LA City Section Top Sophomore Receiving Leaders

Anthony Ascarrunz

January 22, 2021 @ 06:32 PM

With no high school football so far in California due to the Covid 19 pandemic, young student athletes are itching to get back on the field to perform for themselves and their team. These 4 wide receivers last season from the Los Angeles City Section grabbed the spotlight to show promise for their football career in the near future. Dominic Arango-Serna - 5’10, 165 lbs - Chaminade - Junior Twitter: @dominicaserna The junior who has transferred to Chaminade High, had a monster year as a sophomore at Canoga Park and will be one of the top upperclassmen when football returns in California. Last season, Arango-Serena hauled in 61 receptions, 1,341 yards and 15 touchdowns to be named the 2019 City Section Division II Offensive Player of the Year. The year before he was on varsity as a freshman and made a name for himself then. His freshman campaign he had 1,023 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 54 catches. With the exception of not being amazingly tall, Arango-Serna brings the total package at the wide receiver position. A shifty, fast receiver who has great hands, snaps his head quick when looking back for the football and can attack the football no matter where he is on the field. He possesses an outstanding ability to make defenders miss in run after catch situations and rarely goes down after first contact. His speed allows him to separate himself when breaking off routes and can plant his feet into the ground and stop on a dime. He primarily is more of a slot receiver but if he can grow more in height to gain reps to play as an outside receiver, he will grab more collegiate attention. He has already received offers from several schools with Dartmouth University being his most recent.   [player_tooltip player_id="25318" first="Arlis" last="Boardingham"] - 6’5, 220 lbs - Birmingham - Junior Twitter: @Arlisb42 This 2 time varsity wide receiver has already turned quite a few heads so far in his high school career. The big body Boardingham has become a wide target in the passing game that has good straight line speed. A bit raw in his route running that I saw on tape but he has figured out how to use his frame to out-catch and position himself against defenders. Having 12 touchdowns, 54 catches and 910 yards as a sophomore, Boardingham showed promise early as a freshman with 26 receptions, 315 yards and 2 touchdowns. Being more of an outside threat than a slot type of receiver, I see Boardingham’s ability to be used a lot in the redzone where the field shrinks to allow him to extend and snatch the football at it’s highest point. Receiving several offers from D1 schools already (recently Notre Dame and Duke), coaches may use him in several ways as he could also excel at the collegiate level as a tight end. He is a big receiver that can play big and can be hard guy to tackle for most cornerbacks.   Jason Wagner Jr - 5’7, 145 lbs - Reseda - Junior Twitter: @officialjayy_4 The 5’7 junior out of Reseda High school may be small in stature but he does not play small on the football field. Wagner Jr is a pure inside receiver who can be a gadget type player in many spots for an offense. He is more quicker than fast, doesn’t have blazing speed but he can definitely play football and can make a man miss in the open field. As a ball carrier, he uses lots of movement to juke out defenders and gain extra yards. With over 500 yards receiving on 35 grabs last year, Wagner Jr was used well on bubbles, directs, screens, jet sweeps and short routes that were good for his skill set. Due to his size, if he can get a bit faster, he’ll be able to expand his strengths to a higher degree.   Kameran Charles - 5’8, 160 lbs - Reseda - Junior Twitter: @official_kam2 Doing most of his damage being lined up inside in trips formation as a slot receiver, Charles is a slender body receiver but can definitely run and make getting down field and in short yardage. A little raw at the position, but his speed is a key attribute he has that he can build off of. Charles may not have a defined role yet but he is definitely a guy who you want on the field, a pure ATH. 298 yards and 17 receptions a year ago as a sophomore, Charles does have decent hands and was also able to find the open spots in the middle of the field on spot routes in addition to his deep threat ability. Look for him to take on a bigger role for Reseda High School when football resumes in California.