patriots' City title hopes. Leading the way is junior Pablo Granados, an improving 6-foot-4, 280-pound left tackle who started as a sophomore. San Pedro returns two All-City linemen in David Medina and Quincy Couch. Banning has Erick Hernandez, a 6-5, 260-pound senior. Kai Wheeler is a 6-2, 320-pound senior offensive tackle from Crenshaw becoming more agile and stronger. Mater Dei went unbeaten in the Southern Section last season aided by a strong offensive line, and two of the Monarchs' top blockers return in Kodi Greene and Lex Mailangi. Servite might have the best sophomore lineman in Elisha Mueller. Alabama commit Sam Utu leads an experienced Orange Lutheran line that includes junior Lucas Rhoa. Josh Haney at JSerra, Niniva Nicholson at Santa Margarita and Kaden Franco at St. John Bosco round out an impressive group of blockers in the Trinity League. Cooper Javorsky, a UCLA commit at San Juan Hills, had a great off season to surge as a player and prospect. Andre White at Rancho Cucamonga and Elisha Faamatuainu of Murrieta Valley are big men to watch in the Inland Empire. Dylan Felli of Mission Viejo is the key blocker for quarterback Luke Fahey. Blake Graham of Leuzinger is a 280-pound battering ram. As high school football practices begin Monday, three downtown Los Angeles high schools, Contreras, Roybal and Belmont, are trying to deal with the effects of ICE raids in the community. Summer practices have been disrupted. Coaches have been trying to keep players safe and calm fears of parents. Here's a look at the fears and obstacles ahead. Drone operators, managers and athletic trainers. As football practices begin Monday, coaches are relying on unsung contributors to help them manage programs. Here's a look. There's lots of challenges among City Section coaches, but the only way forward is to focus on players you have, teach them, allow them to have fun and prepare them for life ahead. Here's a look at why City coaches have stopped fighting and started sharing stories and ideas to move forward. The Westchester Del Rey softball team will be competing in the Little League World Series in North Carolina this week. Here's the report. . . . Quarterback Deuce Jefferson from Long Beach Poly has committed to Weber State. . . . Corona High first-round draft picks Seth Hernandez, Billy Carlson and Brady Ebel received a combined $16,235,900 in signing bonuses. . . . Warren graduate Angel Cervantes, a second-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced he would be attending UCLA. The hard-throwing Cervantes will be a key addition to the Bruins' pitching staff. The deadline to sign a pro contract is 2 p.m. on Monday. Here's the report. . . . The Perfect Game All-American Game will be held Aug. 17 at Petco Park. Among the players selected for the West team is outfielder Blake Bowen of JSerra, infielder Trey Ebel of Corona, outfielder Isaiah Hearn of Chaminade, outfielder Anthony Murphy of Corona, pitcher Logan Schmidt of Orange Lutheran and outfielder Eric Zdunek of Orange Lutheran. . . . Joseph Nava is the new wrestling coach at Santa Margarita. Ivan Buich, a former USC assistant, is the school's new boys water polo coach. . . . Defensive lineman JD Hill of Mission Viejo has committed to Northern Arizona. During her prolific high school basketball days at Windward, Jordin Canada said she wanted to become a nurse. Basketball, though, has taken up much of her time, from UCLA to spending eight years in the WNBA. This season she's playing for the Atlanta Dream, averaging 10 points a game. The former Los Angeles Times player of the year was at the beginning of the rapid growth of girls' basketball in the Southland. Here's a story from 2013 when she was The Times' player of the year. Here's a video from 2013 on Canada's guard skills in the state championship game. From a story on former Mira Costa third baseman Kyle Karros. From a story on a sportswriter switching sides. From Burlisononbasketball, a story on late summer basketball movers. From BaseballAmerica, a story on UCLA coach John Savage trying to keep building without lots of transfers. From a story encouraging multi-sport athletes in high school. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer. Did you get this newsletter forwarded to you? To sign up and get it in your inbox, click here.
Los Angeles Times
21-07-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Prep Rally: There will be a ton of talent at wide receiver this high school football season
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. My name is Eric Sondheimer. Let's take a sneak peek at receivers and tight ends to watch this fall. If a college team was able to sign the receivers from Mater Dei and St. John Bosco, there would certainly be some future pros in that group. Those two schools have great depth this season with quality receiver after quality receiver. Ohio State commit Chris Henry Jr. is supposed to be back from injury for Mater Dei. He'll be joined by another Ohio State commit Kayden Dixon-Wyatt. Gavin Honore is a Georgia commit. Add tight end Mark Bowman, a USC commit, and you have a special group. St. John Bosco has Texas A&M commit Madden Williams, Oklahoma commit Daniel Odom, San Jose State commit Carson Clark and super sophomore DJ Tubbs, among others. Junior Quentin Gates and senior Jalen Ross are top targets for quarterback Jaden Jefferson at Cathedral. Mission Viejo has Miami commit Vance Spafford joined by Santa Margarita transfer Jack Junker. Santa Margarita has the Mosley brothers, Trent, a USC commit, and sophomore Grant. Orange Lutheran returns Chris Flores Jr., who caught 60 passes last season, and promising junior Nico Bland. Also available is Loyola transfer Markus Kier, a Princeton commit. USC commit Luc Weaver of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has improved his strength and speed and is set for a big senior season. Sierra Canyon has USC commit Ja'Myron Baker. Troy Foster of Huntington Beach is coming off a junior season in which he caught 65 passes, 15 for touchdowns. James Leicester of Dana Hills had 13 TD catches. Damani Porras of Downey will be a key weapon for quarterback Oscar Rios after catching 15 TDs as a sophomore. Alijah Royster of Oxnard Pacifica made a huge impact as a sophomore with 13 touchdowns. Jordan Slye of Salesian is a talented two-way player entering his sophomore season. Long Beach Poly returns Kamarie Smith. Jaylen Stokes from St. Pius-St. Matthias had 16 TD catches. Jack Cunningham returns as Ventura's go-to receiver. In the City Section, Paul Turner, a transfer from Palmdale, joins Birmingham and could provide a lift for the Patriots after 15 TD receptions last season. Palisades has picked up one of the fastest athletes in the state in Bishop Alemany transfer Demare Dezeurn. It's also a terrific year for tight ends with Mater Dei's Bowman and Servite's Luke Sorensen, a Nebraska commit, leading the way. There's also 6-5, 230-pound Keawe Browne of Corona Centennial and 6-3, 235-pound Jaden Hernandez of Long Beach Poly. Andre Nickerson of Inglewood and Beckham Hofland of Los Alamitos are committed to Southern Methodist and Boise State, respectively. Bishop Montgomery's Caleb Tafua is a Texas A&M commit. Freshman Austin Miller of Bellflower is 6-4 and an impact first-year player. When it comes to special teams, Mira Costa is feeling it has a trio to turn to. Kicker Nico Talbott, punter/holder Jackson Shevin and long snapper Jackson Reach offer experience and talent for coach Don Morrow, who's going into his 37th season as a varsity head coach, 33 years at Mira Costa. Here's the report. Mater Dei football coach Raul Lara had his team participate in the Long Beach Poly passing tournament Saturday. He was asked if he remembered how to get to Poly. 'No,' he joked. It was a homecoming for Lara, who graduated from Poly and was football coach for 13 years, winning five Division 1 titles. Here's the report. Sherman Oaks Notre Dame had two former players taken in the MLB draft, making it 29 players since 1993 chosen during the Tom Dill coaching era. The Knights have had more players selected before that, including Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell and Tim Foli, who was the No. 1 pick in 1968. . . . Corona ended up with four players taken in the draft after Ethin Bingaman was taken in the 20th round by the Diamondbacks. . . . Mira Costa senior pitcher Garrett Jacobs has committed to UCLA. . . . USA Baseball announced the 88 players invited to its 18U national team training camp. Here's the list. Ontario Christian girls basketball standouts Kaleena Smith and Tatiana Griffin will compete in August in the Overtime Select women's basketball league. Both will be captains. . . . Former Villa Park principal Dr. Kenneth Miller is the new executive director of athletics at Mater Dei. Here's a release from the school. . . . The Southern Section announced its final transfer totals for the 2024-25 school year, and there were a record 7,099 transfers. That provides a strong indication that when the final state transfer total is released, it will exceed 17,000 for the second straight year. The CIF continues to debate whether there needs to be changes to its transfer rules, such as a one-time free transfer. But a proposal is months, if not years, away from from being introduced. . . . . Orange Lutheran's baseball team has added two big-time LSU commits as transfer students in 6-foot-5 pitcher Cooper Sides from Red Buff and infielder CJ Weinstein from Huntington Beach. . . . CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti is set to become president this school year of the National Federation of State High School Assns. . . . . The AAU Beach Volleyball Player of the Year is Mira Costa sophomore Christian Chow. His sister, London, won the same award in 2012. . . . Kenneth Bell is the new boys basketball coach at Arleta. . . . Mike Minjares is returning for a second stint as baseball coach at St. Bonaventure. . . . Windward girls basketball coach Rachel Schrote has resigned to pursue other coaching opportunities, according to athletic director Tyrone Powell. She will be replaced by assistant Dante Dixon on an interim basis for the upcoming system. It's a difficult coaching position dealing with parents and expectations. . . . SoFi Stadium will be the site for several high school football games the week of Aug. 21-22. South Hills has confirmed it will face El Rancho on Aug. 22. Mayfair and Yorba Linda are also expected to play in one of the scheduled games. . . . Former JSerra and UCLA Cody Schrier is performing well in the minor leagues for the Miami Marlins. The 13th round draft pick in 2024 is batting .270 this season having played for two teams and has 22 stolen bases. Here's a story from 2019 about the Schrier brothers facing off in high school. From the Washington Post, a story on a travel basketball team that's a social media sensation. From UWHuskieswire, a story on former Gardena Serra and UCLA tight end Caleb Wilson. From a story on former Corona High standout Brady Ebel taking batting practice at Dodger Stadium as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization. Have a question, comment or something you'd like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? 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