Huntley’s SoCal Regional Championship Picks

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each week I pick and break down seven of the top games in Southern California.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are at the Regional championships and the games are slim pickings so I'm only breaking down five this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I went 4-3 in the Section championship games last week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>VENTURA VS. ARROYO GRANDE</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ventura exploded offensively in a 63-28 win over St. Pius in the Southern Section Division 6 championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='1182938' first='Derek' last='Garcia'] threw for 306 yards with a touchdown and <strong>James Watson</strong> ran for 248 yards with four touchdowns. <strong>Jack Cunningham</strong> had 179 receiving yards with a score. <strong>Christian Rea</strong> and <strong>Jesse DeAlba</strong> led Ventura's offensive line. Oregon signee [player_tooltip player_id='780327' first='Tristan' last='Phillips'] had six sacks and a forced fumble. Arroyo Grande beat Bakersfield 23-20 in overtime to win the Central Section Division 2 championship. <strong>Jacob Kreowski</strong> threw two touchdown passes to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1361622' first='Caleb' last='Clark']</strong>. Ventura is so well-rounded on offense that I don't see anyone stopping them right now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Ventura</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/t_phillips11/status/1995576292650127670?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/t_phillips11/status/1995576292650127670?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>RIO HONDO PREP VS. SANTA FE CHRISTIAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both of these teams are undefeated. Rio Hondo Prep ran for 220 yards with three touchdowns and dominated defensively in a 29-7 win over Redondo Union in the Southern Section Division 5 championship game. <strong>Nathanie Shine</strong> and <strong>Elias Har</strong> ran for touchdowns for Rio Hondo Prep with <strong>Noah Penunuri</strong> leaving the game early with an injury. <strong>Aiden Delgadillo</strong> and <strong>Troy Seto</strong> had interceptions for the Kares. Santa Fe Christian outscored Steele Canyon 44-41 to win the San Diego Section Division 2 championship. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1652548' first='Dax' last='Labrum']</strong> threw five touchdown passes for Santa Fe Christian and <strong>Chase Woolley</strong> had two touchdown receptions. I have learned to never pick against Rio Hondo Prep but Penunuri potentially being out makes me nervous.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Rio Hondo Prep</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ChargeToKeep/status/1996419892652966196?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ChargeToKeep/status/1996419892652966196?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LA HABRA VS. BAKERSFIELD CHRISTIAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>La Habra beat Bakersfield Christian to win the Southern Section Division 4 championship. [player_tooltip player_id='1611382' first='Kevika' last='Martinez'] ran for 205 yards with two touchdowns in that game and is averaging 148 yards per game in the playoffs. [player_tooltip player_id='765936' first='DJ' last='Mitchell'] is a dual threat quarterback for the Highlanders who has been excellent in the playoffs as well and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1743436' first='Noah' last='Barajas']</strong> leads La Habra's defense. Bakersfield Christian beat Liberty 38-16 to win the Central Section Division 1A title. <strong>Lincoln Adame</strong> has thrown for 2,337 yards and receiver <strong>Michael Smith </strong>has 1,144 yards with 16 touchdowns. <strong>Arnez Lee</strong> has 21 sacks so Mitchell may be active getting out of the pocket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>La Habra</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PACIFICA VS. GRANITE HILLS</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Granite Hills beat Lincoln 41-29 to win the San Diego Section Division 1 championship. [player_tooltip player_id='691923' first='Zachary' last='Benitez'] threw for 309 yards with four touchdowns for Granite Hills with three of those touchdowns coming to <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='992793' first='Noah' last='Walker']</strong>. <strong>Parker Johnson</strong> had 13 tackles to lead the defense and <strong>Wyatt MacLeod</strong> had 3.5 sacks. Pacifica is 14-0 and beat Palos Verdes to win the Southern Section Division 3 championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='1197356' first='Taylor' last='Lee'] threw two touchdown passes and [player_tooltip player_id='1197241' first='Isaiah' last='Phelps'] ran for 123 yards with a score and had 19 tackles on defense. <strong>PeeWee Wilson</strong> is another big contributor on Pacifica's defense. Granite Hills has lost its last two Regional championship games against Mission Viejo and Edison, but I think they break that trend here.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Granite Hills</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ZacharyBenitez3/status/1995619272270499842?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ZacharyBenitez3/status/1995619272270499842?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC VS. LOS ALAMITOS</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cathedral Catholic had a come-from-behind win over Carlsbad in the San Diego Section Open Division title game. [player_tooltip player_id='1000878' first='Brady' last='Palmer'] threw a long touchdown pass and [player_tooltip player_id='1197204' first='Honor' last='Faalave'] ran for two touchdowns. Faalave is the best player in San Diego and one of the best in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='1362381' first='Josh' last='Faraimo'] had a big game on both sides of the ball and Cathedral's offensive line was excellent in the second half. Los Alamitos scored 30 unanswered points to beat San Clemente in the Southern Section Division 2 championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='1205414' first='Kamden' last='Tillis'] ran for 130 yards with three touchdowns and [player_tooltip player_id='1598356' first='Lenny' last='Ibarra'] is a great running back. [player_tooltip player_id='1686058' first='Beckham' last='Hofland'] is the top target for <strong>Colin Creason</strong>. <strong>Jackson Renger</strong> had two of Los Alamitos' six sacks and [player_tooltip player_id='1660469' first='Hunter' last='Eligon'] is a tough matchup on the inside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The pick: </strong>Los Alamitos</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LosAlFootball/status/1995714299742834726?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LosAlFootball/status/1995714299742834726?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S PLAYOFF RECORD: </strong>14-14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>HUNTLEY'S SEASON RECORD: </strong>64-41</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->