The season is a third of the way over and teams are getting over the early-season growing pains. TeamFB7 highlights the top matchups to watch involving Southern California high school football teams.
Southern California football fans have a lot to watch this week with some local rivalries and a matchup between two teams with plenty of recent playoff history.
Breaking Down the Top High School Football Matchups in Southern California for Week 3
Here are some of the top Southern California high school football games in the area to keep an eye on this week.
Thursday
Corona del Mar vs. Newport Harbor
The Battle of the Bay is the best local rivalry in Orange County and tickets to the game sold out days in advance. Corona del Mar has allowed just 17 points through three games and has forced nine turnovers. John David Annett had his biggest game at quarterback last week in a win over Edison and was splitting reps in the team’s first two games. JJ Haley leads the team in receiving with four touchdowns and Nolan Scott had a big game against Edison. Newport Harbor is coming off a bye after a disappointing loss to Lancaster. Jordan Spigarelli averages 225 passing yards per game with seven touchdowns and Ben Stremick leads the defense.
Damien vs. Tustin
Damien had 444 yards of offense last week but fell to Faith Lutheran of Las Vegas. Sophomore quarterback Anthony Randolph is averaging 230 yards per game with seven touchdowns and just one interception. Boise State commit Malachi McFarland runs for over 100 yards per game with 4 touchdowns. Tustin has been playing star receiver Hayden Koo at quarterback since its starter Ayden Edwards got hurt in the season-opener. BYU commit Jeremiah Williams had four sacks against Long Beach Poly last week and has been rushing for touchdowns this season. Tustin held Poly to just 75 yards rushing last week and Oklahoma commit Taven Epps is a good run stopper. Damien won this game 24-7 last season when Tustin still had a healthy quarterback.
Oak Hills vs. JSerra
JSerra had its best win in two years against Crean Lutheran last week. The Lions ran for 225 yards with 3 touchdowns in that game with Will Fredericksen leading the way with 137 yards. Hayes Cloutier threw 2 touchdown passes and is a threat to take off for big yardage scrambling. Georgetown commit Clark Cokley leads the Trinity League in receiving and UCLA commit Godschoice Eboigbodin causes matchup problems in the trenches. Oak Hills beat a good Rancho Cucamonga team last week despite having just 130 yards of total offense. Jayden Dennis leads the defense and the Bulldogs had 5 sacks last week.
Friday
Orange Lutheran vs. Serra
Orange Lutheran has won two consecutive games after a disappointing opening loss. King Rich Johnson has 2 interception returns for touchdowns in his last two games. Matthew Zapien and Chauncey Washington II also lead Orange Lutheran’s defense from the secondary. Ezrah Brown has been getting more of the reps at quarterback the last two games for the Lancers and Ryan Christianson ran for 144 yards with a touchdown last week against Basha. Serra had a comeback win over Los Alamitos last week with 175 rushing yards with 3 touchdowns from Stanford commit AJ McBean. Freshman quarterback Hassir Houston was excellent against Los Alamitos and faces a tough secondary this week.
Mission Hills vs. Granite Hills
Mission Hills has a case for being the top team in San Diego early this season and has outscored its opponents 120-13 so far. Minnesota commit and Mater Dei transfer Furian Inferrera has 6 touchdown passes and 6 rushing touchdowns. Braylon Roberson is a top two-way player in San Diego with 3 receiving touchdowns and is a good corner. Ryan MacKenzie leads the Grizzlies in receiving with 365 yards and 3 touchdowns. Granite Hills is coming off a bye after a high-scoring win over Mater Dei Catholic. San Jose State commit Zachary Benitez has thrown for 247 yards per game with 6 touchdowns this season and has a good connection with Courtney Miller-Johnson who has 318 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns through two games.
Centennial vs. Mater Dei
Mater Dei and Centennial play each other nearly every year and often meet in big playoff games. Centennial eliminated Mater Dei from the playoffs in the Division 1 semifinals last season on a blocked field goal as time expired. The Huskies have two new offensive weapons in quarterback Jaden Jefferson and receiver Quentin Hale, who can put up big plays. Centennial is coming off a tough loss to defending champion Santa Margarita where Jefferson struggled a bit by his standards. Malaki Davis runs the ball well for the Huskies and its defense has played fairly well.
Mater Dei is 3-0 but has been experimenting at quarterback this season and played three different quarterbacks in a win over Valor Christian last week. Russell Sekona didn’t complete a pass but led the Monarchs in rushing. Cameron Pooley led the team in passing and freshman Paytyn Guess looked electric in his reps under center. Asir Nembhard is a playmaker at running back and Mark Allen is another sophomore running back to watch. USC commit Danny Lang is a lockdown corner who will be tasked with covering Hale. For an in-depth preview with players to watch in this game, click here.
