Huntley’s Week 0 Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week I will breakdown and make predictions for seven games in Southern California. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at what I think are the top games of the week:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>THURSDAY</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>La Habra vs. Upland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upland always has a top notch defense and this year will be no exception. Eastern Washington commit [player_tooltip player_id='384742' first='Vincent' last='Macaluso'] will lead the defense along with <strong>Brendan Ash.</strong> <strong>Ricky Allen</strong> will be a heavily-featured running back for Upland this season. La Habra will rely on <strong>Gabe Medel</strong> on defense and some two-way defensive backs like <strong>Marcus Works</strong>. The Highlanders were shut out in this game last year but it's hard to imagine [player_tooltip player_id='270920' first='Justin' last='Gil'], <strong>Jacob Apodaca</strong> and <strong>Dathan Lui </strong>letting that happen again.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>La Habra</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LHHighlanders/status/1559762363267440640?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LHHighlanders/status/1559762363267440640?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Valencia vs. Bishop Amat</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a loaded Bishop Amat team on both sides of the ball. Cal commit [player_tooltip player_id='190272' first='Tiumalu' last='Afalava'] and [player_tooltip player_id='384911' first='Raymond' last='Macias'] will be difficult for Valencia to block up front with [player_tooltip player_id='384885' first='Chris' last='Cooper'] and [player_tooltip player_id='145213' first='Corey' last='Johnson'] patrolling the secondary. [player_tooltip player_id='25416' first='Richie' last='Munoz'] will be the starting quarterback for the Lancers beating out [player_tooltip player_id='240019' first='Hunter' last='Watson'] at the moment. [player_tooltip player_id='190351' first='Aiden' last='Ramos'] could have a huge day on the ground for Bishop Amat. [player_tooltip player_id='273601' first='Reid' last='Farrell'] will be tasked with stopping Ramos and the running game. Valencia is a tough opponent but Bishop Amat should take this one at home.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Bishop Amat</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FRIDAY</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Serra (Gardena) vs. Orange Lutheran</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orange Lutheran returns 11 starters from last year's Division 2 championship team, including linebackers [player_tooltip player_id='261807' first='Gabe' last='Morin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282779' first='Jojo' last='Edwards']. However, the weakness of Orange Lutheran's team last year was stopping the run and Serra's strength is its running game with [player_tooltip player_id='147716' first='Cincere' last='Rhaney'] who may have a field day Friday. Orange Lutheran will display sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282728' first='TJ' last='Lateef'], but his returning top receiver [player_tooltip player_id='270838' first='Kaleb' last='Marshall'] may be locked down by Serra corner [player_tooltip player_id='190271' first='Rodrick' last='Pleasant']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Serra</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/OLuFootball/status/1560369926698704897?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/OLuFootball/status/1560369926698704897?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sierra Canyon vs. JSerra</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams have better rosters than they did last season. Sierra Canyon will be led by quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282704' first='Alonzo' last='Esparza'], a talented transfer from Culver City. Sierra Canyon defensive lineman and Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id='273549' first='Cameron' last='Brandt'] will be the best player on the field. JSerra has a solid offensive line with [player_tooltip player_id='25454' first='David' last='Tuliau'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282706' first='Jake' last='Flores']. The Lions love their junior quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='943035' first='Zander' last='Singh']</strong> but I don't think they have the skill players to hang with Sierra Canyon. [player_tooltip player_id='384686' first='Lavon' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='25426' first='Josiah' last='Phillips'] could be matchup nightmares for JSerra.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Sierra Canyon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Bonaventure vs. Inglewood</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Inglewood drew a lot of praise from opposing coaches during the summer passing league tournaments. Tight end and Louisville commit [player_tooltip player_id='261865' first='Jamari' last='Johnson'] has tight end athleticism with a tackle's body. Inglewood is loaded with Division 1 commits at the skill positions in [player_tooltip player_id='145167' first='Makhi' last='Connor'], [player_tooltip player_id='25401' first='Jonah' last='Lewis'], [player_tooltip player_id='384784' first='Justin' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='145165' first='Khalil' last='Peart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='261763' first='Jaden' last='DaCosta'] among others. [player_tooltip player_id='25394' first='Joaquin' last='Johnson'] is a marquee receiver for St. Bonaventure but Inglewood has the versatility in the secondary to contain him. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Inglewood</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Santa Margarita vs. San Juan Hills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will be covering this game for the OC Register and while San Juan Hills is a very good public school team, I think this could be a mismatch. Santa Margarita's defensive line is fantastic with [player_tooltip player_id='147756' first='Levar' last='Talley'], [player_tooltip player_id='282745' first='Tyler' last='Parker'], [player_tooltip player_id='115437' first='Gage' last='Burnett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='384902' first='Nicholas' last='Johnson']. They will get after San Juan Hills star quarterback <strong>Michael "Butter" Tollefson.</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='155848' first='Weston' last='Port'] of SJH is an elite pass rusher but [player_tooltip player_id='25428' first='Jaxon' last='Potter'] gets the ball out quickly. Eagles running back [player_tooltip player_id='262084' first='Jake' last='Foye'] is out with mono but young [player_tooltip player_id='282778' first='Taurian' last='Nash'] will get a chance to shine. I just think it will be difficult for San Juan Hills to match scores with the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Santa Margarita</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/sjhhsfootball/status/1560260655873069061?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/sjhhsfootball/status/1560260655873069061?s=20u0026t=U1YkfMU0-6sBm88hjG1VhQ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>SATURDAY</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cathedral Catholic vs. Mater Dei Catholic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral Catholic was the San Diego Section Open Division champion last season and Mater Dei Catholic was the Division 1 champion. Cathedral lost a ton of talent but they have two stars on defense in linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='145201' first='Victory' last='Johnson'] and defensive back [player_tooltip player_id='145169' first='Marcus' last='Ratcliffe']. Mater Dei has a ton of returning skill talent in [player_tooltip player_id='145192' first='Surahz' last='Buncom'], [player_tooltip player_id='25445' first='Chris' last='Snyder'], [player_tooltip player_id='273548' first='Isaiah' last='Buxton'], [player_tooltip player_id='145133' first='Jeremiah' last='McClure'], [player_tooltip player_id='384781' first='Cruz' last='Estrada'] and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='145214' first='Dominic' last='Nankil']. The question of this game is can Mater Dei hang with Cathedral Catholic in the trenches? San Diego football fans are getting a treat in a game between arguably the top two teams in the section in the season's opening week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction: </strong>Cathedral Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->