Huntley’s Week 8 Picks

<p>Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.</p>   <p>I had a mediocre week last week going 4-3.</p>   <p>Here's a look at the top games this week and who I think will come out victorious.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CAPISTRANO VALLEY VS. TESORO</strong></h2>   <p>Capistrano Valley is 7-0 for the first time since 2017. The Cougars rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Aliso Niguel last week on the back of quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='595827' first='Tommy' last='Acosta'], who ran for over 200 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='147764' first='Jackson' last='Sievers'] and <strong>Reily Walker</strong> lead the defense but you can move the ball on the Capo defense if you execute. [player_tooltip player_id='984743' first='Cash' last='O'Byrne'] has been hot at quarterback for the Titans and [player_tooltip player_id='595828' first='Travis' last='Wood'] is a workhorse at running back. <strong>Dalton Hurd</strong> is a tackling machine in the running game. O'Byrne had his best game of the season last season when the Titans beat Capo Valley. Capo Valley can win if they contain Wood and Acosta has another big game with his legs. Tesoro can win if O'Byrne stays sharp and they prevent the big plays from Acosta.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Tesoro</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TesoroFootball/status/1711784403624755534?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CHAMINADE VS. NOTRE DAME</strong></h2>   <p>Notre Dame hasn't won a Mission League game yet but suffered losses to the two best teams and played Serra fairly close last week. Simi Valley transfer [player_tooltip player_id='282750' first='Steele' last='Pizzella'] threw for 256 yards with three touchdowns last week and his been very effective this season. Chaminade is better than expected considering the marquee players that transferred out of there. [player_tooltip player_id='282754' first='Seth' last='Shigg'] is one of the better dual threat quarterbacks in the area. He had 129 yards with three touchdown passes on just four completions and also had two touchdowns on the ground.<strong> Chase Miles</strong> is a sophomore pass rusher for Chaminade that I am high on.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Notre Dame</p>   <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/1712571828575805910?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SANTA MARGARITA VS. JSERRA</strong></h2>   <p>Santa Margarita built a lead but lost to Orange Lutheran in a crucial game last week. The offense has been better since the arrival of [player_tooltip player_id='406660' first='John' last='Gazzaniga'] at quarterback, but Bosco and Orange Lutheran were able to contain star sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='283690' first='Trent' last='Mosley']. [player_tooltip player_id='976922' first='Sean' last='Embree'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='195536' first='Kyle' last='Brody']</strong> have stepped up a bit the past two weeks and [player_tooltip player_id='212234' first='Skylar' last='Lendsey'] can be a hard-nosed runner. JSerra lost badly to Mater Dei last week but beat Orange Lutheran the week before. [player_tooltip player_id='282761' first='Michael' last='Tollefson'] is a dual threat quarterback who is more dangerous with his legs. <strong>Kamar Garbourel</strong> and <strong>Gabriel Rivas</strong> are the two running backs with [player_tooltip player_id='406721' first='George' last='Perez'] being out due to injury. JSerra has three very good defensive players in <strong>Jared Referente</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='282705' first='Madden' last='Faraimo'] and [player_tooltip player_id='723691' first='Luke' last='Webb']. The Lions knocked Santa Margarita out of the playoffs last season with its defense and the running game. This is another Trinity League game that should be a one-score game.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>JSerra</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CARLSBAD VS. TORREY PINES</strong></h2>   <p>Carlsbad dominated Poway last week without quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='115456' first='Julian' last='Sayin']. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='401244' first='Eli' last='Macneal'] filled in nicely completing 13 of 15 passes for 196 yards with four touchdowns. <strong>Jalen St. Paul</strong> had a huge game at receiver. Carlsbad had five sacks with Jude McCellan leading the way with two. Torrey Pines upset Mission Hills 10-6 last week. <strong>Joey Levenberg</strong> led the Falcons in tackles with 9 and <strong>Kade WIlken</strong> led the team in sacks. <strong>Dawson Washington</strong> returned an interception 49 yards and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1010841' first='Brett' last='Barry']</strong> scooped up a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. Torrey Pines has a chance to win if Sayin doesn't play, but I think Carlsbad's defense is too good for Torrey Pines to score upon.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Carlsbad</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Daygofootball/status/1712567296173248832?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN CLEMENTE VS. MISSION VIEJO</strong></h2>   <p>This could be the last year of this storied rivalry. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797084' first='Aiden' last='Rubin']</strong> has been the breakout running back in Orange County and broke the school record for single-game rushing yards last week against Ayala. [player_tooltip player_id='273584' first='Dylan' last='Mills'] has been serviceable at quarterback and needs to take care of the football in this game. [player_tooltip player_id='1000890' first='Luke' last='Fahey'] has been good as a sophomore quarterback for the Diablos as well as junior [player_tooltip player_id='406731' first='Draiden' last='Trudeau']. [player_tooltip player_id='283692' first='Vance' last='Spafford'] has emerged as the leading sophomore receiver for Mission Viejo and keep an eye on [player_tooltip player_id='780469' first='Markus' last='Kier']. Defensively, [player_tooltip player_id='841044' first='Jaden' last='Williams'] has been one of the better edge guys in the county and [player_tooltip player_id='195570' first='Jack' last='Matranga'] can clean up tackles in the running game. The secondary has been banged up, but I expect [player_tooltip player_id='723683' first='Dijon' last='Lee'], [player_tooltip player_id='581016' first='Travis' last='Anderson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='398456' first='Trey' last='Tolmaire'] to all play this week. That trio should be able to contain San Clemente's receiving corps. This game was a blowout last year, but San Clemente is better than last year. The Tritons need to slow the game down and take care of the ball to win this game. If Mission Viejo jumps to a lead early, the game could be over in the first half.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mission Viejo</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ocvarsity/status/1711834794152100144?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WARREN VS. DOWNEY</strong></h2>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='282717' first='Madden' last='Iamaleava'] was perfect last week for Warren completing 11 of 11 passes for 275 yards with five touchdowns. [player_tooltip player_id='147762' first='Jordan' last='Ross'] is an elite receiver and his brother [player_tooltip player_id='780272' first='Jalen' last='Ross'] isn't too far behind. Downey has a nice quarterback of its own in [player_tooltip player_id='283681' first='Oscar' last='Rios'], who threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns last week in a win over Dominguez. Downey has some impressive young players on defense like <strong>Aidan Gomez </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780462' first='Oscar' last='Aguilar'].</strong> This rivalry game has even higher stakes this year because the game is the first high school football game ever being played at SoFi Stadium. </p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Warren</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/johnwdavis/status/1712578042256896291?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MATER DEI VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO</strong></h2>   <p>These are two of the top 10 teams in the nation. </p>   <p>Mater Dei has a 90-4 record since 2016 and all four losses came to St. John Bosco, including the 2022 CIF-SS Division 1 championship game. St. John Bosco is 84-12 since 2016, eight of those losses have come to Mater Dei. Mater Dei has the advantage at more positions than St. John Bosco does, particularly at quarterback, but both defenses are elite and tough to move the ball against. For an in-depth preview of this game, <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2023/10/mater-dei-vs-st-john-bosco-preview-2/">click here </a>to read.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mater Dei</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/johnwdavis/status/1712539400121495813?s=20 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MaxPreps/status/1711918736003698814?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>Huntley's Season Record: </strong>41-15</p>

Each week, I pick the top seven games in Southern California.