Huntley’s SoCal Picks (Week Eight)

<strong>Huntley’s season record: </strong>38-12 <strong>Corona del Mar vs. Edison</strong> Analysis: This game went five overtimes last season. Edison is a bit more of a favorite this time around and rightfully so. They kept it close with Edison the entire game and were a couple of redzone conversions away from winning. <strong>Parker Awad</strong> has been solid at quarterback and <strong>Troy Fletcher</strong> was one of our <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2021/10/southern-california-top-rushing-performances-week-7/">top rushers of the week</a> for his 205 yard performance. [player_tooltip player_id="43679" first="Tyler" last="Gioia"] is back and is a versatile playmaker on offense and [player_tooltip player_id="143118" first="Nico" last="Brown"] may be the best athlete on the field. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="145236" first="David" last="Rasor"]</strong> can sling it for Corona del Mar and they have good versatile defenders like <strong>Charlie Mannon</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="145264" first="Mason" last="Kubichek"]. This game will decide who gets second place in the Sunset League. <strong>The pick: </strong>Edison https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1448362906337251328?s=20 https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1447942635071496192?s=20 <strong>Centennial vs. Norco</strong> Analysis: This is a marquee matchup because Norco upset Centennial in the spring, giving the Huskies their first league loss since 2009. [player_tooltip player_id="187266" first="Kyle" last="Crum"] is the quarterback for Norco and running back <strong>Jaydn Ott</strong> is a star. [player_tooltip player_id="25365" first="Izzy" last="Carter"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25368" first="Carson" last="Conklin"] are Centennial’s quarterbacks and have very different styles. <strong>Jayson Cortes</strong> is a great running back and [player_tooltip player_id="25371" first="Eric" last="Denham"] is a big playmaking receiver. [player_tooltip player_id="25243" first="Jaden" last="Mickey"] is Notre Dame bound and a star for the Huskies defense. The key question of the game is can Norco’s offensive line hang with Centennial enough to let Ott break off big runs. [player_tooltip player_id="25331" first="AJ" last="Vaipulu"] may have something to say about Ott having a big rushing day. Centennial has had this date circled for months. <strong>The pick: </strong>Centennial https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1448393103866486794?s=20 <strong>Santa Margarita vs. Mater Dei</strong> Analysis: Mater Dei showed some vulnerability last week. They turned the ball over three times against Orange Lutheran and took awhile to become the dominant Mater Dei team we expect to see. [player_tooltip player_id="147708" first="Elijah" last="Brown"] isn’t healthy but is toughing it out. He is 10-0 as a starting quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id="25225" first="Raleek" last="Brown"] did not play against Orange Lutheran so [player_tooltip player_id="115462" first="Ajon" last="Bryant"] got some playing time. [player_tooltip player_id="25234" first="David" last="Bailey"] and [player_tooltip player_id="115434" first="Aydin" last="Breland"] led the Monarchs defense with [player_tooltip player_id="25274" first="Cam" last="Sidney"] patrolling the secondary. Santa Margarita is in the tough part of its schedule. [player_tooltip player_id="25428" first="Jaxon" last="Potter"] can sling it all over the field but will he have time to throw? [player_tooltip player_id="141878" first="Hero" last="Kanu"] is great on the defensive front but Mater Dei’s offensive line with [player_tooltip player_id="25453" first="BJ" last="Tolo"] and freshman <strong>Sione Tohi</strong> are the best guys he has faced on the interior. Santa Margarita will use [player_tooltip player_id="190355" first="Niko" last="Lopez"] to try to find holes in Mater Dei’s zone defense. <strong>The pick: </strong>Mater Dei https://twitter.com/MDFootball/status/1448088520636108804?s=20 <strong>Mission Hills vs. Torrey Pines</strong> Analysis: This is likely the second place game in the Avocado League. Torrey Pines is rolling and was a few inches away from upsetting Carlsbad. <strong>Wyatt Gardiner</strong> is a star for Torrey Pines and people are sleeping on receiver <strong>Ryan Flather</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id="141881" first="Zach" last="Rowell"] is one of the best defensive players in San Diego and is committed to Stanford. <strong>Jaiden Letua</strong> is a star on defense for Mission Hills who is slightly underrated. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="187303" first="Gunnar" last="Hensley"]</strong> is an experienced quarterback who has played in big games before. <strong>The pick: </strong>Torrey Pines <strong>Yorba Linda vs. Foothill</strong> Analysis: The CrestView League is one of the best public school leagues in Southern California. Yorba Linda looked untouchable in the preseason. <strong>Reyn Beal</strong> is an efficient quarterback who doesn’t make mistakes. <strong>Chase Jones</strong>, <strong>JJ Conrad</strong> and <strong>Garrett Gonzalez</strong> are a three-headed monster at receiver. Foothill just got quarterback Brody Jones back from injury and his best weapon is USC baseball commit <strong>Austin Overn</strong>. Foothill’s defense is led by lacrosse stars <strong>Gavin Griswold</strong> and <strong>Roman Marchetti</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="186998" first="Patrick" last="Hawkins"]</strong> is a a real good defense end for the Knights. I think Yorba Linda is a little more polished than Foothill but this game may come down to who has the ball last. <strong>The pick: </strong>Yorba Linda <strong>Bishop Amat vs. Alemany</strong> Analysis: Bishop Amat is the best team in the San Gabriel Valley and Alemany is one of the best teams in Los Angeles. Both teams only losses are to powerhouse teams like St. John Bosco, Servite and Mission Viejo. <strong>Tobin O’dell</strong> is a versatile quarterback for the Lancers and [player_tooltip player_id="145208" first="Delano" last="Franklin"] is a legitimate Division 1 prospect at receiver. Alemany has had offensive struggles against good opponents. They made it no secret this week that they will run the ball a ton with [player_tooltip player_id="25262" first="Jaylen" last="Thompson"] and [player_tooltip player_id="25290" first="Floyd" last="Chalk"]. If Amat can hold those two to about 150 yards combined, they will win. Amat linebacker <strong>Devon Jones</strong> is the key player to watch in this game. <strong>The pick: </strong>Alemany https://twitter.com/AmatFaithfull/status/1447705108192530432?s=20 <strong>San Juan Hills vs. San Clemente</strong> Analysis: San Juan Hills is the hot team right now coming off two blowout wins against El Toro and Capo Valley. They finally figured out their quarterback situation with freshman <strong>Michael "Butter" Tollefson</strong>. They have the edge at the skill positions with UCLA commit [player_tooltip player_id="141899" first="Braden" last="Pegan"] and other receivers [player_tooltip player_id="143139" first="Cole" last="Monach"] and [player_tooltip player_id="100646" first="Elijah" last="Barclay"]. People wrote off San Clemente after losing badly to Edison but they bounced back with wins against Vista Murrieta and Loyola. <strong>Blake Allen</strong> is a two-way star for the Tritons and [player_tooltip player_id="168733" first="Brad" last="Gerken"] flies around the field on defense. San Clemente blew them out in the spring but San Juan didn’t have its quarterback and Pegan was out with an injury. I will be covering this game for the OC Register. I like both teams but until I see a South Coast League team not named Mission Viejo beat San Clemente, I can’t doubt them. <strong>The pick: </strong>San Clemente https://twitter.com/Tritonfootball/status/1445008084061982723?s=20