A preview and prediction for each of the top football games in Orange County this week. The teams are listed by their ranking in the Orange County Top 25.
GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 8 TUSTIN (8-1, 4-0) VS. NO. 16 CAPISTRANO VALLEY (8-1, 4-0)
Where, when: Saddleback College, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: The championship of the Delta League will be decided in this game at Saddleback College. Tustin throws the football far more than it did when Myron Miller was famously employing the double-wing running attack. Last week was sort of close to old times. Tustin rushed for 247 yards led by Eli Robinson’s 187 yards on 14 carries. Tillers sophomore quarterback Ayden Edwards put the ball in the air 17 times and had two touchdown passes. Tustin opened the season with a win over San Clemente, which beat previously undefeated Los Alamitos last week. Capistrano Valley’s offense is charged by junior quarterback Talon Spencer. Spencer completes 66 percent of his passes for an average of 142 passing yards a game with 21 touchdowns and rushes for 64 yards a game with nine rushing touchdowns. The Cougars’ only loss was to undefeated Crean Lutheran. Tustin’s defense, led by linebackers Taven Epps and Tim Ioane and linemen Jon Ioane and Jeremiah Williams, has the speed and size to limit Spencer’s effectiveness.
Winner: Tustin
NO. 8 CORONA DEL MAR (10-0, 4-0) VS. NO. 13 YORBA LINDA (7-2, 3-1)
Where, when: Yorba Linda High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Corona del Mar is one of four undefeated Orange County football teams. (The others are Calvary Chapel, Crean Lutheran and Laguna Beach.) The Sea Kings kept a zero in the loss column last week with a 47-8 win over Tesoro in the Bravo League. Corona del Mar senior quarterback Brady Annett threw seven touchdown passes, four of them to Garrett James, who had 178 receiving yards. Yorba Linda is tied with San Juan Hills for second place in the Bravo League. (San Juan Hills beat Yorba Linda in their league game.) Yorba Linda is not as good as last year’s team that went 11-2, but it still is a formidable group. The Mustangs beat Edison and their other loss was to Tustin 21-7. Their defense, which includes Vaughn Sharp and Isaiah Trujillo at linebacker, is outstanding. Yorba Linda’s offense might have trouble matching Corona del Mar’s propensity to score touchdown after touchdown.
Winner: Corona del Mar
NO. 3 MATER DEI (6-2, 3-1) VS. ST. JOHN BOSCO (9-0, 4-0)
Where, when: St. John Bosco High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Live coverage: Spectrum Sports 1
Analysis: Usually this is the Game of the Week, and even the Game of the Year. Mater Dei is having an “off” year by its mountain-high standards, so this is not that level of a football game but does remain a big game. The MaxPreps.com national rankings say so, with St. John Bosco at No. 1 and Mater Dei at No. 12. Mater Dei can grab a share of the Trinity League championship if it can beat the Braves. The Monarchs lost to Corona Centennial 43-36 in a nonleague game and to Santa Margarita 7-6 in a league game. St. John Bosco beat Santa Margarita 27-14. St. John Bosco sophomore quarterback Koa Malau’ulu threw three touchdown passes last week in a 42-0 league win over Servite. Mater Dei last week beat JSerra 40-7. The Monarchs rushed for 205 yards, including 64 yards each by Justin Lewis and Aser Nembhard. Standout tight end Mark Bowman did not play, having been banged up in the previous week’s win over Servite. He would be a great offensive asset if able to play against the Braves. Even with Bowman on hand, from the way Mater Dei’s offensive has been out of sync for much of this season, it’s hard to imagine that the Monarchs can keep up with St. John Bosco’s offense that is averaging 44 points a game.
Winner: St. John Bosco
EL TORO (6-3, 4-0) VS. NO. 21 TROY (8-1, 4-0)
Where, when: Fullerton High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: This is the Iota League championship game. Troy has won seven in a row since a 24-21 loss to La Mirada on Aug. 28. El Toro’s losses are to Nevada’s Foothill, Aliso Niguel and Tesoro. El Toro’s offense is led by junior quarterback Wyatt Nucci and senior running back Makya Chee. Nucci has completed 66 percent of his attempts for an average of 224 yards a game with 20 touchdowns. Chee averages 109 rushing yards a game and has 16 rushing touchdowns. Troy’s offense goes as senior running back Ethan Mundt goes. Mundt missed a couple of games because of injury. When he has played, Mundt averages 171 rushing yards a game and has rushed for 18 touchdowns in his seven games. He ran for 185 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s 21-20 win over Irvine. Troy’s defense is good enough to keep the El Toro offense in check. The Warriors’ offense, with Mundt collecting yardage and first downs, will put time of possession very much in Troy’s favor.
Winner: Troy
NO. 5 ORANGE LUTHERAN (2-7, 1-3) VS. NO. 4 SERVITE (5-4, 1-3)
Where, when: Orange Coast College, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: With the HSratings.com data and rankings so important to placing teams into CIF Southern Section playoff divisions, it is very likely that both of these teams will be in CIF-SS Division 1 when the playoff brackets are released Sunday morning. Orange Lutheran actually is 4-5 on the field. The Lancers last week had to forfeit two nonleague wins because they used an ineligible player in those games. Their league win is over JSerra. They lost to St. John Bosco, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita. Servite’s league win is over JSerra, too, and it also lost to St. John Bosco, Mater Dei and Santa Margarita. Servite lost to St. John Bosco 42-0 last week but the good news for the Friars was their offense moving the ball well for much of the game and the return of running back Gavin Gutierrez, who rushed for 67 yards on 18 carries. Servite must be sure to expend as many offensive players as possible to keep Orange Lutheran’s star sophomore defensive end Marcus Fukatou from getting to Friars quarterback Kale Murphy. Servite’s defense, led by Saxon Churchwell, Cinco Kennett and Brando Mosqueda, might have more ways to disrupt its opposing offense.
Winner: Servite
Fryer last week: 5-0
Fryer for the season: 36-14