Huntley’s SoCal Picks (Week Zero)

<strong>Narbonne vs. Reseda</strong> Analysis: Narbonne dominated the LA City Section for years until some violations made by the previous coaches led to Narbonne receiving a postseason ban. Many of the team’s top players fled for other schools. <strong>Malcolm Manuel</strong> is the new coach at Narbonne and there is some excitement. Narbonne has more size than a lot of City Section teams and potential stars like <strong>Khamari Ephraim</strong> and <strong>Christian Walker</strong>. Reseda is the defending City Section Division 1 champion and has <strong>Kameran Charles</strong> and <strong>Kaden Jones</strong> returning. Narbonne is a program on the rise, but it is a year or two away from beating Reseda. <strong>The pick:</strong> Reseda <strong>Edison vs. Servite</strong> Analysis: This is the game of the week in Orange County. Edison has a lot of skill guys back from last season including two-way star [player_tooltip player_id="143118" first="Nico" last="Brown"]. <strong>Austin Grbic</strong> is a defensive end to keep an eye on for Edison. Servite is the number two team in the county led by Arizona commit quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="25286" first="Noah" last="Fifita"] and Oregon commit receiver [player_tooltip player_id="25227" first="Tetairoa" last="McMillan"]. Tight end and Arizona commit [player_tooltip player_id="25242" first="Keyan" last="Burnett"] may cause matchup problems for Edison’s defense. The big question will be can Edison’s offense led by<strong> Parker Awad</strong> score against the Servite defense led by [player_tooltip player_id="143131" first="Jacob" last="Manu"]? <strong>The pick:</strong> Servite <strong>Foothill vs. Cypress</strong> Analysis: Foothill is led by quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="119141" first="Brody" last="Jones"] and he has lengthy receivers to throw the ball to. Foothill’s defense is led by lacrosse stars <strong>Roman Marchetti</strong> and <strong>Gavin Griswold</strong>. Cypress is always prepared and is led by its star quarterback <strong>Dylan Eldredge</strong> and receiver [player_tooltip player_id="35436" first="Matthew" last="Morrell"]. Two-way player [player_tooltip player_id="173344" first="Trevor" last="Monteleone"] is an ex factor for Cypress. Both teams will win a lot of games but I think the experience of Cypress should guide them to a win here. <strong>The pick:</strong> Cypress <strong>Orange Lutheran vs. Serra</strong> Analysis: Serra quarterback and Texas commit [player_tooltip player_id="25228" first="Maalik" last="Murphy"] has all the tools but has yet to really impress in actual games. This is a big senior year for him to show he can put up numbers and lead Serra to big wins. Orange Lutheran is toward the bottom of the Trinity League under a whole new coaching staff who has had success in the past. [player_tooltip player_id="25295" first="Logan" last="Gonzalez"] leads the Lancer’s offense and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="186973" first="Brendan" last="Hale"]</strong> is a fun player to watch for them. Orange Lutheran is on the rise but Serra is just a little bit better right now. <strong>The pick:</strong> Serra <strong>San Juan Hills vs. Santa Margarita</strong> Analysis: San Juan Hills has one of the best receiving corps in the county with [player_tooltip player_id="141899" first="Braden" last="Pegan"], [player_tooltip player_id="143139" first="Cole" last="Monach"] and [player_tooltip player_id="100646" first="Elijah" last="Barclay"]. They have returning talent on defense as well and are led by junior quarterback <strong>Colton Joseph</strong>. Santa Margarita has new transfer quarterback Jaxson Potter from JSerra. [player_tooltip player_id="141878" first="Hero" last="Kanu"] will be tough for San Juan Hills to gameplan for on the interior defensive line. [player_tooltip player_id="143134" first="Kilian" last="O’Connor"] will be the best offensive lineman on the field. I think Santa Margarita may be too good in the trenches for San Juan Hills in this one. <strong>The pick: </strong>Santa Margarita <strong>St. Augustine vs. El Camino</strong> Analysis: The best game in San Diego this week by a mile. El Camino quarterback <strong>Kiah Reid</strong> is experienced and should be ready for a big game like this. [player_tooltip player_id="141904" first="Mackavelli" last="Malotumau"] is a real star for El Camino’s defense. St. Augustine has a pair of stars on its defense too in [player_tooltip player_id="25239" first="Gracen" last="Halton"] and [player_tooltip player_id="141930" first="Justin" last="Stearns"]. [player_tooltip player_id="145133" first="Jeremiah" last="McClure"], <strong>Ayo Shotomide</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="25422" first="DJ" last="Overstreet"] may cause matchup problems for El Camino’s defense. This game could come down to who has the ball last. <strong>The pick: </strong>St. Augustine <strong>Tustin vs. Capistrano Valley</strong> Analysis: This was a really close game when the two teams played two years ago. It was the first game for Capo Valley coach <strong>Sean Curtis</strong> and the Cougars have grown since then. [player_tooltip player_id="45038" first="Dane" last="Benedix"] is the biggest playmaker on the field in this game.<strong> Owen Taylor</strong> is a talented receiver who will likely be often covered by talented Tustin cornerback <strong>Armon Fuller</strong>. Capo’s offense will look different this year with quarterback <strong>Trey Kukuk</strong> which makes it harder for Tustin to prepare. The same goes the other way. Tustin will look totally different on offense with quarterback <strong>Tobey Schmidt</strong>. This game will be super close and it’s pretty much a coin flip. I wouldn’t be shocked if Tustin pulled off the upset here. <strong>The pick: </strong>Capo Valley