A preview and prediction for each of the top football games in Orange County this week. The teams are listed by their ranking in the Orange County Top 25.
GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 16 CAPISTRANO VALLEY (8-1, 4-0) VS. NO. 12 TUSTIN (8-1, 4-0)
Where, when: Tustin High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: This is the final week of the regular season. CIF Southern Section playoff brackets will be out on Sunday. The winner of this game is the outright champion of the Delta League. Capistrano Valley has won six in a row, including last week’s 28-21 win over El Modena. Tustin has won four in a row since a 35-31 loss to Yorba Linda. Capistrano Valley has one of the county’s better two-way players, senior running back/linebacker Reily Walker. He averages 10 tackles a game and is the Cougars’ leading rusher at 455 yards. The engine of the Tustin offense is senior running back Eimesse Essis. The San Diego State commit averages 192 rushing yards a game and 8 yards a carry, and has rushed for 16 touchdowns. Essis gets plenty of help from a great offensive line that includes Juan Espinosa, Gabriel Minchaca, Alex Peterson, Lawrence Schuster and Manu Segovia. Tustin’s running attack and speed on defense will get the Tillers the championship of the very good Delta League.
Winner: Tustin
NO. 4 SERVITE (6-3, 1-3) VS. NO. 6 SANTA MARGARITA (3-6, 0-4)
Where, when: Trabuco Hills High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Going into this Trinity League finale, Servite looks like a likely CIF-SS playoff team as an at-large team in Division 1. Santa Margarita’s status as a playoff contender won’t be known until Sunday morning when the Southern Section brackets are out. Servite has lost three in a row, to Mater Dei 28-6, to St. John Bosco 27-17 and, last week to Orange Lutheran 38-0. Michigan State-committed senior quarterback Leo Hannan missed the Mater Dei and Bosco games because of a knee injury, came back for the Orange Lutheran game but neither he nor the rest of the Servite offense were effective. Santa Margarita football has endured the loss of head coach Anthony Rouzier, who was placed on leave a few weeks ago, and now allegations of violent hazing have been reported. The good news is the return of junior receiver Trent Mosley, one of the top offensive players in Southern California. A foot injury sidelined Mosley for a few weeks. He returned last week for 13 receptions for 123 yards and scored three touchdowns, two rushing and one receiving, in a 35-33 league loss to JSerra. Servite needs Hannan and the Servite offense to be in sync early, because Mosley and the Santa Margarita offense could be in sharp form right away.
Winner: Servite
NO. 8 EDISON (6-3, 1-1) VS. NO. 11 SAN CLEMENTE (4-5, 0-2)
Where, when: San Clemente High, Friday 7 p.m.
Analysis: This game in the four-team Alpha League is big for both teams. If Edison wins the Chargers are the league’s No. 2 team and thus automatically qualifies for the playoffs. The top two teams in a four-team league are guaranteed playoff berths. If the Chargers lose, they are the league’s No. 3 team and while not a guaranteed entry they would very likely get into the playoffs as an at-large team with what would be a 6-4 overall record. Edison senior quarterback Savelio Niumata announced this week that an injury has ended his season, so sophomore Sam Thomson is the starter this week. He has plenty of game experience this year. The offense, though, is mostly about senior running back Julius Gillick who is averaging 186 yards a game and 10 yards a carry. San Clemente lost to Mission Viejo 23-7 and last week to Los Alamitos 28-27. A late extra-point kick was blocked by Los Alamitos. San Clemente averages only 85 rushing yards a game. That lack of ground game production will be a detriment against Edison.
Winner: Edison
BECKMAN (9-0, 4-0) VS. MARINA (8-1, 3-1)
Where, when: Westminster High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Beckman is 9-0 for the first time and in sole possession of first place in the Lambda League. The Patriots are averaging 31 points a game with an average margin of victory of 21 points. Beckman junior quarterback Noah Nam is having a terrific season. He has completed 67 percent of his passes 1,615 yards and 12 touchdowns with no interceptions. Patriots senior Noah Czaykowski is the team’s leading receiver with 39 catches for 659 yards and four touchdowns and has a team-high five interceptions. His brother, junior Makhi Czaykowski, leads Beckman in rushing with 667 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. According to the Calpreps ratings that will determine where teams are placed in the CIF-SS playoff divisions, Marina is the best team that Beckman will have played so far. The Vikings were undefeated before last week’s 28-14 loss to Kennedy. Marina junior linebacker Brayden O’Rourke has a team-high 40 solo tackles. That Marina defense will return to previous form here.
Winner: Marina
PORTOLA (4-5, 4-0) VS. PACIFICA (4-5, 4-0)
Where, when: Bolsa Grande High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: The winner is the Omicron League champion. Both have dominated league competition. Pacifica is beating league opponents by an average margin of 30 points. Portola is winning league games by an average margin of 22 points. Pacifica averages 170 rushing yards a game. The Mariners have distributed the carries evenly: Miguel Campos has 35 carries for 289 yards, Aaron Mora has 35 carries for 181 yards and Makai Brown has 33 carries for 284 yards. Portola is averaging 141 rushing yards a game and, like Pacifica, is a run-by-committee group, led by Tim Grettenberg (67 yards a game) and Diego Reyna (51 yards a game). Pacifica actually has six on-the-field wins; two wins became forfeit losses for using an ineligible player in those games. Pacifica’s defense will be the difference in what will be a run-dominated game.
Winner: Pacifica
Fryer on Football last week: 4-2
Season to date: 38-14
Leave a Reply