Cypress 2023 schedule breakdown

<p>Cypress has emerged as one of the more consistent public school programs in Orange County and you can argue that no public school in North Orange County has had a better five years than Cypress.</p>   <p>The Centurions are losing some top talent, but they've been there before and still have some key players returning. </p>   <p><strong>Aidan Houston</strong> returns at quarterback after an All-County junior season. <strong>Rocco Burdett</strong> is a very good two-way player and <strong>Jesse Mauldin</strong> is a versatile offensive player. <strong>Brayden Sjostrom</strong> had over 100 tackles last season and <strong>Bruno Caldarella</strong> can get into the backfield.</p>   <p>Here is a breakdown of Cypress' 2023 schedule.</p>   <h2><strong>8/18 @ LA MIRADA</strong></h2>   <p>La Mirada is somewhat in limbo after losing its head coach to St. Paul. <strong>Jordan Lauago</strong> had a nice freshman season for La Mirada at receiver and is back as well as his classmates <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000925' first='Kimani' last='Tuitasi']</strong> and <strong>Gavin Lannon</strong>. The Matadors have a great sophomore class, particularly at the skill positions, but Cypress will be the more veteran and experienced team.</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/KimaniTuitasi/status/1588701549819498496?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>8/25 @ CORONA DEL MAR</strong></h2>   <p>Corona del Mar is another team that lost its head coach but has more returning talent than La Mirada. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='929542' first='Kaleb' last='Annett']</strong> is one of the top senior quarterbacks in Orange County and has been doing well on the camp circuit. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='708357' first='Colin' last='Pene'] </strong>returns at running back and <strong>Russell Weir</strong> will be the team's top receiver. [player_tooltip player_id='347158' first='Zach' last='Giuliano'] is a massive tight end who was recently offered by Cal. <strong>Christian Brooks</strong> and <strong>Thomas Telesco</strong> will lead the defense for the Sea Kings. </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/kalebannett/status/1630767461082738689?s=20 </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/ZachGiuliano81/status/1635654808345669635?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>8/31 EL MODENA</strong></h2>   <p>El Modena and Cypress were two of the three public schools to have an undefeated regular season in Orange County last season. The key player for El Modena is quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='484293' first='Xzavior' last='Guess'] who can is a real dual threat quarterback, similar to Houston. <strong>Troy Parker</strong> is a quality target for Guess and El Modena is always physical in the running game. <strong>Ryan Holzgang</strong> is a nice two-way player and the Vanguards have quality sophomore defenders in <strong>Shane Whitehill</strong> and <strong>Brodie Hitchens</strong>. El Modena and Cypress are two programs in a similar spot so this game will be interesting. </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/elmodenafb/status/1638342464510779393?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>9/8 LAWNDALE</strong></h2>   <p>Lawndale has promising class of 2026 quarterback <strong>Valentino May</strong>. <strong>Sean Weston</strong> was one of the top sophomore running backs in Southern California last season and is back for Lawndale. <strong>Naiem Powell</strong> is a great two-way player who led Lawndale in tackles last season. They won the Pioneer league last season and lost to Loyola in the playoffs.</p>   <h2><strong>9/15 TESORO</strong></h2>   <p>Tesoro is a strong public school program in South OC that plays in a brutal league. [player_tooltip player_id='595828' first='Travis' last='Wood'] is back at running back for Tesoro after rushing for 1,335 yards with 12 touchdowns last season. [player_tooltip player_id='482560' first='Cash' last='O'Byrne'] is back at quarterback after a strong second half following a transfer from Santa Margarita. <strong>Todd Nelson</strong> is a big receiver who has the body of a tight end. <strong>Dalton Hurd</strong> will be among the county tackling leaders for Orange County next season and <strong>Alex Zeppos</strong> is a solid pass rusher. This is a good matchup between two quality and consistent public school programs. </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/1573526902563688448?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>9/29 @ PACIFICA</strong></h2>   <p>This is Cypress' Empire League opener. Pacifica just hired <strong>Kyle Murphy</strong> as its head coach who was a fantastic offensive line coach in the area. The Mariners struggled last season but <strong>Noah Salas</strong> is back at quarterback. Pacifica has two talented class of 2026 receivers in <strong>David Carlsson</strong> and <strong>Luvie Clark</strong>. <strong>Scott Medina</strong> is the leading returner on defense for Pacifica. </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/1638220776540360705?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>10/6 KENNEDY</strong></h2>   <p>Kennedy is the worst team on paper in the Empire League. <strong>Devin Almazan</strong> is back at quarterback after a nice sophomore season. <strong>Rider Street</strong> and <strong>Devin Bell</strong> were the leading rushers and receivers for Kennedy last season and are back. <strong>Mahseiah Banks</strong> had a nice freshman year at receiver last season and is back. The positive for Kennedy is that they return almost everybody on defense. Houston had almost 400 yards of offense himself against Kennedy last season.</p>   <h2><strong>10/12 @ VALENCIA</strong></h2>   <p>Valencia had a rough 2022 but is typically a tough and physical team to play. <strong>Dylan Draft</strong> is back at quarterback for the Tigers and is a nice two-way quarterback. <strong>Charles Denny</strong> will be the primary running back for Valencia, but they graduated their best offensive linemen. <strong>Ethan Draft</strong> will be one of the top receivers in the league and will put up numbers. <strong>Nicholas Sandoval</strong> was Valencia's best defensive player last season and is back for 2023. Sjostrom had 9 tackles against Valencia last season and Caldarella had a fumble recovery.</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/DylanDraft/status/1635841832126136320?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>10/21 CREAN LUTHERAN</strong></h2>   <p>Crean Lutheran is Cypress' biggest threat to the Empire League championship. The Saints have added big transfers from Santa Margarita in [player_tooltip player_id='282745' first='Tyler' last='Parker'], [player_tooltip player_id='282721' first='Carter' last='Jones'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282778' first='Taurian' last='Nash']. Parker went viral for a weight room picture last year and has offers from Arizona, Notre Dame and Miami among others. Jones has offers from Georgia, Indian and Oklahoma. Nash was a crucial two-way player for Santa Margarita last season and will get a lot of touches at running back for Crean. This is a marquee game that will get a lot of media coverage. </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/1585823519253798913?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2><strong>10/27 @ TUSTIN</strong></h2>   <p>Tustin was the biggest disappointment in the Empire League in 2022 but showed promise at the end of the season. [player_tooltip player_id='115458' first='Jack' last='Stupin'] is back at quarterback and <strong>Eimesse Essis</strong> is a top three running back in the league. The Tillers were fairly young in the trenches last year and returns some talent. Tustin is kind of a mystery team that has stayed out of the news this offseason more than it did last season. Houston threw for 340 yards against Tustin last season.</p>

Cypress has emerged as one of the more consistent public school programs in Orange County and you can argue that no public school in North Orange County has had a better five years than Cypress.