Huntley’s Week 0 Picks
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Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California. Here’s a look at the top games this week and who I think will come out victorious. MATER DEI VS. CENTENNIAL Nobody came closer to beating Mater Dei in…
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Continue ReadingEach week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.
Here’s a look at the top games this week and who I think will come out victorious.
MATER DEI VS. CENTENNIAL
Nobody came closer to beating Mater Dei in 2021 than Centennial did in the Division 1 semifinals. Mater Dei has a new coach but 19 returning starters on the field. Elijah Brown Elijah Brown 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Narbonne | 2024 State CA is back for his fourth year at quarterback and all of his running backs: Nate Frazier Nate Frazier 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA , Jordon Davison Jordon Davison 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA and Ajon Bryant Ajon Bryant 5'7" | 160 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA are back. His top receivers Marcus Harris Marcus Harris 6'1" | 175 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2025 State CA , Marcus Brown Marcus Brown 5'10" | 170 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Jack Ressler Jack Ressler 5'11" | 185 lbs | WR Mater Dei | 2024 State CA are back along with four of the five starting offensive linemen. Mater Dei’s strength on defense is its edge rushers Nasir Wyatt Nasir Wyatt 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA and a returning Tanner Williams Tanner Williams 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA . Alabama commit Zabien Brown Zabien Brown 6'1" | 180 lbs | DB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA leads the strong secondary. Centennial has a strong secondary of its own with Tayten Beyer Tayten Beyer 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB Corona Centennial | 2024 State CA and LaRue Zamorano LaRue Zamorano 6'2" | 170 lbs | DB Centennial | 2025 State CA . The Huskies have their best quarterback in years in Inglewood transfer Husan Longstreet Husan Longstreet 6'0" | 185 lbs | QB Centennial | 2025 State CA . He has a good receiving corps as well with Cory Butler Cory Butler 5'9" | 170 lbs | WR Centennial | 2025 State CA , Noah Westbrook Noah Westbrook 6'3" | 205 lbs | WR Centennial | 2025 State CA and Rancho Cucamonga transfer Jason Harris Jason Harris 5'9" | 160 lbs | WR Centennial | 2024 State CA . Centennial is a top five team in Southern California, but I’ve learned to never pick against Mater Dei.
The pick: Mater Dei
SERRA VS. ORANGE LUTHERAN
Orange Lutheran was a young team last season and still tied for third place in the Trinity League and made the Division 1 playoffs. TJ Lateef TJ Lateef 6'2" | 185 lbs | QB Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA is back at quarterback along with a good offensive line featuring super sophomores Samuelu Utu Samuelu Utu 6'5" | 295 lbs | OL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA and Dustin Foisia Dustin Foisia 6'0" | 310 lbs | OL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA . The defensive line is also strong with Auma Jennings Auma Jennings 6'0" | 285 lbs | DL Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA and Jireh Moe Jireh Moe 6'1" | 290 lbs | DL Orange Lutheran | 2025 State CA . Talanoa Ili Talanoa Ili 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB Orange Lutheran | 2026 State CA can really rack up the tackle numbers and the Lancers added Servite’s top defensive player, Christian Panapa Christian Panapa 5'11" | 200 lbs | LB Servite | 2026 State CA . Serra has some star power including one of the best running backs in the state in Cincere Rhaney Cincere Rhaney 5'11" | 210 lbs | RB Serra | 2024 State CA . Rhaney ran for 1666 yards with 15 touchdowns last season and ran for 171 yards with a pair of touchdowns in last season’s game against Orange Lutheran. Serra also has Oregon commit Dakoda Fields Dakoda Fields 6'3" | 185 lbs | DB Serra | 2024 State CA in the secondary and top receiver Zacharyus Williams Zacharyus Williams 6'2" | 195 lbs | WR Serra | 2024 State CA . This will be one of the more competitive games of the week and I expect Orange Lutheran to narrowly edge Serra.
The pick: Orange Lutheran
CARLSBAD VS. INGLEWOOD
Carlsbad is a top two team in San Diego and is making a rare trip up north to play one of the better teams in Los Angeles. The Lancers are led by Alabama commit Julian Sayin Julian Sayin 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Carlsbad | 2024 State CA at quarterback who won the Elite 11 competition. Mason Walsh Mason Walsh 5'8" | 195 lbs | RB Carlsbad | 2024 State CA is back at running back for Carlsbad but most of Sayin’s returning receivers are gone. They responded by adding Will Cianfrini Will Cianfrini 6'4" | 180 lbs | WR Carlsbad | 2024 State CA from Texas who was the top receiver on day two of the Elite 11. Inglewood has a new quarterback in Damon Wrighster Damon Wrighster 6'3" | 170 lbs | QB Inglewood | 2024 State CA who transferred in from Alemany. They have a pair of outstanding senior receivers in Terrell Bradshaw Terrell Bradshaw 5'9" | 175 lbs | WR Inglewood | 2024 State CA and Bain Eiseman Bain Eiseman 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Inglewood | 2024 State CA , the latter just committed to Cal Poly last week. Inglewood is ranked way too low on the MaxPreps state rankings in my opinion, but I give Carlsbad a slight edge here.
The pick: Carlsbad
JSERRA VS. SIERRA CANYON
JSerra has a new coach in Victor Santa Cruz who most recently coached at the college level at Azusa Pacific. We will see what the Lions do at quarterback with returning starter Zander Singh Zander Singh 5'10" | 170 lbs | QB JSerra | 2024 State CA and transfer Michael Tollefson Michael Tollefson 6'1" | 195 lbs | QB Tustin | 2025 State CA , a junior committed to Arizona State. The Lions will look to run the ball frequently with George Perez George Perez 5'8" | 160 lbs | RB Jserra | 2025 State CA , Kamar Gabourel and Sean Morris Sean Morris 5'10" | 175 lbs | RB Loyola | 2026 State CA in addition to the running ability of Tollefson. Defensively, junior Luke Webb Luke Webb 6'2" | 225 lbs | DL JSerra | 2025 State WA is one of the best edge rushers in Southern California and Cathedral Catholic transfer Madden Faraimo Madden Faraimo 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB JSerra | 2025 State CA is one of the top players in the 2025 class. Sierra Canyon has a ton of new faces as well, including quarterback Wyatt Becker Wyatt Becker 6'2" | 180 lbs | QB Sierra Canyon | 2025 State CA . Dane Dunn Dane Dunn 5'9" | 175 lbs | RB Sierra Canyon | 2025 State CA and Terrell Cooks Terrell Cooks 5'9" | 160 lbs | RB Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA are two very good running backs Faraimo will have to attempt to contain. Sierra Canyon has the edge at receiver with Xavier Jordan Xavier Jordan 6'1" | 165 lbs | WR Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA , Kwazi Gilmer Kwazi Gilmer 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA , Jaylen’Dai Sumlin Jaylen’Dai Sumlin 6'2" | 185 lbs | WR Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA and Cameron Mitchell Cameron Mitchell 5'9" | 160 lbs | WR Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA . Eugene Brooks Eugene Brooks 6'4" | 325 lbs | OL Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA is the best offensive lineman in this game. The secondary duo of Ruben Gamboa Ruben Gamboa 5'11" | 185 lbs | DB Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA and Marquis Gallegos Marquis Gallegos 6'1" | 175 lbs | DB Sierra Canyon | 2024 State CA is one of the best in the area. These are two teams that could potentially be Division 1 playoff teams in November.
The pick: Sierra Canyon
LIBERTY/NEVADA VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO
Liberty is one of the top teams in Nevada and has a lot of Division 1 prospects. Quarterback Tyrese Smith Tyrese Smith 6'2" | 210 lbs | QB Liberty | 2024 State NV is back along with running back Isaiah Lauofo Isaiah Lauofo 5'7" | 185 lbs | RB Liberty | 2024 State NV . Smith’s top receivers are Arizona committ Landon Bell Landon Bell 6'3" | 190 lbs | ATH Newbury Park | 2024 State CA and UNLV commit Jae Beasley Jae Beasley 6'2" | 235 lbs | TE Liberty | 2024 State NV . Jayden Robertson Jayden Robertson 5'10" | 170 lbs | ATH Liberty | 2024 State NV is a two-way player at receiver and defensive back with an offer from Weber State. UNLV commit Kahekili Pa’ao’ao Kahekili Pa’ao’ao 6'2" | 215 lbs | LB Liberty | 2024 State NV is one of the top linebackers in the state. Bosco’s linebackers are the best in the country in Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA , Khmori House Khmori House 6'2" | 205 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and Jordan Lockhart Jordan Lockhart 6'3" | 220 lbs | ATH St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . The Braves also have a linebacker who transferred from Liberty is Ashtin Kekahuna-Lopes Ashtin Kekahuna-Lopes 6'3" | 210 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA who is committed to Utah. Caleb Sanchez Caleb Sanchez 6'4" | 225 lbs | QB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA will start at quarterback and I expect the Braves to air it out a bit to receivers Madden Williams Madden Williams 6'2" | 180 lbs | WR St John Bosco | 2026 State CA , Tommy Maher Tommy Maher 5'10" | 180 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 CA and Stacy Dobbins Stacy Dobbins 5'7" | 145 lbs | WR St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . Bosco matches up well against Bell and Beasley with a strong secondary featuring Marcelles Williams Marcelles Williams 6'0" | 185 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA , Frankie Edwards and Alabama commit Peyton Woodyard Peyton Woodyard 6'2" | 195 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . Liberty is a very good team but is in over its head against Bosco.
The pick: St. John Bosco
CHAPARRAL VS. SAN CLEMENTE
Chaparral looked good at the Mission Viejo passing tournament and the Pumas have one of the top junior quarterbacks in the state in Dash Beierly Dash Beierly 6'1" | 215 lbs | QB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA . The Pumas have a big tight end in Jacob Alvarez Jacob Alvarez 6'4" | 220 lbs | TE Chaparral | 2025 State CA who can cause matchup problems especially with San Clemente’s young linebackers. San Clemente has big tight ends of its own in top recruit Broderick Redden Broderick Redden 6'5" | 225 lbs | TE San Clemente | 2024 State CA and Brock Della Vedova. I expect some two tight end sets to also help block for running back Lee Fuimaono Lee Fuimaono 6'1" | 215 lbs | ATH San Clemente | 2025 State CA . San Clemente’s secondary is young but features transfer safety Matai Tagoa’i Matai Tagoa’i 6'4" | 195 lbs | DB San Clemente | 2025 State CA . These are two physical programs and this should be a close game, but I think San Clemente is tough to beat at home and Fuimaono may have a breakout game.
The pick: San Clemente
CREAN LUTHERAN VS. CANYON
This is one of the better games in Orange County between two rising programs. Canyon was the top passing team in the county last season but lost its quarterback and top receivers. Senior Corin Rynders fills in at quarterback for Canyon and has a lot of upside. No returning players for Canyon caught a pass last season except for Rynders. Linebacker Noah Eckenrode leads the defense. Crean Lutheran is a team loaded with transfers including starting quarterback Jeremiah Finaly Jeremiah Finaly 5'11" | 155 lbs | QB Los Alamitos | 2024 CA , a transfer from Los Alamitos. The Saints also have transfers Tyler Parker Tyler Parker 6'0" | 295 lbs | DL Crean Lutheran | 2025 State CA and Taurian Nash Taurian Nash RB Crean Lutheran | 2025 State CA from Santa Margarita. Ben Buettell is a big two-way player who is the best returner from last year’s team. Crean will compete with Tustin and Cypress for the Empire League title this season and should roll in this one.
The pick: Crean Lutheran