Mission Viejo Passing Tournament: Top Offensive Performers

<p>The Mission Viejo passing tournament took place last Saturday and 20 quality Southern California programs took place in a 7-on-7 tournament and lineman competition.</p>   <p>Mission Viejo won the tournament to cap its impressive summer of passing league titles.</p>   <p>I got a chance to see the majority of teams play. Here were the top offensive performers that caught my eye:</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25441" first="Kadin" last="Semonza"], Mission Viejo</strong></p>   <p>Semonza was one of the best quarterbacks at the event and showed off his accuracy on the deep throws. He was picking apart very good defenses during pool play and kept it going against Warren in the championship game. He did a nice job spreading the ball around to all of his receivers and made some impressive off-platform throws. Semonza carries himself with confidence and commands the huddle even though there are multiple Division 1 caliber players in there with him. Ball State got a steal in Semonza.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1548371858466017282?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1548341202239361027?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25408" first="Mikey" last="Matthews"], Mission Viejo</strong></p>   <p>Defenders had to pick their poison while trying to cover Matthews. He was beating guys deep in man coverage routinely and when defensive backs gave him a big cushion, he would catch underneath throws and make big plays after the catch. He was lining up at running back occasionally and making catches on swing routes or in the flat on boots. Many Mission Viejo receivers played well Saturday, but Matthews looks like a candidate to be the most exciting receiver in Southern California.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1548409648067203075?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="39430" first="Darius" last="Cowens"], Warren</strong></p>   <p>Cowens transferred into Warren from Pacifica and the coaches told me he has picked up the offense fairly quickly. He improved as the day went on and was firing on all cylinders when I saw him play against Servite. He is much bigger than when I previously saw him and he has a real connection with receiver [player_tooltip player_id="147762" first="Jordan" last="Ross"]. It will be interesting to see what happens with Warren with the return of Tennessee [player_tooltip player_id="25390" first="Nico" last="Iamaleava"] at quarterback. There are rumors that Iamaleava will not play this season and if so, Cowens is more than capable of leading Warren to a great season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GregBiggins/status/1548467735478161408?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115420" first="Emmett" last="Mosley"], Santa Margarita</strong></p>   <p>Mosley transferred to Santa Margarita from Servite and everyone knows he is a top cornerback, but he was very impressive at receiver on Saturday. [player_tooltip player_id="25428" first="Jaxon" last="Potter"] was finding him with regularity over the middle and on the outside. He high points the ball well and has improved his speed greatly this offseason. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/1548366269841174531?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="261786" first="Trey" last="Kukuk"], Capistrano Valley</strong></p>   <p>Kukuk is really fun to watch and even more fun when the pads come on. His release is quick and he is very accurate. The Cougars had a lot of top players missing but Kukuk took the role of team leader and was vocal in the huddle and on the sidelines when the defense was on the field. The coaching staff trusts him to make tough decisions with the ball and fit it into tight windows. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TeranRodriguez1/status/1548364356789817345?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25365" first="Izzy" last="Carter"], Centennial</strong></p>   <p>Carter was picking apart major defenses like Santa Margarita in pool play. He sees the field better than a lot of quarterbacks and he has a lot of zip on his throws. Coach <strong>Matt Logan</strong> trusts him with challenging reads and he often would hit his fourth or fifth reads on check downs. He takes care of the ball and has really improved as a picket passer. Arizona State got a good one in Carter.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1548371458736345089?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>Cory Butler, Centennial</strong></p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id="25434" first="Malachi" last="Riley"] played well at receiver for Centennial as expected but Cory Butler really impressed me with his route running. There were multiple times where the offensive coaches saw the opponents lined up in man coverage against Butler and they were signaling touchdown before the play even started. He is undersized at 5-foot-9 but can line up all over the field and has offers from Utah, Oregon State and Arizona among others.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1548364956109660165?s=20u0026t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="273557" first="Damon" last="Wrighster"], Sierra Canyon</strong></p>   <p>Wrighster got a lot of reps at quarterback in the game I saw and so did [player_tooltip player_id="282704" first="Alonzo" last="Esparza"]. Wrighster is a year older than Esparza and more physically developed. He spread the ball around well to the Sierra Canyon receivers like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="384686" first="Lavon" last="Brown"]</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id="25426" first="Josiah" last="Phillips"]. Quarterback is wide open for Sierra Canyon and I got the impression that the coaching staff likes all of their options.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GregBiggins/status/1548387868682231813?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="389695" first="Braedon" last="Simonian"], St. Paul</strong></p>   <p>Simonian transferred to St. Paul from La Habra and the Swordsmen were getting him the ball frequently on Saturday. He is an underrated slot guy who they love running corner and out routes with. I got to see him play against his former La Habra teammates for a bit and he was fired up and the team was feeding off his energy. He has some size and could get some lower level offers soon.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/alldaybrae_/status/1549903659697287168?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="261800" first="Dereun" last="Dortch"], San Jacinto</strong></p>   <p>Dortch is a dual threat quarterback but I was very impressed with his ability to be comfortable in the pocket and deliver accurate throws on time. He goes through his reads quickly and makes good decisions with the ball. I saw him play against Temescal Canyon and guys like [player_tooltip player_id="384682" first="Vincent" last="Holmes"] and <strong>Dillon Gresham</strong> were wide open and he was hitting them in stride. The San Jacinto coaching staff will have a lot of fun drawing up plays for Dortch this season.</p>   <p><strong>Husan Longstreet, Inglewood</strong></p>   <p>Longstreet is noticeably more muscular than when I saw him at Turf Wars in January playing for one of the Premium teams. His delivery is long but the ball comes out of his hands smoothly and he has chemistry with receiver [player_tooltip player_id="115468" first="Terrell" last="Bradshaw"]. He sometimes eyes down his first target, but he is improving steadily and I am sure his ability to read defenses will improve as well.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/GregBiggins/status/1548413756606074884?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>Quinn Rosenkranz, Servite</strong></p>   <p>Servite is a big mystery this season but a few receivers looked more polished than I expected. He has great body control and can make difficult catches look easy. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="270921" first="Ethan" last="Naudin"]</strong> looked good and the coaches said positive things about him. <strong>Jaxon Hughes</strong> is 6-foot-4 and a receiver to keep an eye on this season as well.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/1548414976292823042?s=20&t=GXQ2wgLCsubD4h-zwtLIBA </div></figure>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="261865" first="Jamari" last="Johnson"], Inglewood</strong></p>   <p>Johnson is massive in person and every team that plays him looks at him in disbelief. An opposing coach told me, "I thought he was a tackle from the lineman competition." He moves so well for his size and causes matchup nightmares for opponents. He will be even better when the pads come on, but his physicality stood out to me this weekend.</p>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="25394" first="Joaquin" last="Johnson"], Saint Bonaventure</strong></p>   <p>Every media person I talked to Saturday mentioned "Juice" Johnson and how dominant he looked for Saint Bonaventure. He and Alemany transfer quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="115460" first="Anthony" last="Wolter"] were dominant and clearly have a connection. He created big matchup problems against a shorthanded Los Alamitos team and competed well against the Division 1 defensive backs of Millikan. He isn't a big guy which is why he has zero offers yet, but he could be a 1,000 yard receiver this season.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/C_Morrissette/status/1548339052721557507?s=20&t=CmNJ5bLx8R5_WlvdOrjkZw </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/juice_johnson12/status/1549177705899253761?s=20&t=CmNJ5bLx8R5_WlvdOrjkZw </div></figure>

The Mission Viejo passing tournament took place last Saturday and 20 quality Southern California programs took place in a 7-on-7 tournament and lineman competition.