South County Classic Preview (Part 1)
In this article:
On Saturday, 20 teams will gather at Mission Viejo High for one of the last major passing tournaments of the summer. Mission Viejo won the tournament last year and there were several top teams on hand. This year is no…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingOn Saturday, 20 teams will gather at Mission Viejo High for one of the last major passing tournaments of the summer.
Mission Viejo won the tournament last year and there were several top teams on hand. This year is no different with some of Southern California’s best programs competing.
Here is a look at some of the teams that will play on Saturday:
MISSION VIEJO
Mission Viejo is coming off a strong showing at the Battle at the Beach where they reached the semifinals and lost to champion Mater Dei. The Diablos are very young at receiver and haven’t decided on a starting quarterback yet, but the defense is experienced and polished. Dijon Lee Dijon Lee 6'3" | 180 lbs | DB Mission Viejo | 2025 State CA may be the best athlete at the event and I am interested to see him on both sides of the ball again on Saturday.
APPLE VALLEY
Apple Valley had a nice season in 2022 before losing to Inglewood in the playoffs. Noah Celie returns at quarterback after throwing 23 touchdown passes with just five interceptions. Xavier Salazar is a running back to keep an eye on who can make plays in the passing game. Kayden Struebing leads the defense for Apple Valley.
CHAPARRAL
I did not get to see a lot of Chaparral at the Battle at the Beach, but I did see quarterback Dash Beierly Dash Beierly 6'1" | 215 lbs | QB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA looking very good in moments. Jacob Alvarez Jacob Alvarez 6'4" | 220 lbs | TE Chaparral | 2025 State CA is the tight end for the Pumas and the defense is led by Jayce Venable Jayce Venable 6'0" | 175 lbs | ATH Chaparral | 2025 CA and Aiden Alefosio Aiden Alefosio 6'3" | 220 lbs | DL Chaparral | 2024 CA .
CAPISTRANO VALLEY
Capo Valley has been at passing tournaments the past couple of weeks and have been impressive. Tommy Acosta Tommy Acosta 6'0" | 190 lbs | QB Capistrano Valley | 2025 State CA looked good against very good teams at the Battle at the Beach. He takes some risks with the ball but has good timing with his receivers. Ryan Isenhart Ryan Isenhart 6'4" | 230 lbs | TE Capistrano Valley | 2024 State CA is a big target who can cause matchup problems in the redzone. The defense is young but can fly around the field. Kaden Hunter and Hudson Campbell are two guys in the secondary to keep an eye on.
SCHURR
Schurr is the lowest ranked team at the tournament but they still had a winning season last year. Fabian Escamilla Sanchez is a returning receiver who I expect to get more targets this year and Elias Navarro is back at running back. Caesar Aguilar is a sophomore who got some varsity plays on defense as a freshman last year and Brendan Ruiz could be an impact player on defense.
BISHOP AMAT
Bishop Amat is a tough program to keep track of because of recent transfers. Richard Munoz Jr Richard Munoz Jr 5'11" | 185 lbs | ATH Bishop Amat | 2024 State CA . is back and is one of the top safeties in the San Gabriel Valley. Offensively he will likely be a slot receiver but can play quarterback if needed. Frankie Villalbazo Frankie Villalbazo 6'2" | 205 lbs | QB Bishop Amat | 2025 State CA is the likely quarterback. Amat is one of the teams I am most curious to see on Saturday.
NORCO
Norco lost its starting quarterback to transfer and its top overall player graduated and is now at UCLA. Colton Zeen Colton Zeen 6'0" | QB Santiago | 2026 CA is a sophomore who may start at quarterback for Norco. Linebacker Nick Zepeda is back to lead the Norco defense along with Toby Speake. The offensive skill positions are a complete mystery for Norco and we may learn a lot more Saturday.
MILLIKAN
I got to see a little bit of Millikan at the Battle at the Beach but unfortunately it was in a convincing loss against Mission Viejo. A bright spot in that game was a deep touchdown to Ryan Pellum Ryan Pellum 5'11" | 170 lbs | WR Millikan | 2024 State CA on a blown coverage. JP Mialovski JP Mialovski 6'2" | 200 lbs | QB Millikan | 2025 State CA made some mistakes in that game but showed he has arm talent.
MAYFAIR
Mayfair has a junior quarterback people are high on in Jeremiah Calvin Jeremiah Calvin 6'0" | 170 lbs | QB Mayfair | 2025 State CA . Mayfair lost its top receiver Owen Tomich Owen Tomich 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA to St. John Bosco so Jaiden Tanner may be a receiver to watch. Chaz Gilbreath Chaz Gilbreath 6'0" | 170 lbs | DB Mayfair | 2026 State CA is a sophomore who may be an impact player on both sides of the ball this year.