Battle at the Beach Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Redzone attended the Battle at the Beach passing tournament at Edison High in Huntington Beach this past Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The event is the marquee passing tournament of the summer and some of the top programs in Southern California competed. St. John Bosco was dominant throughout the tournament and beat Centennial in the championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a story of the <a href="https://prepredzone.com/2026/07/top-performers-from-the-battle-at-the-beach-2/">top overall performers</a> from the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ST. JOHN BOSCO</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Saturday was my first time seeing [player_tooltip player_id='2065926' first='Kuika' last='Moaalii'] and he stands out physically when you watch Bosco. He is a physical mismatch for a lot of corners and has strong hands. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1241266' first='Jacob' last='Reid']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='874419' first='David' last='Plunkett III']</strong> also had big days at receiver and coach <strong>Jason Negro</strong> raved about Plunkett. He is explosive off the ball and is an advanced route runner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Negro raved about his linebacking group including [player_tooltip player_id='1197597' first='Josiah' last='Poyer'], [player_tooltip player_id='1197526' first='Ethan' last='Coach'], <strong>Gary Foster</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2124168' first='Ben' last='Rivas']</strong>. Poyer moves very well laterally for a guy his size and was covering slot guys underneath with no issues. [player_tooltip player_id='2065930' first='Prentice' last='Jones'] had a great day at corner and looked very fluid in his movements. [player_tooltip player_id='2065928' first='Kingston' last='Fatu'] looked very good at safety and [player_tooltip player_id='742470' first='Dorian' last='Franklin'] played well at corner. [player_tooltip player_id='2065938' first='Darnell' last='Lacy'] looked lengthy and athletic and closes to the ball well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/2076072417362096519?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mikehuntley63/status/2076072417362096519?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/DorianLaw27/status/2076489176229548366?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/DorianLaw27/status/2076489176229548366?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CENTENNIAL</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jaden Bynum</strong> had a nice day at receiver along with sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2180398' first='Mason' last='Fowler']</strong>. Fowler is a big guy with a frame that can add some size and can make plays down the field. <strong>Koti Fultz</strong> was physical in the secondary and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1699038' first='Dean' last='Gibson']</strong> made some nice plays on defense. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/jaden_bynum9/status/2053655343457358055?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/jaden_bynum9/status/2053655343457358055?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>EDISON</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan Hampton</strong> was the standout receiver for Edison but several guys had good days. <strong>McKennon Pierce</strong> had a nice day on both sides of the ball and was blanketing some of the top receivers at the event in man coverage. <strong>Dawson Steward </strong>had a big day at receiver and sophomore <strong>Drake Sunga</strong> made some big plays on both sides of the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Sunset_Rewind/status/2076057263463387241?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Sunset_Rewind/status/2076057263463387241?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CATHEDRAL CATHOLIC</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both quarterbacks looked good in moments for Cathedral Catholic. <strong>Gavin Rossi</strong> had some good heat on the ball at times and got the ball out on time. [player_tooltip player_id='1284695' first='Koa' last='Smith-Mayall'] looks much improved from last season when he was at JSerra. He had nice touch on the ball and his delivery is smooth. Smith-Mayall went through his progressions well and had good ball placement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Koa_SmithMayall/status/2076855058797650263?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Koa_SmithMayall/status/2076855058797650263?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>ORANGE LUTHERAN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Like Cathedral Catholic, both quarterbacks shined for Orange Lutheran. [player_tooltip player_id='1197615' first='Reagan' last='Toki'] had great timing with his receivers and was fitting the ball into tight windows. He knew when to check down and was hitting crossers regularly. [player_tooltip player_id='1506318' first='Ezrah' last='Brown'] has a quick release and the ball jumps out of his hand. <strong>Raiden Velasquez </strong>had a great day in the slot and seemed like he was consistently open on drag routes and making plays after the catch. Running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1588182' first='Ryan' last='Christianson']</strong> doesn't shine in a 7-on-7 setting but looks great physically and is a guy coach <strong>Ray Fenton</strong> is high on. [player_tooltip player_id='1621200' first='Anhor' last='Johnson'] played well at [player_tooltip player_id='1717694' first='Chauncey' last='Washington'] was playing corner rather than safety. I was impressed with the positional versatility of Orange Lutheran's secondary. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2075979568754970903?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2075979568754970903?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Anhorthegreat/status/2076752992959963233?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Anhorthegreat/status/2076752992959963233?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>MISSION VIEJO</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mission Viejo played two quarterbacks and both had some impressive touchdown throws down the field. [player_tooltip player_id='1291532' first='Brett' last='Burnor'] goes through his progressions well and had good ball placement on the corner routes. He was hitting receivers right out of their breaks and got better as the day went on. <strong>Nash McElree</strong> has a big frame and had some good heat on the intermediate throws. [player_tooltip player_id='1717768' first='Jeremy' last='Bonhomme'] knows how to use his length and was making nice plays throughout the day. Sophomore running back <strong>Jayden Ramirez</strong> was making plays on wheel routes throughout the day and had some touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Diablos shined on defense and everybody was contributing. [player_tooltip player_id='1515867' first='Kiingbaraka' last='Kizzee'] stands out physically with his length and was best in press man coverage. <strong>Myles Lassiter</strong> had a nice day and [player_tooltip player_id='2127028' first='Desmond' last='Maxwell'] looks great for a sophomore and has added some muscle since I saw him at the Under Armour Next camp. <strong>JoJo Reed</strong> plays with a ton of confidence and flies down the field and <strong>Bryce Warner</strong> looked good at linebacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/2076019662853378490?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/2076019662853378490?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/NashMcelree/status/2076653812505555059?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/NashMcelree/status/2076653812505555059?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>SANTA MARGARITA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='2231347' first='Matthew' last='Smith'] had a nice day for Santa Margarita and was taking a lot of snaps under center. [player_tooltip player_id='1864124' first='Ryan' last='Clark'] had a great day at receiver and <strong>Kiyan Callis</strong> has a chance to be one of the best freshmen offensive players in the state this season. <strong>Grant Van Raap</strong> made some nice plays at receiver and Kansas commit [player_tooltip player_id='2106838' first='Luke' last='Gazzaniga'] stands out with his size and physicality over the middle.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2125027' first='Jake' last='Martin']</strong> looked good on both sides of the ball and incoming freshman <strong>Aydeen Steen</strong> looks like an upperclassman already. Sophomore linebacker <strong>Dax Karney</strong> had a nice interception and made some good plays. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/MattSmithqb/status/2076513965837021632?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/MattSmithqb/status/2076513965837021632?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>LONG BEACH POLY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mater Dei transfer [player_tooltip player_id='2066034' first='Trevor' last='Scott'] stands out with his size and showed great arm strength. His arm strength helped him fit the ball into tight windows and he goes through his progressions well. [player_tooltip player_id='1197229' first='Julius' last='Johnson'] made some great plays at receiver along with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='691313' first='Jayden' last='Coley']</strong>, who was catching balls on every series. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/T_Scott4x/status/2076080641121378655?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/T_Scott4x/status/2076080641121378655?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CAPO VALLEY</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Izaiah Bennett</strong> had a very strong showing on both sides of the ball for Capo Valley. <strong>Cartyr Quartucy</strong> had some nice plays at receiver for the Cougars. <strong>Chris Fields</strong> is a very promising young corner with a ton of upside and <strong>Cash Perry</strong> got good reviews from the Capo coaching staff.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/CashPerry30/status/2076808899538407865?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CashPerry30/status/2076808899538407865?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>CORONA DEL MAR</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both quarterbacks for Corona del Mar played well and neither one is separating themselves right now. [player_tooltip player_id='2004289' first='Luca' last='DiNapoli'] and <strong>JD Annett</strong> had good showings according to the coaching staff and <strong>JJ Haley </strong>was a tough matchup for a lot of the opposing defensive backs. [player_tooltip player_id='1797946' first='Tucker' last='Murray'] had a good day on both sides of the ball as well as [player_tooltip player_id='2081787' first='Henry' last='Birchard']. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2075988732847812916?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2075988732847812916?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/TuckerMurray16/status/2077213783211249967?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/TuckerMurray16/status/2077213783211249967?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>RANCHO CUCAMONGA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I didn't get to see a ton of Rancho Cucamonga but when I did, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1059136' first='Jayden' last='Hilliard']</strong> was breaking up passes. [player_tooltip player_id='958785' first='Treyvone' last='Towns Jr.'] looks a bit smaller, in a good way, and was connecting often with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1197384' first='Landon' last='White']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/JaydenHilliard5/status/2076124094001709380?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JaydenHilliard5/status/2076124094001709380?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>TUSTIN</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1455302' first='Ayden' last='Edwards'] was spreading the ball around well for Tustin and finding holes in zone coverage throughout the day. He gets the ball out on time and had great ball placement on the corner routes. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1328964' first='Jackson' last='Perez']</strong> had a nice day on both sides of the ball and [player_tooltip player_id='1197319' first='Rufai' last='Azeez'] made some nice plays at receiver. <strong>Devon Benavente</strong> flies under the radar on this roster but had a game-winning touchdown against Rancho Cucamonga. [player_tooltip player_id='1197214' first='Taven' last='Epps'] stands out at linebacker due to his size but was making some plays on offense too. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/2076196575001678024?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ocvarsityguy/status/2076196575001678024?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>JSERRA</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Multiple quarterbacks looked good for JSerra with none of them really separating themselves just yet. Both lefties, [player_tooltip player_id='1284700' first='Hayes' last='Cloutier'] and <strong>Jonathan Urquhart</strong> have nice touch on the ball and had good timing with the receivers. Junior <strong>Sam Fredericksen</strong> had a nice day at receiver for the Lions and [player_tooltip player_id='1619039' first='Dylan' last='Fenn'] played well on defense. JSerra was missing two potential starting corners and its top receiver. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/Jurquhart_2029/status/2076454866675990824?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/Jurquhart_2029/status/2076454866675990824?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/samfredricksen/status/2063777063304335729?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/samfredricksen/status/2063777063304335729?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>PALOS VERDES</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='709444' first='Ryan' last='Rakowski'] looked sharp as always at quarterback and spread the ball around well to Palos Verdes' receivers. <strong>Forest Mangham</strong> made some great touchdown plays and [player_tooltip player_id='1621206' first='Jalen' last='Flowers'] was the talk of the day among media with his performance on both sides of the ball. He can play anywhere on defense but I like him best as a corner and teams were avoiding throwing to his side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/teamfbseven/status/2075984325494120492?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/teamfbseven/status/2075984325494120492?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2076009632867487780?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"x","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/LA__WCP/status/2076009632867487780?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->