Orange County All Star Game: Top Defensive Performances

On Saturday, some of the top senior football players in Orange County gathered at Newport Harbor High School to play in the 62nd annual Orange County North-South All Star Classic. The South won the game 30-17 to win its seventh consecutive matchup between the two teams. Everyone got to play in the game and it was clear why these players were selected to represent their schools. But some players stood out. Here is a breakdown of the top performers from each team in the game: <strong>NORTH</strong> <strong>Muhammad Hassouneh, Cypress</strong> Hassouneh was the best defensive player in the front seven for Cypress and he was great for the North team on Saturday. I knew he was a good run stopper but I did not realize how effective of a pass rusher he can be. He had two sacks and was named the MVP of the North team. He was named the Empire League Defensive Player of the Year and was an All-CIF Division 4 selection. https://twitter.com/CypressHSFB/status/1490398465469284354?s=20&amp;t=ij7snc3OsNMsSPNLcyzthg <strong>Ryan Reagins, Brea Olinda</strong> Reagins had the lone interception for the North defense as time expired in the first half, but he contributed much more than that. He held his own covering very good receivers from the South team in a lot of man coverage. He is fast with a 4.06 shuttle time and closes to the ball quickly on underneath routes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="231606" first="Roman" last="Marchetti"], Foothill</strong> He had 150 tackles on the season so it didn’t surprise me that he was able to play sideline-to-sideline when covering the run and short passing game. The South tried a lot of swing passes to their running backs and Marchetti and the North linebackers largely shut those down. He was very good in pass coverage against pretty big slot guys and put some pressure on the quarterback as well. First Team All-County defensive player who would be a good late addition for most college programs. https://twitter.com/roman_marchetti/status/1490524284925534208?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="186974" first="Blaze" last="Iglesias"], Orange</strong> It’s not often that you see a player dominate his matchup in an all star game but Iglesias was tossing around some of the South offensive linemen which featured guys from big schools like Corona del Mar and Mission Viejo. He could create pressure from the defensive end or the 3-technique and handles double teams better than I expected him to. Players on the South sideline were talking about him which says a lot. Southern Utah got a gem in Iglesias. https://twitter.com/BlazeIglesias/status/1484226416426160128?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <strong>Arthur Orta, Villa Park</strong> Orta sticks out when you watched the North defense and not just because of his hair. He did an excellent job dodging offensive linemen run blocking at the second level and read his guards very well. He had the biggest hit in the game and if he gets ahold of you, you’re going down. Some lower level program is going to be really lucky to get Orta, who I think is a FCS caliber player. https://twitter.com/ArturoOrta17/status/1490466420584431618?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <hr /> <strong>SOUTH</strong> <strong>Jake Higgins, Mission Viejo</strong> Higgins was an outstanding nickel back for Mission Viejo this season and played his way into more playing time. He flew around the field for the South and had an interception in the second half and a crucial deflection on a fourth down. He can come up to stop the run as well and is fast enough to make tackles in pursuit. https://twitter.com/ThomasHaney2022/status/1490398835138457601?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <strong>Tate Zimmerman, Irvine</strong> Zimmerman was much bigger in person than I expected him to be and is very physical. The North ran a lot of zone read with a fly motion involved and it didn’t fool Zimmerman who largely shut down the running game after the first series of the game. The North offensive linemen had a tough time getting a body on him at the second level and when they did he held his ground. New Mexico is getting a very good linebacker in Zimmerman. https://twitter.com/Andy_Howe34/status/1490375889909010435?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <strong>Austin Grbic, Edison</strong> The South did a decent job rushing the passer and Grbic was the best pass rushing defensive lineman. He had 14 sacks in his senior season and plays a lot bigger than his 6-foot-2, 205 pound frame. He has good speed pass rushing moves and is physical when stopping the run game. He was one of the more confident players on the field too. https://twitter.com/DirectRecruits/status/1454584508385091587?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw <strong>Alijah Sadler, Segerstrom</strong> Sadler had an interception in the endzone on the first series of the game and showed that he belonged in a secondary that featured guys from big schools like Mission Viejo and El Toro. He was constantly in the hip pocket of receivers in man coverage and was able to stay with guys during scrambles. He represented his school very well. https://twitter.com/thebaus/status/1490346608382603264?s=20&amp;t=YBj_iqH0lZpiLbVesRTsIw