Huntley’s Week 3 Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I went 5-2 last week after a rough week one.</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>SANTA MARGARITA VS. BISHOP AMAT</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Margarita got a huge win over Liberty of Bakersfield last week. [player_tooltip player_id='283690' first='Trent' last='Mosley'] is a scoring machine at receiver and wildcat quarterback for the Eagles and [player_tooltip player_id='212234' first='Skylar' last='Lendsey'] can get chunks of yardage. The Eagles defense is better than it gets credit for with star linebackers LeVar Talley, [player_tooltip player_id='115437' first='Gage' last='Burnett'] and <strong>Noah Sulick</strong>. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1288067' first='Logan' last='Hirou']</strong> has three interceptions in his last two games. Bishop Amat is coming off a bye after a close win over St. Paul. [player_tooltip player_id='147734' first='Richard' last='Munoz Jr']. will be one of the best players on the field and [player_tooltip player_id='406732' first='Frankie' last='Villalbazo'] is an effective quarterback. If Amat struggled that much to beat St. Paul, I don't see them beating any Trinity League teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Santa Margarita</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SMCHSEagles/status/1699803563755778269?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/SMCHSEagles/status/1699803563755778269?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>EDISON VS. PALOS VERDES</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Palos Verdes got a huge win on the road against Corona del Mar last week. <strong>Eric Mulkey</strong> and Hobbs Brannan ran the ball effectively, but Palos Verdes struggled to move the ball through the air with freshman quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='709444' first='Ryan' last='Rakowski']. Edison had a bye last week after its defense shutout Leuzinger. [player_tooltip player_id='147754' first='Hoi' last='Amasio-Hansen'] is an excellent linebacker along with <strong>Jared Schnoor</strong>. Edison can move the ball with <strong>Save Niumata</strong> throwing to [player_tooltip player_id='683641' first='Mason' last='York'] and others. Edison'e defense can make Palos Verdes one dimensional and shut them down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Edison</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/EdisonChargerFB/status/1699909209591099656?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/EdisonChargerFB/status/1699909209591099656?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>UPLAND VS. MILLIKAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Upland lost its first game of the season last week to Villa Park. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='683633' first='Noah' last='Sandoval']</strong> threw for 358 yards with three touchdowns in the loss and the receiver duo of <strong>Justin Benson</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='723695' first='Trestin' last='Castro']</strong> can get open. Millikan has its most hyped team in recent history due to its excellent skill players. [player_tooltip player_id='942359' first='Loyall' last='Mouzon'] had two touchdown receptions with an interception last week against St. Francis. [player_tooltip player_id='115471' first='Ryan' last='Pellum'] is one of the best skill players in the state and [player_tooltip player_id='282737' first='JP' last='Mialovski'] is figuring it out at quarterback.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Upland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/UplandUnifiedSD/status/1699866825591341364?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/UplandUnifiedSD/status/1699866825591341364?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SERRA VS. LONG BEACH POLY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We overreacted to Serra's blowout loss to Orange Lutheran in week zero. Turns out Orange Lutheran is really good and that loss isn't a bad one for Serra. [player_tooltip player_id='147716' first='Cincere' last='Rhaney'] has picked it up the past two weeks and <strong>Jimmy Butler</strong> is much-improved at quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='115478' first='Zacharyus' last='Williams'] leads the team in touchdowns and <strong>Andre Nickerson</strong> is emerging as a fine pass catcher. Poly is coming off an excellent win over Mission Viejo where [player_tooltip player_id='115447' first='Darius' last='Curry'] showed he can be as good as any quarterback in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='780273' first='Kamarie' last='Smith'] had a breakout game at receiver. It's always close when Poly and Serra play each other and this is another excellent matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Long Beach Poly</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/1699854691327439242?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/mikehuntley63/status/1699854691327439242?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LOS ALAMITOS VS. SERVITE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Los Alamitos cruised to a win over Timpview of Utah but its defense worried me a bit. They gave up 35 points despite having some elite defensive players like [player_tooltip player_id='406686' first='Sirr' last='Bible'] and [player_tooltip player_id='398426' first='Kamar' last='Mothudi']. The offense is no problem for Los Alamitos with quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282704' first='Alonzo' last='Esparza']. The Griffins have been running the ball extremely well with [player_tooltip player_id='406707' first='Anthony' last='League'] and <strong>Jerod Terry</strong> who had two touchdowns last week. Servite has already passed its season win-total from last season and [player_tooltip player_id='406664' first='Leo' last='Hannan'] is cooking at quarterback. The health of running back [player_tooltip player_id='723744' first='Quaid' last='Carr'] is crucial for the Friars in this game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Los Alamitos</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ServiteFootball/status/1697833323798921353?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/ServiteFootball/status/1697833323798921353?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LA SERNA VS. TESORO</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>La Serna may be the best 1-2 team in Southern California with losses to Los Alamitos and Warren. Quarterback <strong>Aiden Leonardo</strong> made some mistakes last week with three interceptions. [player_tooltip player_id='684239' first='Owen' last='Long'] and [player_tooltip player_id='391293' first='Jayden' last='Northrup'] are legitimate stars at running back and receiver and both can play two ways. Tesoro had a massive win against Yorba Linda last week and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='984743' first='Cash' last='O'Byrne'] had his best game of the season. Yorba Linda loaded the box and it made it tough for [player_tooltip player_id='595828' first='Travis' last='Wood'] to find holes in the running game. I expect La Serna to do the same and Tesoro's offensive line will need to pick up its run blocking for the Titans to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>La Serna</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CORONA DEL MAR VS. SAN CLEMENTE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I saw Corona del Mar last week and its offensive line really concerned me. [player_tooltip player_id='942919' first='Kaleb' last='Annett'] is a real star at quarterback and was under pressure constantly against Palos Verdes. <strong>Russell Weir</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='347158' first='Zach' last='Giuliano'] are nice targets for Annett and they can move the ball through the air if he has time to throw. San Clemente has had two shutouts this season with [player_tooltip player_id='976882' first='Lee' last='Fuimaono'], [player_tooltip player_id='820596' first='Matai' last='Tagoa'i'] and [player_tooltip player_id='424662' first='Max' last='Gonzales']. The running game works for San Clemente and [player_tooltip player_id='273584' first='Dylan' last='Mills'] does well in his role at quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='195580' first='Broderick' last='Redden'] may be a matchup problem for Corona del Mar's defense. This will be a physical game and Corona del Mar is the best team the Tritons have played so far this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>San Clemente</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Tritonfootball/status/1699185784178532665?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/Tritonfootball/status/1699185784178532665?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Huntley's Record: </strong>15-6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->