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. 3 SANTA MARGARITA (4-2 overall, 1-0 league) VS. NO. 1 MATER DEI (4-1, 1-0)
Where, when: Santa Ana Stadium, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Most Santa Margarita-Mater Dei games are high-scoring games. Mater Dei beat Santa Margarita in their Trinity League game last year 40-18. The Monarchs have averaged 46 points a game against the Eagles this decade. Yet this Santa Margarita-Mater Dei game might be a low-scoring one, perhaps with a score similar to the last time Santa Margarita beat Mater Dei in a varsity football game – 17-7 in 2010. Mater Dei scored only seven points in the first half last week against Orange Lutheran and clung to a 10-3 lead going into the fourth quarter before pulling away for a 25-10 win. Monarchs junior linebacker Dailon Clanton had a team-high 10 tackles. Santa Margarita relied on its defense to get last week’s 17-7 league win over Servite. Eagles senior safety Logan Hirou, a UCLA commit, had a team-high 12 tackles. Eagles senior receiver Trent Mosley, who is committed to USC, has missed several games because of a foot injury, and did not play against Servite last week. Mosley, who is a threat to make a big play on any snap, might return to action for this one. Mater Dei receiver Chris Henry, an Ohio State commit, missed some of the Orange Lutheran game because of injury. This one is going to be won by defense. As good as Santa Margarita’s defense is, Mater Dei’s defense should have the most success against the opposition offense.
Winner: Mater Dei
ESTANCIA (5-1, 1-0) VS. CALVARY CHAPEL (6-0, 1-0)
Where, when: Segerstrom High, Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Analysis: It might be too early to hang the “this one is for the league championship” label on any game. This one, though, has the markings of being the game that will decide the Sigma League champ … although Los Amigos and Ocean View are capable of getting there. Estancia, which beat Rancho Alamitos 25-17 in a league opener last week, has a history of good running backs. Estancia senior Jeff Brown is averaging 143 rushing yards a game and 6 yards a carry. Calvary Chapel is one of six undefeated teams in Orange County. (Corona del Mar, Crean Lutheran, Dana Hills, Laguna Beach and Los Alamitos are the others.) Calvary Chapel beat Santa Ana Valley 42-14 in a league opener last week. Sophomore quarterback Colin Wiles threw four touchdown passes. Senior running back Waldo Castrejon rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Calvary Chapel might have more success throwing the football, which could be the difference.
Winner: Calvary Chapel
NO. 11 YORBA LINDA (5-1, 1-0) VS. NO. 12 SAN JUAN HILLS (4-2, 0-1)
Where, when: San Juan Hills High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: This game had a “league championship game” look to it a few weeks ago. Corona del Mar upset that apple cart with its impressive 33-10 win over San Juan Hills last week, the first week of Bravo League play. This still is an outstanding matchup. Yorba Linda’s loss was to Tustin 21-7. Put that mostly on Tustin playing a great game. San Juan Hills’ other loss was in Texas to Rockwall-Heath, which according to HSratings.com is the best team on the San Juan Hills schedule. Yorba Linda used two quarterbacks, junior Colin O’Connor and Noah Trujillo, in their 28-7 league-opening win last week. Yorba Linda rushed for 245 yards. Turnovers are not in the San Juan Hills DNA, but they contributed mightily to the Stallions’ loss to Corona del Mar. Senior quarterback Timmy Herr went into that game with two interceptions over the first five games. He threw two interceptions in the Corona del Mar game. Look for him to fix that and have the sort of great performance he usually delivers.
Winner: San Juan Hills
NO. 18 HUNTINGTON BEACH (5-1, 1-0) VS. NO. 15 LA HABRA (5-1, 1-0)
Where, when: La Habra High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Crean Lutheran appears to be the best team in the Epsilon League. The No. 2 team is either of these two teams. Huntington Beach is oh-so-close to being 6-0, with the Oilers’ one loss to Trabuco Hills 20-19. The Oilers have a terrific quarterback-receiver combination in Ohio State-committed junior quarterback Brady Edmunds and senior receiver Troy Foster. Edmunds (6-5, 220) has completed 73 percent of his passes for 1,594 yards and 21 touchdowns with only one interception. Eleven of his touchdown passes have gone to Foster, who averages 142 receiving yards a game and 21 yards a reception. Dylin Bruce and Steele Kurtz also are frequent receiving targets for Huntington Beach. La Habra opened league with a 42-3 win over El Dorado last week. Junior quarterback DJ Mitchell passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns and ran for a touchdown. Junior receiver Bryce Vasquez had 10 receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Edmunds and Foster won’t produce the gaudy stats of last week, but they will be the impact players in a Huntington Beach win.
Winner: Huntington Beach
NO. 7 JSERRA (3-3, 0-1) VS. NO. 5 SERVITE (4-2, 0-1)
Where, when: Cerritos College, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Here are two Trinity League teams very much in need of a win. The top three finishers in a six-team league like the Trinity League get guaranteed entry into the playoffs. The other three have to hope to get into the playoffs as an at-large team. Having a .500-or-better record is critical for at-large candidacy, although sub-.500 teams can get in. JSerra lost to St. John Bosco last week 70-21. JSerra’s other losses are to 5-1 Damien and 6-0 Sierra Canyon. JSerra’s best player might be senior linebacker Rocco Tompkins, who is averaging 16 tackles a game. Servite lost to Santa Margarita 17-7 last week. The Friars had trouble getting going offensively, but their defense was fine. Servite’s defense will be good again in this game.
Winner: Servite
Fryer last week: 3-2
Fryer for the season: 23-12