League play is in full swing and there are plenty of excellent high school football matchups across Southern California. TeamFB7 highlights the top games to watch this week involving SoCal teams.
We learned a lot about where some teams stand in their respective leagues after league play began for most teams last week. The teams that played challenging nonleague schedules often fared better than teams that cruised through softer slates. There are some intriguing matchups this week that could determine league championships.
Breaking Down the Top High School Football Matchups in Southern California for Week 7
Inglewood vs. Palos Verdes
Inglewood is 6-1 and ran the ball very well last week in a win over Mira Costa. Semaj Welch ran for 165 yards with a score in that game and Marlon Watson ran for 139 with a touchdown. Jordan Williams leads Palos Verdes’ defense with 69 tackles and 5 sacks. Oklahoma commit Elija Harmon has 14 tackles for a loss. Palos Verdes is 6-0 and has allowed just 10 points in its last three games. Ryan Rakowski is completing 73% of his passes for 210 yards with 10 touchdowns. Weston Reis is a high-level run stopper with 61 tackles and Jalen Flowers may be the best two-way junior in the state.
Norco vs. Chaparral
Chaparral looks like a whole new offense now that Cal quarterback commit Dane Weber is back from his thumb injury. Weber threw for 200 yards with 3 touchdowns and ran for 120 with a touchdown last week in his season-debut against Murrieta Valley. UCLA commit Michael “Kiko” Farinas had 130 yards receiving with a touchdown and 47 yards rushing with a score. Norco beat Murrieta Mesa last week and BYU commit Blake Wong returned from an injury that sidelined him for a few weeks. Julian Medina has completed 80% of his passes for 270 yards per game with 17 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. Henderson Carter V leads the defense with 45 tackles and was a standout when Norco played Santa Margarita a few weeks ago.
Capistrano Valley vs. Crean Lutheran
Capo Valley is 6-0 and is averaging 44 points per game. Cal commit (for baseball) Talon Spencer averages 197 passing yards per game with 13 touchdowns and has rushed for 498 yards with 10 touchdowns. Tight end Colin Hooper leads the Cougars in touchdown receptions and Cartyr Quartucy is Spencer’s top target with 28 catches. Capo Valley’s defense has 19.5 sacks and Cade Epstein has 3 interceptions with a forced fumble. Crean Lutheran beat Tustin 21-7 last week with 3 rushing touchdowns from Cal Poly commit Caleb Bey Jr. The Saints had 6 sacks and Nasir Walker led the defense with 12 tackles.
Mater Dei vs. JSerra
Mater Dei is looking to avoid a very rare 3-game losing streak. The Monarchs fell 14-7 to Santa Margarita last week and played very well defensively. Linebacker DJ Clanton had a sack and Mata Uiagalelei had 2 tackles for a loss. Mater Dei held the Eagles to 52 yards rushing and 155 passing. Freshman quarterback Paytyn Guess threw for 165 yards for the Monarchs and Asir Nembhard scored the lone touchdown. JSerra suffered a blowout loss to St. John Bosco in its Trinity League opener last week. Hayes Cloutier threw for 230 yards with 2 touchdowns and ran for 44 yards. The Lions struggled defensively but Dylan Fenn had 10 tackles and Dylan Brown had an interception.
Orange Lutheran vs. St. John Bosco
St. John Bosco has been waiting for this game after suffering an upset loss to Orange Lutheran in the first round of the Division 1 playoffs last season. Bosco’s offense has been excellent in its last three games. Maliq Allen ran for 180 yards with 3 touchdowns and had a receiving touchdown. Koa Malau’ulu threw for 225 yards with 2 touchdowns and the offense was aided by the season debut of tackle Elisha Mueller who is one of the top junior offensive linemen in the state. Orange Lutheran dominated Servite last week. Quarterback Reagan Toki completed 14 of 18 passes for 256 yards with 3 touchdowns. Ryan Christianson ran for 144 yards with 4 touchdowns and Raiden Velasquez had 143 yards receiving with 2 scores.
