Huntley’s Semifinal Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week I will pick the top seven games in Southern California and break them down.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I did ok in round two going 5-2.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LA CITY SECTION</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NARBONNE VS. BIRMINGHAM</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In my opinion, these are the best two teams in the City Section and it's disappointing that they are playing in the semifinal rather than for the championship. Narbonne beat Dorsey 47-13 last week after not playing since September 27 and having multiple key players ruled ineligible. [player_tooltip player_id='406703' first='Mark' last='Iheanachor'], <strong>Bryan Maldonado</strong> and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='401257' first='Jaden' last='O'Neal'] had touchdown runs and O'Neal threw a touchdown pass as well. Birmingham beat Gardena with the help of 201 rushing yards from <strong>Dredon Fowles</strong>. This is the best the City Section has to offer.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Narbonne</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The biggest game the city section has seen in years. Narbonne vs Birmingham. Top two teams in the city. Winner gets a trip to the Open Division Championship 🍿<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BB4L?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BB4L</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BonneVsBirmingham?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BonneVsBirmingham</a> <a href="https://t.co/aR0mDNsh2s">pic.twitter.com/aR0mDNsh2s</a></p>&mdash; Narbonne Football (@BonneFTBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/BonneFTBL/status/1858899716249174455?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 19, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN DIEGO SECTION</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>EL CAMINO VS. SAN MARCOS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>El Camino ran for 325 yards and four touchdowns last week in a win over Mount Miguel. <strong>Kingston Faatiti</strong> had three of those touchdowns and ran for 111 yards. <strong>Zach Ballow </strong>forced and recovered a fumble that he returned for a touchdown and <strong>Jake Williams</strong> returned an interception 70 yards. San Marcos beat Del Norte 35-7 and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780314' first='Kreet' last='Makihele']</strong> threw for 431 yards. [player_tooltip player_id='406676' first='Jase' last='Nix'] is one of the top receivers in the section and <strong>Caleb Reese</strong> had a huge game last week at receiver. [player_tooltip player_id='976895' first='Elijah' last='Bechtel'] leads the defense with <strong>Luke Freeling</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>San Marcos</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">CIF D1 Semifinals <br><br>📍San Marcos<br>🕖 7:00pm<br>⚪️ Wear white <br>📢Get loud<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WildcatFB2024?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WildcatFB2024</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnTheHunt?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OnTheHunt</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Whiteout?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Whiteout</a> <a href="https://t.co/SFAMvoPXPm">pic.twitter.com/SFAMvoPXPm</a></p>&mdash; El Camino Wildcats Football (@ECWildcatFB) <a href="https://twitter.com/ECWildcatFB/status/1859278788544348670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>GRANITE HILLS VS. CARLSBAD</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Granite Hills was the Open Division champion last season and is now rolling in Division 1. <strong>Zachary Benitez</strong> is an experienced sophomore quarterback who takes care of the ball and [player_tooltip player_id='612834' first='Maxwell' last='Turner'] is one of the top rushers in San Diego. Carlsbad rolled through its first playoff game against Rancho Bernardo. <strong>Kai Brown</strong> has been heating up at running back and<strong> Eli Macneal </strong>has a high ceiling at quarterback. Carlsbad had 6.5 sacks against Rancho Bernardo and will try to pressure Benitez.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Granite Hills</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SOUTHERN SECTION</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MURRIETA MESA VS. ST. FRANCIS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Murrieta Mesa has won seven consecutive games and has two nice playoff wins over Ontario Christian and Northwood. <strong>Trey Gamble Jr.</strong> threw for 322 yards last week against Northwood and <strong>Artyon Celestine</strong> has run the ball well all season long. <strong>Isaiah Casillas</strong> leads Mesa's defense along with <strong>Deshawn Reid</strong>. St. Francis beat a red hot Muir team in the second round. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1215493' first='John' last='Sanders']</strong> is an efficient dual-threat quarterback and <strong>Isaac Fajardo</strong> had three rushing touchdowns against Muir. This game could go either way but I think St. Francis has played a more challenging schedule.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>St. Francis</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Muir goes for 2! St. Francis stops it! 28-27 Golden Knights. <a href="https://twitter.com/SGVNSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SGVNSports</a> <a href="https://t.co/834bsSMTQn">pic.twitter.com/834bsSMTQn</a></p>&mdash; Donald Morrison (@BruinDonaldRuns) <a href="https://twitter.com/BruinDonaldRuns/status/1857655608042004877?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>OAKS CHRISTIAN VS. MURRIETA VALLEY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Murrieta Valley is firing on offense since [player_tooltip player_id='282686' first='Bear' last='Bachmeier'] returned from injury. The Nighthawks scored 49 points last week against Los Alamitos and Bachmeier threw for 182 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 114 with two scores. [player_tooltip player_id='1027779' first='Dorian' last='Hoze'] is one of the leading rushers in the state behind an excellent offensive line led by [player_tooltip player_id='976878' first='Drew' last='Nichols']. Oaks Christian handled a very good San Juan Hills team last week. [player_tooltip player_id='212217' first='Deshonne' last='Redeaux'] is very good running the ball and <strong>Trey Towns Jr.</strong> is a promising freshman quarterback. [player_tooltip player_id='406649' first='Christian' last='Knoos'] is a tackling machine on defense and [player_tooltip player_id='282732' first='Hayden' last='Lowe'] is always in the backfield. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Oaks Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Narcisse scoop and score. [player_tooltip player_id='283607' first='Davon' last='Benjamin'] knocked the ball loose to start things off.<br><br>Oaks Christian 35, San Juan Hills 21. 1:05 4Q <a href="https://t.co/ccIXZFGZxl">pic.twitter.com/ccIXZFGZxl</a></p>&mdash; Haley Sawyer (@haleymsawyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/haleymsawyer/status/1857659745726783600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>ORANGE LUTHERAN VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. John Bosco came from behind to beat Santa Margarita last week. [player_tooltip player_id='1396184' first='Maliq' last='Allen'] had a big game running the ball for the Braves and Bosco had a few big plays in the passing game. Josh Holland and breakout sophomore <strong>Isala Wily-Ava</strong> had interceptions for the Braves. Orange Lutheran rolled over JSerra last week and got off to a hot start with a punt return touchdown by <strong>Logan Gutierrez</strong>. [player_tooltip player_id='282694' first='Steve' last='Chavez'] ran for 133 yards with two touchdowns and [player_tooltip player_id='282728' first='TJ' last='Lateef'] threw two touchdown passes. [player_tooltip player_id='780311' first='Auma' last='Jennings'], [player_tooltip player_id='723736' first='Jireh' last='Moe'] and <strong>Keelan Tagoa'i</strong> are one of the best defensive line trios in the state. I think we get a rare year where a team other than St. John Bosco plays for a title.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Orange Lutheran</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jason Negro on St. John Bosco vs. Orange Lutheran rematch in the CIF-SS Division 1 semifinals. Coach Negro also talks about why 2028 QB [player_tooltip player_id='959174' first='Koa' last='Malau'ulu'] and 2026 DB Joshua Holland are integral to Bosco's playoff success. <a href="https://t.co/rFoZHl98us">pic.twitter.com/rFoZHl98us</a></p>&mdash; John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) <a href="https://twitter.com/johnwdavis/status/1859762804619940169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 22, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>MATER DEI VS. CENTENNIAL</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Centennial was very impressive in its road win over Mission Viejo. [player_tooltip player_id='401280' first='Malachi' last='Roby'] was very good running the ball and Centennial's offensive line played very well against Mission Viejo's defensive front. [player_tooltip player_id='406636' first='Husan' last='Longstreet'] is healthy at quarterback and he missed the first meeting between Centennial and Mater Dei. Mater Dei cruised against Sierra Canyon behind two big touchdowns from [player_tooltip player_id='401316' first='Mark' last='Bowman']. [player_tooltip player_id='282698' first='Jordon' last='Davison'] is running the ball well and [player_tooltip player_id='270900' first='Dash' last='Beierly'] can make big plays at quarterback. The interior pass rush from [player_tooltip player_id='283689' first='Tomuhini' last='Topui'] and [player_tooltip player_id='723702' first='Semi' last='Taulanga'] had sacks last week and freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717686' first='Troy' last='Bishop']</strong> had a nice game in the secondary. Centennial always plays Mater Dei well, but I don't think anybody is beating Mater Dei this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mater Dei</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Corona Centennial jumps up to No. 12 ahead of showdown against No. 1 Mater Dei. 🏈🔥<br><br>Full rankings ⬇️<a href="https://t.co/P8dTAODoKg">https://t.co/P8dTAODoKg</a> <a href="https://t.co/9DkgkosL81">pic.twitter.com/9DkgkosL81</a></p>&mdash; MaxPreps (@MaxPreps) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaxPreps/status/1858574399848251804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 18, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S PLAYOFF RECORD:&nbsp;</strong>11-3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S OVERALL RECORD:&nbsp;</strong>67-24<br><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->