Huntley’s Week 9 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.</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>YORBA LINDA VS. VILLA PARK</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Villa Park suffered its first loss of the season last week at the hands of Foothill. A positive from that game for Villa Park was the Spartans forcing two interceptions and sophomore quarterback <strong>Vince Lagatta</strong> played well. [player_tooltip player_id='797091' first='Carter' last='Christie'] is an excellent two-way player for Villa Park and may be the best player on the field. The Spartans have some good offensive linemen in [player_tooltip player_id='595798' first='Henry' last='Wonderlick'] and [player_tooltip player_id='595795' first='Ethan' last='Sickles']. Yorba Linda is finally healthy with the return of senior star <strong>Jason Escovar.</strong> <strong>Chase Jones</strong> is having a nice year at running back and [player_tooltip player_id='317023' first='Dylan' last='Gardner'] is the best receiver in this game. Yorba Linda is young but solid on defense. The Crestview League title is still very much in play for the winner of this game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Yorba Linda</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ylhsfootball/status/1715037885655900476?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/ylhsfootball/status/1715037885655900476?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>TROY VS. SONORA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Troy is in the mix for its first Freeway League championship in many years after it upset La Habra a couple of weeks ago. The Warriors have some good skill players in [player_tooltip player_id='595788' first='Declan' last='Healey'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='723756' first='Vander' last='Ploog']</strong>. <strong>Caleb Huss</strong> and <strong>Ethan Mundt</strong> are solid underclassmen and Mundt is a two-way player. Troy played a very challenging nonleague schedule and it's paying off. Sonora is 7-1 and has scored over 40 points in each of its last two games. <strong>Landon Martin</strong> is a quality quarterback and <strong>Anthony Abad</strong> is one of the best running backs in North Orange County. <strong>Brady Ackerman</strong> is a quality tight end/receiver who causes matchup problems. Troy has won the last two games between the two schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Troy</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Troyhsathletics/status/1713315622833303890?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/Troyhsathletics/status/1713315622833303890?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>BIRMINGHAM VS. CLEVELAND</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Birmingham owns the LA City Section and has won the last three Open Division Championships. Washington commit [player_tooltip player_id='683608' first='Peyton' last='Waters'] is the best player in the City Section and leads Birmingham on both offense and defense. Sophomore running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780332' first='Ronnell' last='Hewitt'] </strong>is capable of having huge games. Cleveland is tied for second place in the West Valley League with El Camino Real and Granada Hills Charter. The Cavaliers barely beat Chatsworth who Birmingham beat convincingly. <strong>Donovan Powell </strong>is the offensive star for Cleveland.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Birmingham</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SANTA MARGARITA VS. SERVITE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game means a lot because Servite may need that fifth win to qualify for the playoffs as an at-large team. [player_tooltip player_id='723744' first='Quaid' last='Carr'] had a huge game running the ball last week in a loss to Orange Lutheran and [player_tooltip player_id='406664' first='Leo' last='Hannan'] is a quality junior quarterback. <strong>Quinn Rosenkranz</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='270921' first='Ethan' last='Naudin'] are good deep threats at receiver. Santa Margarita got a big league win over JSerra last week. [player_tooltip player_id='283690' first='Trent' last='Mosley'] leads the league in touchdowns at receiver and wildcat quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='406660' first='John' last='Gazzaniga'] is competent at quarterback and [player_tooltip player_id='976922' first='Sean' last='Embree'] is a sneaky good receiver. The defense is hard to move the ball on with [player_tooltip player_id='147756' first='Levar' last='Talley'] and <strong>Noah Sulick</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Santa Margarita</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SMCHSEagles/status/1713056090584400178?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/1713056090584400178?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SERRA VS. SIERRA CANYON</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sierra Canyon is a virtual lock to be in the Division 1 playoffs. The duo of [player_tooltip player_id='282703' first='Dane' last='Dunn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='147709' first='Terrell' last='Cooks'] Jr. is outstanding at running back and [player_tooltip player_id='282687' first='Wyatt' last='Becker'] has been very good at quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='273551' first='Cameron' last='Mitchell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='683607' first='Kwazi' last='Gilmer'] are elite receivers that will be tough for Serra to cover. Serra running back [player_tooltip player_id='147716' first='Cincere' last='Rhaney'] has been picking up steam lately and quarterback <strong>Jimmy Butler</strong> has been steadily been improving. [player_tooltip player_id='115478' first='Zacharyus' last='Williams'] has a knack for finding the endzone. [player_tooltip player_id='408802' first='Duvay' last='Williams'] is one of the best freshmen in the Southern Section and [player_tooltip player_id='195513' first='Dakoda' last='Fields'] is an elite corner who am I excited to see cover Gilmer and Mitchell.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Sierra Canyon</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LAVarsity/status/1710523516137750887?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/LAVarsity/status/1710523516137750887?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CORONA DEL MAR VS. NEWPORT HARBOR</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newport Harbor played Edison very close last week and raised some eyebrows among Sunset League football fans. [player_tooltip player_id='401257' first='Jaden' last='O'Neal'] has improved lately at quarterback and Oregon commit [player_tooltip player_id='115423' first='Jordan' last='Anderson'] has been unstoppable the past few weeks. [player_tooltip player_id='147761' first='Josiah' last='Lamarque'] is also a matchup nightmare at receiver for a lot of teams. <strong>Tanner Muir</strong> is one of the leading tacklers in the Sunset League for Newport. [player_tooltip player_id='942919' first='Kaleb' last='Annett'] is very good at quarterback for Corona del Mar but the Sea Kings have trouble giving him time to throw. <strong>Russell Weir</strong> is a real No. 1 receiver. <strong>Christian Brooks</strong> leads the Sea Kings in tackles. The Sea Kings have won the last 10 games against Newport Harbor but that's about to change.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Newport Harbor</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CDMFOOTBALL/status/1714317591551127713?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/CDMFOOTBALL/status/1714317591551127713?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>RANCHO CUCAMONGA VS. DAMIEN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game will likely decide the Baseline League championship. <strong>Emiliano Villareal</strong> has taken over at quarterback for Rancho Cucamonga with a little bit of athlete <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='943018' first='Tyler' last='Dudden']</strong> mixed in. Trey Wilson is an elite running back for the Cougars and [player_tooltip player_id='273600' first='Jonah' last='Dawson'] is a top tier receiver. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='115461' first='Rahim' last='Wright']</strong> leads the defense and [player_tooltip player_id='195520' first='Stacy' last='Bey'] is a playmaker along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='115427' first='Kyren' last='Condoll']</strong>. Damien is the best team in the San Gabriel Valley by a mile. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='212219' first='Isaiah' last='Arriaza']</strong> is a very good sophomore quarterback for Damien and <strong>Angel Gutierrez</strong> is always atop the leaderboards at receiver. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='294308' first='Caden' last='Arellano']</strong> is a great tackler. This game could go either way but I like Rancho Cucamonga's nonleague schedule better.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Rancho Cucamonga</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Huntley's Season Record:&nbsp;</strong>44-19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->