Corona del Mar Passing Tournament Preview

<p>A handful of South Orange County teams will gather at Corona del Mar High Friday to compete in a passing tournament.</p>   <p>It's always a well-run event with quality teams looking to get better without the drama some passing tournaments bring. </p>   <p>Here is a brief look at the teams competing and some players to keep an eye on:</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CORONA DEL MAR</strong></h2>   <p>Corona del Mar graduated one of the best quarterbacks in the county, Boise State signee [player_tooltip player_id='942919' first='Kaleb' last='Annett']. It's unclear who will replace Annett but <strong>Max Nashed</strong> got some varsity playing time last season and threw 20 passes against Los Alamitos. He has some high level receiving targets in Stanford commit [player_tooltip player_id='347158' first='Zach' last='Giuliano'] and junior prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1000923' first='Dorsett' last='Stecker']. <strong>Wyatt Lucas</strong> returns at running back and I expect more playing time for <strong>Sebastien Boydell</strong> and <strong>Breck Clemmer</strong>.</p>   <p>Defensively, <strong>Emerson Tingley</strong> returns at outside linebacker with Clemmer. <strong>Canon Cook</strong> got playing time as a sophomore at safety last season and <strong>Brady Gadol</strong> is back at corner.</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/CDMFOOTBALL/status/1779972120644395230 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LAGUNA BEACH</strong></h2>   <p>Laguna Beach lost one of the top tight ends in the state in [player_tooltip player_id='398386' first='Ryner' last='Swanson'] to graduation, but the Breakers return Minnesota commit [player_tooltip player_id='484412' first='Jackson' last='Kollock'] at quarterback. <strong>Charlie Hunt</strong> is back at receiver after having over 500 receiving yards and six touchdowns last season. <strong>Wyatt Bogdan</strong> got some playing time as a freshman for Laguna Beach last season and I expect him to be a big part of the offense. </p>   <p><strong>Coby Busick</strong> had an interception as a freshman last season. <strong>Redmond Chesley</strong> is back in the secondary with Hunt and <strong>Declan Murray.</strong></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/Laguna_Football/status/1787218684311917012 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>HUNTINGTON BEACH</strong></h2>   <p>The marquee name for Huntington Beach is class of 2027 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='415341' first='Brady' last='Edmunds']. He was one of the best underclassmen at the Elite 11 Regional in Los Angeles and one of the top quarterback prospects in the class. The returning receivers are young but promising. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='797142' first='Troy' last='Foster']</strong> is 6-foot-3 and had 500 receiving yards last season with four touchdowns as a sophomore. <strong>Steel Kurtz</strong> is also back after getting some varsity reps as a sophomore.</p>   <p><strong>Kurtz</strong> also leads all returning Huntington Beach players in tackles. <strong>Haston Allen </strong>is back at cornerback. Huntington Beach graduated a lot of talent on defense and it will be interesting to see which young guys step up. </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/steelsport2026/status/1787525825526649162 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CREAN LUTHERAN</strong></h2>   <p>Crean Lutheran will showcase its class of 2027 quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1197336' first='Caden' last='Jones']</strong> who has offers from Penn State and Missouri among others. He's an excellent athlete who broke 10 feet in the broad jump at the Under Armour Next camp and ran a 4.61 40-yard dash.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='282778' first='Taurian' last='Nash'] is a two-way star at running back and linebacker. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1262743' first='Ben' last='Byszewski']</strong> was the team's leading receiver last season and also plays defensive back. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1344394' first='Daylin' last='Caamano']</strong> and <strong>Luke Doyle</strong> are also back at receiver for the Saints. Cal commit [player_tooltip player_id='282721' first='Carter' last='Jones'] leads the defense and <strong>Mason McCullough</strong> is back at outside backer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1698564' first='Javari' last='Nash']</strong> is back at safety and <strong>Troy Hill</strong> is back at cornerback. Crean Lutheran has a ton of talent returning and this could be the year the Saints make a playoff run. </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/coachcurtis7/status/1775204450166329579 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN CLEMENTE</strong></h2>   <p>San Clemente's strength is it's returners on defense. The headliners are USC commit [player_tooltip player_id='820596' first='Matai' last='Tagoa'i'] and [player_tooltip player_id='976882' first='Lee' last='Fuimaono'], who has an offer from Arizona State. Both guys can fly around the field and can stop the passing game and running game. The Tritons' secondary is also impressive with [player_tooltip player_id='1149017' first='Max' last='Bollard'], <strong>Riley Kelley</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='270882' first='Max' last='Kotiranta']. All three had interceptions last season and were key contributors.</p>   <p>The offense has more question marks than the defense. [player_tooltip player_id='1149075' first='Jack' last='Ferguson'] is a candidate to start at quarterback and is inexperienced. He is lengthy and throws a nice ball but isn't a threat to run like the previous quarterback was. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1582147' first='Cole' last='Herlean']</strong> was the team's leading receiver last season and is back. <strong>Xander Rex</strong> is a tight end who has had three brothers excel at San Clemente.</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/Tritonfootball/status/1788058496153579669 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>FOOTHILL</strong></h2>   <p>Foothill is a tough team to evaluate in the spring because some of their contributors are lacrosse players and their season just ended Tuesday. [player_tooltip player_id='1149007' first='Gino' last='Marchetti'] will be the team's quarterback and he's a big guy at 6-foot-5. [player_tooltip player_id='595811' first='Nico' last='Mancini'] will be the team's top receiver and <strong>Michael Galey</strong> also returns at receiver. </p>   <p><strong>Brady Holcomb</strong> is the prototypical Foothill linebacker that can rack up tackles and fly to the flat in pass coverage. <strong>Sean Arenas</strong> is back at corner for the Knights who graduated a lot of seniors from last year's team.</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/NicoMancini21/status/1774220837761294547 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>WOODBRIDGE</strong></h2>   <p>Woodbridge struggled last season but returns quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1197336' first='Caden' last='Jones']</strong> who started the second half of last season. <strong>Aydrien Garnica</strong> was the team's leading receiver last season and is back along with <strong>Jovohn Cruz</strong> and sophomore <strong>Jeremy Harris.</strong> </p>   <p>Cruz was also second on the team in tackles last season. <strong>Daniel Blake</strong> returns at cornerback and [player_tooltip player_id='1148999' first='Alijah' last='Bray'] is likely a defensive end but could be an outside backer/tight end hybrid. </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/CruzJovohn/status/1729986054269383157 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CYPRESS</strong></h2>   <p>Cypress graduated a lot of talent on offense including All-County quarterback <strong>Aidan Houston.</strong> <strong>Logan Kennedy</strong> is the only player who caught more than three passes last season that is returning this season. <strong>Tyler White</strong> is a versatile linebacker that should lead the defense. <strong>Matthew Baldonado </strong>and <strong>Chasen Sparks</strong> are back to lead the secondary. </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/CypressHSFB/status/1785091839126852031 </div></figure>

A handful of South Orange County teams will gather at Corona del Mar High Friday to compete in a passing tournament.