Huntley’s Championship Picks

<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>GARFIELD VS. BIRMINGHAM</strong></h2>   <p>Birmingham has won three consecutive City Section Open Division championships and is the favorite in this one. [player_tooltip player_id='406730' first='Kingston' last='Tisdell'] of Birmingham is finding his stride at quarterback and Washington commit [player_tooltip player_id='683608' first='Peyton' last='Waters'] is the best player in the Section. Sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780332' first='Ronnell' last='Hewitt']</strong> has been effective at running back for the Patriots and [player_tooltip player_id='943014' first='Cayden' last='Chappelle'] leads the defense. Garfield is led by running back <strong>Damian Cornejo</strong> who is tenth in the City Section in rushing yards.<strong> Paul Ramos </strong>and <strong>Joshua Esparza</strong> lead the defense which has 20 interceptions on the season. This is a rematch of last season's City Section championship game which Birmingham won 49-13. Birmingham ran for 446 yards in that game.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Birmingham</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/aribennett/status/1727040952924336217?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ORANGE VISTA VS. NEWBURY PARK</strong></h2>   <p>Newbury Park has the best sophomore quarterback in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='282755' first='Brady' last='Smigiel']. He leads a high-powered offense with his top receiver [player_tooltip player_id='406725' first='Shane' last='Rosenthal'] and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='942309' first='Landon' last='Bell']. </strong>Smigiel was held to a season-low 174 yards in Newbury Park's semifinal win over Thousand Oaks, but running back Jaxon Mckinney ran for 118 yards with two touchdowns to help the offense. Orange Vista won a high-powered game against Western of Anaheim in the semifinal. [player_tooltip player_id='273586' first='Sire' last='Gaines'] ran for 230 yards with five touchdowns in the win. [player_tooltip player_id='401274' first='Khalil' last='Abdul-Aziz'] completed 80 percent of his passes for 265 yards with two touchdowns. I think Orange Vista's offense is versatile enough to overwhelm Newbury Park.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Orange Vista</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/haleymsawyer/status/1725773836979966411?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CORONA DEL MAR VS. LA SERNA</strong></h2>   <p>This game is a contrast of styles. La Serna runs a variation of a double-wing offense and wants to run the ball down its opponent's throat. Corona del Mar can run the ball but is best when quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='942919' first='Kaleb' last='Annett'] is slinging the ball around. The Boise State commit waited his turn to play instead of transferring and is one of the better quarterbacks in the area with 2,441 yards and 27 touchdowns. I wrote a piece about Annett in the Orange County Register which <a href="https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/22/corona-del-mar-qb-kaleb-annett-waited-to-be-starter-now-hes-on-verge-of-being-a-cif-ss-champion/">you can read here</a>. <strong>Russell Weir</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='347158' first='Zach' last='Giuliano'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1000923' first='Dorsett' last='Stecker'] are weapons for Annett along with running back <strong>Owen Sanders</strong>. For La Serna, [player_tooltip player_id='684239' first='Owen' last='Long'] is one of the top runners and two-way players in Southern California. CJ Ceron is the quarterback for La Serna after transferring from Cathedral in the middle of the season. Corona del Mar will use <strong>Christian Brooks </strong>to try and stop Long. Both teams beat Trabuco Hills this season but La Serna blew out the Mustangs while Corona del Mar narrowly won.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>La Serna</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/SGVNSports/status/1726704287349448730?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/mikehuntley63/status/1727441169146315084?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WARREN VS. ST. BONAVENTURE</strong></h2>   <p>Warren had some controversy in its semifinal win over Chaminade in the Southern Section Division 3 semifinals. The Bears converted a game-winning 2-point conversion in overtime but the receiver who caught the ball was ineligible and it should have been an illegal formation. [player_tooltip player_id='282717' first='Madden' last='Iamaleava'] is a top three junior quarterback in the state in my opinion. [player_tooltip player_id='147762' first='Jordan' last='Ross'] was one of the top receivers of the week in the semifinals with 251 yards receiving with three touchdowns. St. Bonaventure beat San Juan Hills in the semifinals on a 91-yard interception return for a touchdown by <strong>Max Peters</strong>. <strong>Koen Glover</strong> is a strong running back for St. Bonaventure and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='115460' first='Anthony' last='Wolter'] announced his commitment to Nevada earlier this week. [player_tooltip player_id='195532' first='JT' last='Houston'] and the Warren defense will try to stop the elite St. Bonaventure running game. Warren is playing for its first CIF championship in school-history.</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/colinyee10/status/1725787282358313046?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/JoeMendoza09/status/1725741964526829920?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ST. AUGUSTINE VS. MISSION HILLS</strong></h2>   <p>This is the San Diego Section Division 1 championship game. St. Augustine quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='1000878' first='Brady' last='Palmer'] threw for 284 yards with four touchdowns in a semifinal win over Madison. <strong>Isaiah Hasten</strong> has been a top receiver for St. Augustine all season long and the sophomore duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283614' first='Ezaya' last='Tokio']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780269' first='Bronx' last='Letuligasenoa']</strong> lead the defense. Mission Hills beat El Camino 24-19 in the semifinals.<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='401299' first='Troy' last='Huhn']</strong> is a quality sophomore quarterback for Mission Hills and <strong>Giovanni Harte</strong> is a 1,000-plus yard rusher with 13 touchdowns.<strong> Jonathon Class</strong> is one of the leaders of the Mission Hills defense. Both teams beat Poway and La Costa Canyon this season but lost to Granite Hills. </p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>St. Augustine</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/1727123956958998802?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SERVITE VS. MISSION VIEJO</strong></h2>   <p>These are two Orange County schools that are typically in Division 1 of the Southern Section, playing for the Division 2 championship. Servite beat a shorthanded Serra team to get into the finals after a fine performance from running back [player_tooltip player_id='723744' first='Quaid' last='Carr']. He has been the backbone of the Servite offense all-season long and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='406664' first='Leo' last='Hannan'] has progressed nicely this season. <strong>Beau Jako</strong> leads Servite's defense which has been solid through the playoffs. Mission Viejo had an impressive comeback win over Murrieta Valley in the semifinals. The Diablos' defense has been outstanding this season with 23 interceptions and 61 sacks. [player_tooltip player_id='841044' first='Jaden' last='Williams'] leads Orange County with 15.5 sacks and [player_tooltip player_id='195570' first='Jack' last='Matranga'] is an elite run stopper. The secondary, which already featured [player_tooltip player_id='398456' first='Trey' last='Tolmaire'], [player_tooltip player_id='581016' first='Travis' last='Anderson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='723683' first='Dijon' last='Lee'], has been bolstered by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='283628' first='Jeron' last='Jones'].</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='283692' first='Vance' last='Spafford'] has blocked two field goals the last two games and the Diablos work very hard on their special teams.</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/Zack_Poff_MP/status/1727506546354233759?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/SOCoPrepSports/status/1727533726731731206?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MATER DEI VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO</strong></h2>   <p>These two teams are meeting for the Southern Section Division 1 championship for six of the last seven years. St. John Bosco beat Mater Dei 28-0 earlier in the season. UCLA commit [player_tooltip player_id='398389' first='Cameron' last='Jones'] had a big game running the ball the first game and [player_tooltip player_id='115464' first='Chauncey' last='Sylvester'] added a rushing touchdown. Bosco's defense was dominant with 11 tackles from [player_tooltip player_id='115443' first='Kyngstonn' last='Viliamu-Asa'] and an interception by [player_tooltip player_id='398450' first='Frankie' last='Edwards III']. It was the first time Mater Dei had been shutout since 2011. [player_tooltip player_id='115455' first='Caleb' last='Sanchez'] had a big game in the semifinals against Centennial with six touchdown passes. Mater Dei's backfield is healthy for the first time in awhile with [player_tooltip player_id='115462' first='Ajon' last='Bryant'], [player_tooltip player_id='273546' first='Nate' last='Frazier'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282698' first='Jordon' last='Davison']. [player_tooltip player_id='683642' first='Elijah' last='Brown'] is 40-2 as a starter with both losses coming to Bosco. [player_tooltip player_id='195568' first='Tanner' last='Williams'] and [player_tooltip player_id='282774' first='Nasir' last='Wyatt'] are lethal off the edge for Mater Dei and will pressure Sanchez. This game will be closer than the previous matchup but there is a chance that Bosco just has Mater Dei's number right now. It is however, very hard to beat an elite team twice in the same season.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>St. John Bosco</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/Zack_Poff_MP/status/1727505783838097533?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>Huntley's Playoff Record: </strong>16-5</p>   <p><strong>Overall record: </strong>69-29</p>