Huntley’s Week 3 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:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MULLEN (COLORADO) VS. SANTA MARGARITA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Margarita got an unexpected bye week after its game against St. Augustine of San Diego was canceled due to lack of healthy players for St. Augustine. The Eagles looked great against Norco in their last game. Michigan commit [player_tooltip player_id='383955' first='Collins' last='Acheampong'] and [player_tooltip player_id='147756' first='Levar' last='Talley'] do a great job on the edges and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='204409' first='Jacob' last='Bower']</strong> racks up the tackles up the middle with 16 per game. [player_tooltip player_id='25428' first='Jaxon' last='Potter'] was in a groove against Norco and [player_tooltip player_id='115420' first='Emmett' last='Mosley'] is a great underneath target with [player_tooltip player_id='190355' first='Niko' last='Lopez'] being a deep threat. Mullen has a handful of college prospects like offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='220425' first='Hayden' last='Woodruff'] (Colorado Mines), [player_tooltip player_id='303219' first='Hunter' last='Lay Jr'] (Air Force, Penn) and [player_tooltip player_id='150075' first='Ishmael' last='Aceves Jr'] (New Mexico State). Mullen has a well-balanced offense, but Santa Margarita is just more talented.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Santa Margarita</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SMCHS_Football/status/1567197702760595457?s=20u0026t=8GlqawY7w4TvPogBHy42rw","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/SMCHS_Football/status/1567197702760595457?s=20u0026t=8GlqawY7w4TvPogBHy42rw </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>NEWPORT HARBOR VS. CAPO VALLEY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newport is coming off a close loss to a Trinity League opponent in JSerra. Capo Valley is 3-0 but its opponents are 0-8 this year. [player_tooltip player_id='384765' first='Colton' last='Joseph'] is a quality quarterback for Newport who isn't lighting up the stat sheet this year but makes few mistakes. [player_tooltip player_id='145263' first='Kashton' last='Henjum'] is one of the best receivers in Orange County and [player_tooltip player_id='148989' first='Carson' last='De Avila'] can shut down the run game. [player_tooltip player_id='261786' first='Trey' last='Kukuk'] is the heart and soul of Capo Valley and can beat you with his arms and legs. <strong>Hunter Napoleon</strong> has been a pleasant surprise at receiver for the Cougars and <strong>Hudson Campbell</strong> is a talented sophomore receiver. Capo's defense is much-improved with a bigger [player_tooltip player_id='147764' first='Jackson' last='Sievers'] and more mature <strong>Reily Walker</strong>. While Capo is better on defense, the Cougars have not been tested yet this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Newport Harbor</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/rdqbc/status/1565179994283790336?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww","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/rdqbc/status/1565179994283790336?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WARREN VS. SERRA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Serra has challenged itself with a tough schedule and got its first win last week over Cathedral of Los Angeles. [player_tooltip player_id='147716' first='Cincere' last='Rhaney'] is a dominant running back for the Cavaliers. [player_tooltip player_id='190271' first='Rodrick' last='Pleasant'] is the fastest player in the state at corner and can match up against any of the good Warren receivers. Warren is led by Tennessee commit [player_tooltip player_id='25390' first='Nico' last='Iamaleava'] at quarterback. Former quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='39430' first='Darius' last='Cowens'] has shifted to receiver and has looked very good. Receiver [player_tooltip player_id='147762' first='Jordan' last='Ross'] may miss the game due to injury which is crucial for the Bears. This is Warren's toughest game of the season so far and Serra is battle-tested. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Serra</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MISSION VIEJO VS. SIERRA CANYON</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mission Viejo is coming off a heartbreaking loss to Long Beach Poly where they had many chances to win the game. The passing game looked good in flashes with [player_tooltip player_id='25441' first='Kadin' last='Semonza'] finding [player_tooltip player_id='25408' first='Mikey' last='Matthews'] and [player_tooltip player_id='190360' first='Jackson' last='Holman'] for big plays. The defense had good moments as well with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261806' first='Jonathan' last='Becerra']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='384830' first='Michael' last='Damato'] having big games. Sierra Canyon has a bit of a quarterback controversy with [player_tooltip player_id='273557' first='Damon' last='Wrighster'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282704' first='Alonzo' last='Esparza']. Wrighster has been playing better as of late so he may get the start. BYU commit [player_tooltip player_id='25426' first='Josiah' last='Phillips'] has been outstanding at receiver and [player_tooltip player_id='273549' first='Cameron' last='Brandt'] will be tough for the Diablos to block. Look for Mission Viejo to get a nice bounce back win here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mission Viejo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Tarek_Fattal/status/1566527214895927296?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww","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/Tarek_Fattal/status/1566527214895927296?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>FOOTHILL VS. TROY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a matchup between two quality Orange County public school programs. [player_tooltip player_id='270907' first='Aaron' last='Mitchell'] has been a workhorse for Foothill at running back. [player_tooltip player_id='215875' first='Ethan' last='Charpentier'] has the second most tackles in the Southern Section and <strong>Bode Jellerson</strong> is a solid tackler as well. Troy has a great running attack led by <strong>Fischer Huss</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='595788' first='Declan' last='Healey']</strong> and <strong>Kieran Klingsberg</strong>. Troy has a solid win over Irvine but has not really been tested yet. Foothill is the toughest opponent Troy has faced so far. If Foothill can contain Troy's running game and force Troy to pass, it will win. If Troy can score 28 points, they should win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Foothill</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/echarpentier40/status/1567161610493652994?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww","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/echarpentier40/status/1567161610493652994?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC VS. HELIX</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral Catholic may be the top team in San Diego and is coming off losses against outstanding opponents in Centennial and Chandler (AZ). [player_tooltip player_id='398444' first='Jack' last='Stevens'] is a quality quarterback who doesn't have impressive numbers but that isn't surprising considering the tough competition the team has faced. <strong>Will Bond</strong> has playmaking potential for the Dons. [player_tooltip player_id='145201' first='Victory' last='Johnson'] may be the top linebacker in San Diego and [player_tooltip player_id='282705' first='Madden' last='Faraimo'] is one of the top sophomores in the region. [player_tooltip player_id='115450' first='Ryland' last='Jessee'] has been near perfect at quarterback for Helix. <strong>Quincy Herron</strong> has been a reliable redzone target for Jessee and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='683674' first='Jackson' last='Daniels']</strong> has three interceptions for the defense. This begins a tough stretch of games for Helix. They may be catching Cathedral Catholic at the right time when they may be banged up and dejected. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Cathedral Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ctownrivals/status/1565930288957489154?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww","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/ctownrivals/status/1565930288957489154?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN CLEMENTE VS. CORONA DEL MAR</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>San Clemente is 3-0 against San Diego teams and Corona del Mar is the toughest test of the year so far. [player_tooltip player_id='195580' first='Broderick' last='Redden'] was efficient at quarterback last week and <strong>Blake Allen</strong> is a hard runner. The defense is speedy and physical with <strong>Cole Robertson</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='270910' first='Kyle' last='Yamano'], <strong>Nolan Reid</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='168733' first='Brad' last='Gerken']. Corona del Mar narrowly beat Palos Verdes last week with backup quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='929542' first='Kaleb' last='Annett']</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='145236' first='David' last='Rasor'] is nursing an injured ankle but may play Friday. [player_tooltip player_id='383956' first='Cooper' last='Hoch'] has been solid at receiver and the defense has been led by <strong>Ryan Nielsen</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='145264' first='Mason' last='Kubichek']. This could be a low-scoring game. Annett is one of the best backup quarterbacks in the county and would start for a lot of schools. I think Corona del Mar's defense can make it difficult for San Clemente to score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Corona del Mar</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/prepzone/status/1567328130268020737?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww","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/prepzone/status/1567328130268020737?s=20u0026t=x6hFM96i3-6OU-PqP88Oww </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->