Huntley’s Week 4 Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have gone 5-2 the last two weeks.</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>ST. PAUL VS. DOWNEY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Paul dominated West Ranch after having a bye week. <strong>Christian Melendez</strong> earned top performers of the week honors after rushing for 144 yards with three touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='398420' first='Andrew' last='Maushardt'] has been one of the better quarterbacks in the San Gabriel Valley and <strong>Orlando Zepeda</strong> has three interceptions in three games. Downey dominated Pasadena 58-0 last week. [player_tooltip player_id='283681' first='Oscar' last='Rios'] completed 88 percent of his passes for 283 yards with four touchdowns in the win. <strong>Anthony Francis</strong> had an interception and the Vikings had three sacks in that game. St. Paul is a major step up in competition from Pasadena.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>St. Paul</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/StPaulF00tball/status/1701829272292425987?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/StPaulF00tball/status/1701829272292425987?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN CLEMENTE VS. EDISON</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>San Clemente is 4-0 and just beat Edison's Sunset League foe Corona del Mar 28-14. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797084' first='Aiden' last='Rubin']</strong> is the leading rusher in the South Coast League and has been helping the Tritons control the pace of their games. [player_tooltip player_id='273584' first='Dylan' last='Mills'] isn't lighting up the stat sheet, but plays mistake-free football. [player_tooltip player_id='195580' first='Broderick' last='Redden'] can cause matchup problems at tight end. [player_tooltip player_id='976882' first='Lee' last='Fuimaono'], [player_tooltip player_id='424662' first='Max' last='Gonzales'], [player_tooltip player_id='270882' first='Max' last='Kotiranta'] and [player_tooltip player_id='820596' first='Matai' last='Tagoa'i'] lead a strong defense for San Clemente. <strong>Save Niumata</strong> has been good at quarterback for Edison and [player_tooltip player_id='683641' first='Mason' last='York'] is his go-to receiver. The Chargers are coming off a close loss to Palos Verdes after a bye week. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>San Clemente</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Tritonfootball/status/1701281684388540836?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/1701281684388540836?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>BISHOP AMAT VS. RANCHO CUCAMONGA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bishop Amat got out to a big lead against Santa Margarita but ended up losing to the Eagles at home. There is no shame in losing to a Trinity League team, but Amat's failure to hold the lead is alarming. Frank Villalbazo threw four touchdown passes in the first half against Santa Margarita. Rancho Cucamonga beat a Trinity League team earlier this year in Servite. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000930' first='Jacob' last='Chambers']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='943018' first='Tyler' last='Dudden'] both got meaningful reps last week at quarterback. <strong>Nehemiah Harrison</strong> has become a top receiver for Rancho Cucamonga.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Rancho Cucamonga</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>OAKS CHRISTIAN VS. SERRA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oaks Christian had a bye last week but dominated a solid Roosevelt team the week prior. [player_tooltip player_id='683639' first='Devin' last='Tate'] has been good at quarterback and [player_tooltip player_id='212217' first='Deshonne' last='Redeaux'] is the best sophomore running back in the area. [player_tooltip player_id='195515' first='Chase' last='Farrell'] has been a playmaker at receiver and [player_tooltip player_id='406649' first='Christian' last='Knoos'] leads the defense. Serra's game against Long Beach Poly was shortened last week due to crowd control issues so the Cavaliers are hungry to play. [player_tooltip player_id='147716' first='Cincere' last='Rhaney'] is a dominant running back and [player_tooltip player_id='115478' first='Zacharyus' last='Williams'] can score in multiple ways. I am going with the upset here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Serra</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/GregBiggins/status/1700287647325806683?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/GregBiggins/status/1700287647325806683?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LOS ALAMITOS VS. MISSION VIEJO</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game is tough to predict because we do not know the health of Los Alamitos running back [player_tooltip player_id='406707' first='Anthony' last='League']. [player_tooltip player_id='282704' first='Alonzo' last='Esparza'] has been playing well at quarterback and using his favorite target, top tight end [player_tooltip player_id='942308' first='Davon' last='Mitchell']. Los Alamitos' defense has struggled and the Griffins suffered an upset loss to Servite last week. Mission Viejo is coming off a dominant win over Highland where sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000890' first='Luke' last='Fahey']</strong> shined. [player_tooltip player_id='282688' first='Phillip' last='Bell'] got some targets at receiver and [player_tooltip player_id='283692' first='Vance' last='Spafford'] had a big game. It's a bad matchup for Los Alamitos considering Mission Viejo's secondary is so strong with [player_tooltip player_id='723683' first='Dijon' last='Lee'], [player_tooltip player_id='398456' first='Trey' last='Tolmaire'] and [player_tooltip player_id='581016' first='Travis' last='Anderson']. The pass rush is good too with [player_tooltip player_id='943007' first='Titus' last='Miller'] and [player_tooltip player_id='841044' first='Jaden' last='Williams'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mission Viejo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SteveFryer/status/1702179616297713956?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/SteveFryer/status/1702179616297713956?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CAJON VS. LINCOLN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cajon is one of the more underrated 3-0 teams in the Southern Section. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215499' first='Evan' last='Powell']</strong> was good in Cajon's win against Aquinas and the team has good balance of run and pass plays. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='412474' first='Izaiah' last='Holley']</strong> is a good two-way player and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000902' first='Taylor' last='Johnson']</strong> is a good sophomore tackler. Lincoln is a top two team in San Diego again and Oregon commit [player_tooltip player_id='406658' first='Akili' last='Smith'] Jr. is a star at quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='683628' first='Mahki' last='Gray'] is a star at receiver and <strong>Donald Reed Jr.</strong> is a good running back who has filled pretty big shoes. The defense doesn't have the big names it has had in previous years but it's still solid. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Lincoln</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/THEHIVEFB/status/1701259386218336415?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/THEHIVEFB/status/1701259386218336415?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SIERRA CANYON VS. ORANGE LUTHERAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Orange Lutheran is a mystery because quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282728' first='TJ' last='Lateef'] is questionable due to a leg injury. [player_tooltip player_id='401215' first='Alex' last='Medyn'] is a quality backup but Lateef adds a mobility factor that Medyn doesn't. [player_tooltip player_id='723685' first='AJ' last='Ia'] is a big target at tight end and [player_tooltip player_id='282694' first='Steve' last='Chavez'] was good at running back until last week. [player_tooltip player_id='283686' first='Talanoa' last='Ili'] had three tackles for a loss last week. [player_tooltip player_id='282687' first='Wyatt' last='Becker'] has been one of the better quarterbacks in the area for Sierra Canyon. [player_tooltip player_id='398422' first='Xavier' last='Jordan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='683607' first='Kwazi' last='Gilmer'] are receivers who are tough to match up against. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Sierra Canyon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Huntley's Record: </strong>20-8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->