Huntley’s Week 7 Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I had a decent week last week going 5-2.</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">Vista Murrieta vs. Chaparral</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Vista Murrieta opened Big West League play with a convincing win over Norco. Sophomore quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000959' first='Bryson' last='Beaver']</strong> has been excellent this season and had 259 yards with five touchdowns last week. <strong>Brody Guinn</strong> has been the top receiver for the Broncos and the defense is led by <strong>Ryan Vergara</strong>. Chaparral is a strong team that ran into a brick wall known as Centennial last week. [player_tooltip player_id='270900' first='Dash' last='Beierly'] has been good at quarterback despite his touchdown numbers being down. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='205623' first='Jayce' last='Venable']</strong> averaged 116 yards on the ground per game prior to the Centennial game.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='398440' first='Blake' last='Lowe']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1582158' first='Justin' last='Selway'] </strong>lead the defense along with [player_tooltip player_id='358419' first='Shane' last='Klingelberg'] who has been getting into the backfield a ton.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Chaparral</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ayala_jaedon/status/1708219654135849448?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/ayala_jaedon/status/1708219654135849448?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Agoura vs. Newbury Park</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These are two of the most prolific passing offense in the Southern Section. Newbury Park has superstar sophomore quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='282755' first='Brady' last='Smigiel'] who averages 359 yards per game with 32 touchdowns in just six games. He has some reliable targets in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='406725' first='Shane' last='Rosenthal']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='942309' first='Landon' last='Bell'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283588' first='Beau' last='Smigiel'].</strong> <strong>Balen Betancourt</strong> and <strong>Talon Gold</strong> lead the defense. Agoura is undefeated with quarterback <strong>Harrison Novak</strong> who has completed 80 percent of his passes for 288 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and just one interception. <strong>Miles Hull </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158513' first='Brady' last='Dieffenbach'] </strong>lead the team in receiving. I expect a high-scoring game that takes over three hours.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Agoura</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/BradySmigiel/status/1706109634464170282?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/BradySmigiel/status/1706109634464170282?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">San Clemente vs. Ayala</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ayala has carried on just fine for a program that lost an elite quarterback due to transfer. [player_tooltip player_id='689810' first='Marquis' last='Monroe'] is one of the top playmakers in the area and <strong>Drew Amico </strong>is capable of a big game at receiver. San Clemente is coming off a bye and a close loss to Murrieta Valley. The Tritons have breakout senior running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797084' first='Aiden' last='Rubin']</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='273584' first='Dylan' last='Mills'] manages the offense well and makes minimal mistakes at quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='195580' first='Broderick' last='Redden'] can be a matchup problem at tight end and the Tritons have athletes at receiver with [player_tooltip player_id='398445' first='Drew' last='Shanley'], [player_tooltip player_id='270882' first='Max' last='Kotiranta'] and <strong>Holden Stakston</strong>. The defense is stout with Matai'i Tagoa and [player_tooltip player_id='976882' first='Lee' last='Fuimaono']. I expect San Clemente to bounce back in this one before the big showdown with Mission Viejo for the South Coast League title next week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>San Clemente</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Tritonfootball/status/1709232176217383236?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/1709232176217383236?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Etiwanda vs. Rancho Cucamonga</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Etiwanda suffered an upset loss to Chino Hills last week. [player_tooltip player_id='115448' first='Dermaricus' last='Davis'] still managed to throw for 307 yards in the loss and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='723727' first='Myles' last='Tarkington']</strong> had nearly 100 yards receiving. Rancho Cucamonga is undefeated and coming off a bye week following a strong win over Vista Murrieta. <strong>Emiliano Villareal</strong> took all the reps at quarterback for Rancho Cucamonga in the win. It will be interesting to see if he starts again or if they work in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='943018' first='Tyler' last='Dudden']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1000930' first='Jacob' last='Chambers']</strong> after the bye week. [player_tooltip player_id='195520' first='Stacy' last='Bey'] is the best playmaker on the field in this game and [player_tooltip player_id='273600' first='Jonah' last='Dawson'] is an elite receiver. Do not sleep on Rancho Cucamonga slowing the game down and using running back <strong>Trey Wilson</strong> who averages 126 yards per game with seven touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Rancho Cucamonga</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Trabuco Hills vs. Tesoro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tesoro lost on the last play of the game last week to rival San Juan Hills. The Titans are two plays away from being 5-1 and sitting pretty. [player_tooltip player_id='984743' first='Cash' last='O'Byrne'] had his career-best passing game last week and the coaching staff may have unlocked something with him. [player_tooltip player_id='595828' first='Travis' last='Wood'] is a workhorse at running back and it was impressive how Tesoro's defense slowed down the passing game against San Juan Hills. Trabuco Hills wants to slow the game down with running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797140' first='Taylor' last='Bowie']</strong>, but they can make big plays in the passing game with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1284472' first='Ryan' last='Luce']</strong>. I expect a slow-paced, lower-scoring game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Tesoro</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SouthOCsports/status/1707972775196144015?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/SouthOCsports/status/1707972775196144015?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">El Camino vs. La Costa Canyon</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>El Camino was rolling before suffering a setback last week against Torrey Pines. <strong>Carson Howard</strong> has been one of the top passers in San Diego this season with 226 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and just three interceptions. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='689931' first='Jake' last='Williams'] </strong>has been a good defender all season for El Camino and <strong>Qayden Coleman</strong> has three interceptions. La Costa Canyon dominated Poway last season. <strong>Andrew Maes</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1598369' first='Coby' last='Herman']</strong> had a huge night running the ball against Poway. La Costa Canyon is more battle-tested and can effect the game by causing turnovers on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>La Costa Canyon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Orange Lutheran vs. Santa Margarita</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Santa Margarita got punched in the mouth by St. John Bosco last week and only had 131 yards of offense. [player_tooltip player_id='406660' first='John' last='Gazzaniga'] was under pressure all game and was sacked a ton. [player_tooltip player_id='283690' first='Trent' last='Mosley'] only had a few touches and failed to score. The positives were the route running of [player_tooltip player_id='976922' first='Sean' last='Embree'] and the Eagles' secondary looking decent. Orange Lutheran fell in a competitive game against JSerra last week. [player_tooltip player_id='282728' first='TJ' last='Lateef'] returned from injury and had a rushing and passing touchdown for Orange Lutheran. Penalties killed the Lancers and so did a late pick-six in an otherwise competitive game. Orange Lutheran struggled to stop quarterback runs by JSerra. Santa Margarita doesn't have a lot of designed runs for Gazzaniga. Santa Margarita struggled to stop the run so expect to see a lot of [player_tooltip player_id='282694' first='Steve' last='Chavez']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Orange Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SMCHS_Football/status/1708949089814290904?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/SMCHS_Football/status/1708949089814290904?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Huntley's Season Record:&nbsp;</strong>37-12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->