Huntley’s Week 2 Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had a rough week last week going 3-4 and losing my perfect record on the young season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here's a look at the top games this week and who I think will come out victorious.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LA HABRA VS. NEWPORT HARBOR</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>La Habra bounced back from a season-opening loss with an impressive win over El Dorado. <strong>Kenneth Saucedo</strong> completed five of six passes, threw two touchdown passes and ran for a touchdown for the Highlanders. <strong>Bryce Whitley</strong> caught five passes for 142 yards with three touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1257388' first='Gabriel' last='Jimenez'] </strong>led the defense with an insane 20 tackles. Newport Harbor won a defensive battle with Tesoro last week. [player_tooltip player_id='115423' first='Jordan' last='Anderson'] caught a crucial deep ball in the fourth quarter and [player_tooltip player_id='147761' first='Josiah' last='Lamarque'] had two touchdown catches. If Newport can play the way it did in the fourth quarter against Tesoro, they have a great chance to win, but if they make mistakes and the offense stalls, La Habra won't let them off the hook.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Newport Harbor</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/1694976281170120894?s=20","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/ocvarsityguy/status/1694976281170120894?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>GRANITE HILLS VS. ST. AUGUSTINE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Granite Hills took care of a solid Mission Hills team last week and will matchup with perennial power St. Augustine this week. The Eagles ran for 228 yards with the duo of <strong>Pablo Jackson</strong> and <strong>Max Turner</strong> dominating, the latter of which scored two touchdowns. Eric Grant had an interception for the Granite Hills defense and so did Nokoi Maddox. St. Augustine has two dominate wins over Patrick Henry and Poway. Sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000878' first='Brady' last='Palmer']</strong> has been solid with 140 yards per game and four touchdowns. <strong>Parker Patterson</strong> leads the running game and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='557902' first='William' last='Flores']</strong> has two touchdowns. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283614' first='Ezaya' last='Tokio']</strong> is a sophomore who is an excellent pass rusher. St. Augustine is on the rise but Granite Hills is too good for them right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Granite Hills</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MILLIKAN VS. ST. FRANCIS</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Millikan had a big offensive game against Cathedral last week in its first win of the season. USC commit [player_tooltip player_id='115471' first='Ryan' last='Pellum'] had two touchdown receptions and a kick return touchdown. New quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282737' first='JP' last='Mialovski'] threw three touchdown passes. St. Francis has new star quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215493' first='John' last='Sanders']</strong> who is averaging 260 yards per game with 9 touchdowns and just one interception. Princeton commit [player_tooltip player_id='398453' first='Preston' last='Jernegan'] has seven touchdown receptions for St. Francis. These two teams are ranked one spot apart in the CalPreps rankings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>St. Francis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/James_Escarcega/status/1695233732909879763?s=20","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/James_Escarcega/status/1695233732909879763?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WARREN VS. LA SERNA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Warren got blown out by Serra last week but was missing its starting quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282717' first='Madden' last='Iamaleava'] due to a concussion he suffered in week zero. Without him, Warren was shut out and had less than 100 yards of total offense. La Serna also did not have an offensive touchdown in a loss against Los Alamitos. [player_tooltip player_id='684239' first='Owen' last='Long'] and [player_tooltip player_id='391293' first='Jayden' last='Northrup'] had interceptions for La Serna, who has been elite on defense so far this season. I expect Iamaleava to be back this week and hit [player_tooltip player_id='147762' first='Jordan' last='Ross'] and [player_tooltip player_id='780272' first='Jalen' last='Ross'] in space for big yardage, but La Serna hasn't let anyone throw much on them yet this season. This is a fun matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Warren</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/latsondheimer/status/1677717385573457920?s=20","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/latsondheimer/status/1677717385573457920?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>EASTSIDE CATHOLIC (WA) VS. ORANGE LUTHERAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eastside Catholic has not played a game yet this season but has some very good prospects on its roster. Defensive back Tyson Weaver is committed to Washington State. He is part of a loaded secondary with Ambrose Marsh and Bryson Ross. Orange Lutheran is coming off an impressive win over Northern California power De La Salle. [player_tooltip player_id='282728' first='TJ' last='Lateef'] has been mistake-free at quarterback and his favorite targets are Tyler Hennessey and [player_tooltip player_id='723685' first='AJ' last='Ia']. Running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='282694' first='Steve' last='Chavez']</strong> has six touchdowns this season and has been a pleasant surprise after transferring from Damien. <strong>Wes Barksdale</strong> forced two fumbles last week and [player_tooltip player_id='780311' first='Auma' last='Jennings'] had a sack.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Orange Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/OLuFootball/status/1695300894160728531?s=20","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/1695300894160728531?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PUNAHOE VS. CENTENNIAL</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Punahoe of Hawaii dominated a Southern California team in Millikan earlier this season, but Centennial is a far cry from Millikan. [player_tooltip player_id='683627' first='Cornell' last='Hatcher'] ran for three touchdowns last week in Centennial's win over Santa Margarita. [player_tooltip player_id='406636' first='Husan' last='Longstreet'] made some mistakes at quarterback but also had a few big plays. [player_tooltip player_id='406637' first='Cory' last='Butler'] is a reliable target and [player_tooltip player_id='406661' first='Noah' last='Westbrook'] impressed me with his route running. The defense was physical with [player_tooltip player_id='147736' first='Syncere' last='Brackett'] at linebacker and [player_tooltip player_id='595826' first='Tayten' last='Beyer'] is a ball-hawk at cornerback. Punahoe is a very tough game for Centennial but I expect the Huskies to hold down the fort in the mainland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Centennial</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Cen10Football/status/1696950351512076397?s=20","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/Cen10Football/status/1696950351512076397?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MISSION VIEJO VS. LONG BEACH POLY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is easily the game of the week in Southern California and these two teams played a fantastic game last season. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000890' first='Luke' last='Fahey']</strong> is emerging as a top sophomore quarterback for the Diablos and [player_tooltip player_id='406731' first='Draiden' last='Trudeau'] has been good in his reps too. [player_tooltip player_id='283692' first='Vance' last='Spafford'] is a top sophomore receiver and [player_tooltip player_id='282688' first='Phillip' last='Bell'] can make big plays whenever he wants. The offensive line led by [player_tooltip player_id='195576' first='Mark' last='Schroller'] is effective. Poly is coming off a tough loss to Bishop Gorman, but the Jackrabbits are still a Division 1 caliber team. [player_tooltip player_id='115447' first='Darius' last='Curry'] was lights out against Mission Viejo last season. The defense led by [player_tooltip player_id='184158' first='Dylan' last='Williams'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1128131' first='Quimari' last='Shemwell']</strong> will make it tough for the Mission Viejo offense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mission Viejo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LBPoly_Football/status/1695169971222106508?s=20","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/LBPoly_Football/status/1695169971222106508?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Huntley's Record</strong>: 10-4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->