Huntley’s Championship Picks
In this article:
GARFIELD VS. BIRMINGHAM Birmingham has won three consecutive City Section Open Division championships and is the favorite in this one. Kingston Tisdell Kingston Tisdell 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB Inglewood | 2025 State CA of Birmingham is finding his…
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Continue ReadingGARFIELD VS. BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham has won three consecutive City Section Open Division championships and is the favorite in this one. Kingston Tisdell Kingston Tisdell 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB Inglewood | 2025 State CA of Birmingham is finding his stride at quarterback and Washington commit Peyton Waters Peyton Waters 6'2" | 170 lbs | ATH Birmingham | 2024 State CA is the best player in the Section. Sophomore Ronnell Hewitt Ronnell Hewitt 6'0" | 215 lbs | LB Birmingham | 2026 State CA has been effective at running back for the Patriots and Cayden Chappelle Cayden Chappelle 6'0" | 175 lbs | DB Birmingham | 2024 State CA leads the defense. Garfield is led by running back Damian Cornejo who is tenth in the City Section in rushing yards. Paul Ramos and Joshua Esparza 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.
The pick: Birmingham
ORANGE VISTA VS. NEWBURY PARK
Newbury Park has the best sophomore quarterback in the state in Brady Smigiel Brady Smigiel 6'4" | 175 lbs | QB Newbury Park | 2025 CA . He leads a high-powered offense with his top receiver Shane Rosenthal Shane Rosenthal 5'11" | 175 lbs | WR Newbury Park | 2025 State CA and Landon Bell Landon Bell 6'3" | 190 lbs | ATH Newbury Park | 2024 State CA . 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. Sire Gaines Sire Gaines 6'0" | 190 lbs | ATH Orange Vista | 2024 State CA ran for 230 yards with five touchdowns in the win. Khalil Abdul-Aziz Khalil Abdul-Aziz 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB Orange Vista | 2026 State CA 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.
The pick: Orange Vista
CORONA DEL MAR VS. LA SERNA
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 Kaleb Annett Kaleb Annett 6'3" | 185 lbs | QB Corona Del Mar | 2024 CA 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 you can read here. Russell Weir, Zach Giuliano Zach Giuliano 6'6" | 230 lbs | TE Corona Del Mar | 2025 State CA and Dorsett Stecker Dorsett Stecker 5'9" | 170 lbs | WR Corona Del Mar | 2026 State CA are weapons for Annett along with running back Owen Sanders. For La Serna, Owen Long Owen Long 6'1" | 190 lbs | DB La Serna | 2024 State CA 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 Christian Brooks 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.
The pick: La Serna
WARREN VS. ST. BONAVENTURE
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. Madden Iamaleava Madden Iamaleava 6'3" | 205 lbs | QB Warren | 2025 State CA is a top three junior quarterback in the state in my opinion. Jordan Ross Jordan Ross 6'0" | 175 lbs | WR Warren | 2024 State CA 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 Max Peters. Koen Glover is a strong running back for St. Bonaventure and quarterback Anthony Wolter Anthony Wolter 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB Saint Bonaventure | 2024 State CA announced his commitment to Nevada earlier this week. JT Houston JT Houston 6'3" | 245 lbs | DL Warren | 2024 State CA 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.
The pick: Warren
ST. AUGUSTINE VS. MISSION HILLS
This is the San Diego Section Division 1 championship game. St. Augustine quarterback Brady Palmer Brady Palmer 6'2" | 190 lbs | QB Cathedral Catholic | 2026 State CA threw for 284 yards with four touchdowns in a semifinal win over Madison. Isaiah Hasten has been a top receiver for St. Augustine all season long and the sophomore duo of Ezaya Tokio Ezaya Tokio 6'4" | 215 lbs | LB St. Augustine | 2026 State CA and Bronx Letuligasenoa Bronx Letuligasenoa 6'2" | 240 lbs | DL Cathedral Catholic | 2026 State CA lead the defense. Mission Hills beat El Camino 24-19 in the semifinals. Troy Huhn Troy Huhn 6'4" | 195 lbs | QB Mission Hills | 2026 State CA is a quality sophomore quarterback for Mission Hills and Giovanni Harte is a 1,000-plus yard rusher with 13 touchdowns. Jonathon Class 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.
The pick: St. Augustine
SERVITE VS. MISSION VIEJO
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 Quaid Carr Quaid Carr 6'0" | 180 lbs | RB Servite | 2025 State CA . He has been the backbone of the Servite offense all-season long and quarterback Leo Hannan Leo Hannan 6'3" | 200 lbs | QB Servite | 2025 State CA has progressed nicely this season. Beau Jako 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. Jaden Williams Jaden Williams 6'4" | 240 lbs | DL Mission Viejo | 2025 State CA leads Orange County with 15.5 sacks and Jack Matranga Jack Matranga 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Mission Viejo | 2024 State CA is an elite run stopper. The secondary, which already featured Trey Tolmaire Trey Tolmaire 5'11" | 165 lbs | DB Mission Viejo | 2024 State CA , Travis Anderson Travis Anderson 6'0" | 175 lbs | DB Mission Viejo | 2024 State CA and Dijon Lee Dijon Lee 6'3" | 180 lbs | DB Mission Viejo | 2025 State CA , has been bolstered by sophomore Jeron Jones Jeron Jones 6'0" | 165 lbs | WR Mission Viejo | 2026 State CA . Vance Spafford Vance Spafford 5'11" | 175 lbs | WR Mission Viejo | 2026 State CA has blocked two field goals the last two games and the Diablos work very hard on their special teams.
The pick: Mission Viejo
MATER DEI VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO
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 Cameron Jones Cameron Jones 6'2" | 220 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA had a big game running the ball the first game and Chauncey Sylvester Chauncey Sylvester 5'11" | 190 lbs | RB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA added a rushing touchdown. Bosco’s defense was dominant with 11 tackles from Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa 6'3" | 225 lbs | LB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA and an interception by Frankie Edwards III Frankie Edwards III 5'11" | 175 lbs | DB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA . It was the first time Mater Dei had been shutout since 2011. Caleb Sanchez Caleb Sanchez 6'4" | 225 lbs | QB St. John Bosco | 2024 State CA 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 Ajon Bryant Ajon Bryant 5'7" | 160 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA , Nate Frazier Nate Frazier 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Jordon Davison Jordon Davison 6'0" | 210 lbs | RB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA . Elijah Brown Elijah Brown 6'2" | 180 lbs | DB Narbonne | 2024 State CA is 40-2 as a starter with both losses coming to Bosco. Tanner Williams Tanner Williams 6'1" | 210 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2024 State CA and Nasir Wyatt Nasir Wyatt 6'2" | 225 lbs | LB Mater Dei | 2025 State CA 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.
The pick: St. John Bosco
Huntley’s Playoff Record: 16-5
Overall record: 69-29