Previews and predictions for the top football games in Orange County this week. The teams are listed by their ranking in the Orange County Top 25.
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GAME OF THE WEEK
No. 9 JSerra (1-1) vs. No. 6 Crean Lutheran (2-0)
Where, when: Crean Lutheran High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: People wondering how Crean Lutheran football would do in the Trinity League will get a partial answer with this one. Crean Lutheran is already Trinity League quality in boys basketball. Football? Making progress. The Saints are coached by Rick Curtis, who was the Santa Margarita head coach for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He knows what the Trinity League looks like. (While he was the coach, the Eagles went 11-10 overall and 3-7 in the Trinity League. Curtis also had the near-impossible task of following Harry Welch at Santa Margarita.) Crean Lutheran is led by senior quarterback Caden Jones, who was the No. 1 player in the Register’s Hot 150 list of Orange County football players. Jones, who committed to Arizona, has completed 71 percent of his passes for 516 yards and five touchdowns. The Saints have terrific receivers, too, including Braylen Ross who has 15 receptions for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Crean Lutheran has beaten two good teams, Loyola 31-6 and Mira Costa 31-10. JSerra, in Hardy Nickerson’s first season as head coach, lost to a great team, Sierra Canyon, 42-21, before trouncing Long Beach Wilson last week, 63-0. The Lions have settled on Hayes Cloutier at quarterback. Cloutier was 8 of 10 passing for 142 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Wilson. Crean Lutheran senior running back Caleb Bey, who was a very productive back last season, has yet to play because of injury. Crean has to be sure to block JSerra’s disruptive edge rusher Godschoice Eboigbodin. Crean’s offense looks to be ahead of JSerra’s at this point of the season. Crean Lutheran might not be ready for the entire Trinity League, but the Saints can mix it up fine with a couple of them.
Winner: Crean Lutheran
No. 8 Corona del Mar (2-0) vs. No. 11 Edison (1-1)
Where, when: Huntington Beach High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: It’s a matchup of former Sunset League rivals. Corona del Mar has defeated Lakewood, 48-3, and Santa Barbara, 37-7. After a long competition for starting spot, junior Luca Dinapoli is the Sea Kings’ quarterback. He has thrown for 386 yards and six touchdowns over the two games. Corona del Mar has rushed for 211 yards. Nolan Scott and JJ Haley have eight receptions each. Linebacker Max Brengel is averaging 11 tackles a game. Edison got a 41-27 win over Iolani in Hawaii to start the season, took a week off and last week lost 32-28 to Pinnacle of Phoenix, one of Arizona’s top teams. Chargers quarterback Sam Thomson, a rare four-year starter for a program that has produced many standouts at the position, has thrown for 619 yards and six touchdowns. Gavyn De Giacomo and Brett Dempsen lead the Edison running game that is averaging 190 rushing yards a game. That’s good offensive balance. Corona del Mar’s strength might its turnover-creating defense, which should do the job in this one.
Winner: Corona del Mar
Basha (1-0) vs. No. 4 Orange Lutheran (1-1)
Where, when: Orange Coast College, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Yours truly picked Orange Lutheran to win on the OCVarsity Gridiron video. Then, I took a deeper look at this matchup. Oops! Basha is really good. The Basha Bears are No. 12 in the MaxPreps national rankings and No. 4 nationally at HSratings.com. As Lancers coach Ray Fenton said, “They’ve got kids with Division I offers at every position.” Basha senior running back Noah Roberts committed to Texas. Basha also has very large linemen. Senior offensive guard DaJohn Yarborough (6-6, 390) committed to Cal. Senior offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand (6-6, 311) committed to Arizona State. Orange Lutheran lost 23-22 to Miami Central, a highly-ranked team in Florida, on a late field goal. The Lancers won 38-24 last week against Cathedral Catholic, San Diego County’s top-ranked team. Orange Lutheran sophomore quarterback Ezrah Brown completed 18 of 19 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. Orange Lutheran is good and getting better. Basha looks like a very special team.
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Winner: Basha
No. 3 Mission Viejo (2-0) vs. Folsom (1-0)
Where, when: Folsom High, Friday,
Analysis: The CalHiSports state rankings have Mission Viejo at No. 8 and Folsom at No. 9. HSratings.com has Mission Viejo at No. 6 and Folsom at No. 8 in its state rankings. So this is an excellent matchup. Mission Viejo has scored 142 points in two games, a 55-17 win over Chaparral and a 77-12 win over St. Paul. Both were Mission Viejo home games. Diablos sophomore quarterback Brett Burnor has been outstanding, throwing for 444 yards and eight touchdowns without an interception. Mission Viejo has rushed for 408 yards. That’s good offensive balance. Folsom overcame an early 10-point deficit last week to beat Cardinal Newman, 23-17, in overtime. The foundation of football success is the offensive line, a definite Mission Viejo asset in this game and this season.
Winner: Mission Viejo
Pacifica (2-0) vs. Canyon (2-0)
Where, when: El Modena High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Both teams are off to strong starts. Pacifica opened the season with a 27-7 win over Beckman, last season’s CIF Southern Section Division 8 champion. The Mariners last week beat Garden Grove, 48-0. Senior quarterback Joseph Pham-Ngoy has been the one making the Pacifica offense go. Canyon beat Kennedy, 33-6, and followed with a 19-0 win over Rancho Verde. Cobras junior quarterback Jayden Phillips has completed 74 percent of his passes for 289 yards and two touchdowns. Senior receiver Noah McClary has been outstanding with 13 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Both of these teams look like playoff-bound teams. Pacifica’s defense might be the difference-maker in this game.
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Winner: Pacifica
Fryer on Football last week: 4-1
Season to date: 7-3