Huntley's Semifinal Picks

<p>Each week I pick and break down seven of the top games in Southern California.</p>   <p>I had a rough week last week going 3-4 and I severely underestimated the effect the rain would have on some of these games. This Friday is another rainy day throughout Southern California and I will do much better this week.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LA HABRA VS. OAKS CHRISTIAN</strong></h2>   <p>Oaks Christian is undefeated since USC commit [player_tooltip player_id='212217' first='Deshonne' last='Redeaux'] returned from injury. Redeaux ran for 246 yards with two touchdowns in a win over Paraclete last week. [player_tooltip player_id='283607' first='Davon' last='Benjamin'] returned an interception for over 100 yards for a touchdown in that game. [player_tooltip player_id='780750' first='Colby' last='Simpson'] had a touchdown reception and <strong>Joshua Tyler</strong> and <strong>Damian Duff</strong> each had 11 tackles. La Habra has been dominating in the run game as well with running back [player_tooltip player_id='1611382' first='Kevika' last='Martinez'] and quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='765936' first='DJ' last='Mitchell']. Martinez also led La Habra in tackles in its win over Cathedral last week. These two styles will be similar in the rain and I think Redeaux will be the best player on the field.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Oaks Christian</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/csimpson_88/status/1990977797805036026?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>EDISON VS. PALOS VERDES</strong></h2>   <p>These two teams played earlier this year and Edison won by one point due to a blocked kick. [player_tooltip player_id='1717984' first='Sam' last='Thomson'] threw for 184 yards with two touchdowns for Edison in that game and <strong>Ayden Degiacomo</strong> led the Chargers in receiving. <strong>Teo Hampton</strong> had 15 tackles and <strong>Ashton Godley </strong>had 16. [player_tooltip player_id='709444' first='Ryan' last='Rakowski'] ran for 108 yards with two touchdowns in that game for Palos Verdes. Rakowski threw for 128 yards with a touchdown last week against Dana Hills and [player_tooltip player_id='1686063' first='Jalen' last='Flowers'] had a 68-yard touchdown reception. [player_tooltip player_id='1621252' first='Weston' last='Reis'] had a 41-yard pick-six. Both these teams won state championships last season and Edison is 4-1 against the Sea Kings dating back to 2021.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Edison</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/EdisonChargerFB/status/1991703112407806118?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LOS ALAMITOS VS. MURRIETA VALLEY</strong></h2>   <p>Los Alamitos dominated on both sides of the ball against a very good San Juan Hills team last week. [player_tooltip player_id='1598356' first='Lenny' last='Ibarra'] had three touchdown runs and [player_tooltip player_id='1205414' first='Kamden' last='Tillis'] ran for 142 yards with a score. [player_tooltip player_id='1660469' first='Hunter' last='Eligon'] is a tough matchup on the interior of the defensive line for Los Alamitos and <strong>Jackson Renger</strong> is very good off the edge. Murrieta Valley is having one of the most impressive playoff runs in the Section without its best running back. The Nighthawks still ran for 236 yards last week in a dominant win over Rancho Cucamonga behind 127 yards from <strong>Jacob Taddi</strong>. Both teams will want to establish the run in this game and I like Murrieta Valley's offensive line, led by [player_tooltip player_id='1361591' first='Elisha' last='Faamatuainu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1686154' first='Luke' last='Kingman'], a little better than Los Alamitos'. The teams have a common opponent: Murrieta Valley beat San Clemente and Los Alamitos lost to the Tritons.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Murrieta Valley </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/Jacobtaddi/status/1985559486891688415?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN CLEMENTE VS. LEUZINGER</strong></h2>   <p>Leuzinger rolled over a good Crean Lutheran team in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs and pulled off a close win over Chaparral last week, without completing a pass. [player_tooltip player_id='1598387' first='Journee' last='Tonga'] ran for 212 yards for the Olympians and the defense had 18 tackles for a loss. [player_tooltip player_id='401293' first='Samu' last='Moala'] had two sacks and <strong>Fakaanga Vanisi</strong> had a team-high 12 tackles. San Clemente beat Vista Murrieta 32-7 last week and had four interceptions. <strong>Thomas Alexander</strong> had two interceptions and returned one for a touchdown. <strong>Dallas Martinez</strong> had an interception and so did [player_tooltip player_id='661909' first='Jaxson' last='Rex']. <strong>Carson Sloan </strong>ran for 137 yards with a touchdown behind a solid offensive line led by [player_tooltip player_id='1635539' first='Scott' last='Johnson']. San Clemente is forcing turnovers at the right time and if they can slow down Tonga, the Tritons are in a good spot.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>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/1989586594961990037?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SAN MARCOS VS. LINCOLN</strong></h2>   <p>Lincoln seemed like it was overqualified to be in the Division 1 playoffs in San Diego but had to gut out a 51-41 win over Poway in the first round. [player_tooltip player_id='1686191' first='Junior' last='Curtis'] ran for 307 yards with three touchdowns for the Hornets and <strong>Rashad Robinson</strong> had two touchdown runs. <strong>Jamari Sherell</strong> led the defense with 12 tackles and [player_tooltip player_id='632310' first='Prince' last='Tavizon'] had 10 tackles with two for a loss. San Marcos beat previously undefeated Point Loma 24-14 in the first round. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='780314' first='Kreet' last='Makihele']</strong> threw for 129 yards with a score and <strong>Zamar Reese</strong> ran for 80 yards with a touchdown. <strong>Ty Sagaser</strong> has been great for San Marcos' defense all season and had a sack with a forced fumble last week. These are two of the top rushing offenses in San Diego and I like Lincoln's line a little bit better.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Lincoln</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/THEHIVEFB/status/1990454789008732632?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SANTA MARGARITA VS. ORANGE LUTHERAN</strong></h2>   <p>Orange Lutheran pulled off a stunning upset over St. John Bosco in the first round due to a clutch pick-six by [player_tooltip player_id='1146376' first='King' last='Rich Johnson']. [player_tooltip player_id='1197615' first='Reagan' last='Toki'] threw two touchdown passes for the Lancers and [player_tooltip player_id='780472' first='Sean' last='Morris'] ran for 121 yards. <strong>Anthony McClure</strong> led Orange Lutheran in tackles and [player_tooltip player_id='780311' first='Auma' last='Jennings'] had three tackles for a loss. Santa Margarita beat Sierra Canyon in the first round and was the only team to score over 20 points against Sierra Canyon this season. [player_tooltip player_id='1705993' first='Trace' last='Johnson'] threw two touchdown passes to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1864124' first='Ryan' last='Clark']</strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='283690' first='Trent' last='Mosley'] had a touchdown run. [player_tooltip player_id='283616' first='Isaia' last='Vandermade'] had three sacks and [player_tooltip player_id='283684' first='Siua' last='Holani'] had an interception. Santa Margarita beat Orange Lutheran 28-7 earlier this season. Mosley had 100 yards receiving and two rushing touchdowns in that game. </p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Santa Margarita</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/CalHiSports/status/1990659313602605195?s=20 </div></figure>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MATER DEI VS. CENTENNIAL</strong></h2>   <p>Centennial beat Mater Dei earlier this season but the Monarchs erased a huge deficit to nearly pull the game out in the end. [player_tooltip player_id='1284693' first='Ryan' last='Hopkins'] threw for 261 yards in that game with two touchdown passes to [player_tooltip player_id='401273' first='Kayden' last='Dixon-Wyatt']. [player_tooltip player_id='212233' first='Shaun' last='Scott'] led Mater Dei in tackles against Centennial and had a huge game against Mission Viejo last week. Centennial running back [player_tooltip player_id='427500' first='Malaki' last='Davis'] ran for three touchdowns in the win over Mater Dei and [player_tooltip player_id='401263' first='Jonathan' last='McKinley'] had 3.5 sacks. [player_tooltip player_id='1611201' first='Jaden' last='Walk-Green'] had two interceptions and has 10 on the season. Beating great teams twice in the same season is difficult and it's highly doubtful Centennial builds a 28-point cushion in the first quarter again. The rain favors Centennial a bit in my opinion, but I think Mater Dei is getting healthy and rolling at the right time.</p>   <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Mater Dei</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/SportsCentralLA/status/1991682389739798863?s=20 </div></figure>   <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S PLAYOFF RECORD: </strong>7-7</p>   <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S SEASON RECORD: </strong>57-34</p>

Each week I pick and break down seven of the top games in Southern California.