OC Public School Media Day Highlights
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Late last week, a group of public schools in Orange County held a media day over Zoom to showcase their players and field questions from the media. Here are some highlights and noteworthy comments from the two days. La Habra…
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Continue ReadingLate last week, a group of public schools in Orange County held a media day over Zoom to showcase their players and field questions from the media.
Here are some highlights and noteworthy comments from the two days.
La Habra two-way lineman Carter Bessire is one of the top players in the Freeway League. The Highlanders have dominated the league for years but last season Fullerton and Sunny Hills closed the gap and played very competitive games against La Habra. Fullerton took the Highlanders to overtime. Bessire downplayed the other teams in the league. “Covid set us back last year and evened the playing field,” Bessire said. “But this year we are back with a vengeance and they aren’t going to stand a chance against us.”
San Clemente defensive back Brad Gerken Brad Gerken 5'11" | 190 lbs | DB San Clemente | 2023 CA mentioned he is excited to matchup against the great receivers in the South Coast League. Blake Allen was a defensive back last year who will now be getting the lion’s share of carries as a running back. Coach Jaime Ortiz said that he believes Allen would have been a starting running back for many teams in the county as a sophomore.
OC Public School Media Day is being held virtually today. San Clemente @Tritonfootball was the 2nd team up.@SCHSTritons closed with their favorite surf breaks in town:@GerkenBrad: Lowers@tannermehrens: Lasuens (for volleyball)@_blake_allen23: Riviera@Lachedandloaded: San O pic.twitter.com/zaCjJ94XjC
— South OC Sports (@SouthOCsports) August 12, 2021
Mission Viejo safety Ruben Lopez is the only returning starter for the Diablos on defense. Despite the lack of experience of the team, he expects them to be ready for the opener against Apple Valley. “I don’t expect them to be clueless on the field. I hold them accountable,” Lopez said. “They are going to make mistakes but I’ll get on them and be like, ’let’s fix it,’ and learn from their mistakes.”
Diablo’s coach Chad Johnson mentioned that in each of his three seasons as head coach the team has gone unbeaten in nonleague games and lost the league championship in two of those three years. This year they bolstered the schedule, playing some of the top teams in the state like Servite, Alemany, Sierra Canyon and Long Beach Poly. “We’ve won one league title in three years which is not acceptable at Mission Viejo,” Johnson said. “That told me that our preseason schedule was not preparing us to beat a team like San Clemente.”
Capo Valley coach Sean Curtis said that star defensive lineman Luke Meyer is aiming to return by the start of Sea View League play. He suffered a leg injury against San Juan Hills early in the spring season.
New quarterback Trey Kukuk brings a level of athleticism that the previous quarterback did not. He mentioned that his ability to escape the pocket and make plays with his legs takes the pressure off the running backs and gives receivers time to get open when plays break down.
Receiver Dane Benedix Dane Benedix 6'0" | 170 lbs | ATH Capistrano Valley | 2023 State CA said that playing against top teams in passing tournaments like Servite and Centennial helped him physically prepare for the season. The teams were physical with him when he ran over the middle and it helped him with his route running and conditioning.
San Juan Hills defensive back Chase Schmidt is a three-year starter and had the game-winning interception in 2019 when the Stallions won the CIF-SS Division 4 championship against Loyola. “Our DB coach puts me in the role of being the quarterback of the defense,” Schmidt said. “I feel like it’s a responsibility to line everybody up and make sure everyone else can line everybody up. I think that’s something we’ve done a good job of, holding each other accountable.”
Braden Pegan Braden Pegan 6'4" | 200 lbs | WR San Juan Hills | 2022 State CA spoke about where the Stallions fit into the South Coast League. “I think we are going to be right there neck-and-neck with them (San Clemente and Mission Viejo,” Pegan said. “I think we can go 3-0.”
OC Public School Football Media Day rolls on and San Juan Hills checks in.
Players said they’re ready to take their swings at South Coast League’s elite, after a disappointing run due to injuries. Stallions also ready to take back the Bell and avenge a tight loss to rival Tesoro pic.twitter.com/mFMIbHyQIw
— South OC Sports (@SouthOCsports) August 12, 2021
Tesoro coach Matt Poston said that Evan Pierce Evan Pierce 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Tesoro | 2023 State CA and Gavin Shaigineik are still competing for the starting quarterback job. “Who is doing better one day might be different than the next,” Poston said. “I look forward to playing them both at the scrimmage and seeing how they perform.”
Edison quarterback Tyler Gioia Tyler Gioia 5'10" | 165 lbs | QB Edison | 2022 CA is healing from an injury and hoping to start practicing in early September. He learned a lot from the two senior quarterbacks last season. “I learned a lot from Braeden and Jacob, especially Braeden being a small quarterback like me,” Gioia said. “He was able to teach me a lot about how to handle myself in situations that might be shaky for a small quarterback.”
Mater Dei transfer Parker Awad will be the starting quarterback while Gioia heals. “It’s pushed me to be a better teammate and team leader and push myself in rehab,” Gioia said of Awad. “I am happy to help him whenever I can.”
Los Alamitos quarterback Malachi Nelson Malachi Nelson 6'3" | 195 lbs | QB Los Alamitos | 2023 State CA talked about how deep the Griffins’ offensive line is. Gavin Koepke and David Main David Main 6'3" | 245 lbs | OL Los Alamitos | 2022 State CA are returning as well as three other starters. “Our offensive line is one of our best positions,” Nelson said. “Returning all of them is extremely helpful for me and the team.”
The Griffins are excited to have their first playoff experience and potentially match up with some of the top teams in the state in the playoffs. “We are excited because everyone is talking about us having these top guys,” Makai Lemon Makai Lemon 6'0" | 175 lbs | ATH Los Alamitos | 2023 State CA said. “We are excited to step out, compete with these high-level teams and see how good we are.”
“With our strength of schedule, we might be in the Division 1 playoffs if we win out, which is obviously our plan,” Nelson said. “I’m excited to show everybody what I know this team can do.”
“I feel like our offense is probably the best in the league,” Villa Park quarterback Nathan Kornely Nathan Kornely 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Villa Park | 2022 CA said. “It will definitely be an exciting year throwing the ball and spreading it to our guys. I feel comfortable with every single one of them.”
Villa Park tight end Alex Grywalski recently was offered a preferred walk on spot at Michigan.