GAME OF THE WEEK
NO. 9 CYPRESS (1-0) VS. NO. 10 CORONA DEL MAR (1-0)
Where, when: Newport Harbor High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Star quarterbacks mix it up in this battle between two of Orange County’s better public-school football programs. Cypress’ Aidan Houston, an Empire League MVP last year, started his senior year last week by completing 16 of 27 passes for 201 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in a 28-0 win over La Mirada. Bobby Castillo caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Corona del Mar started its season with a 34-23 win over Downey, the team that beat Cypress 40-7 in last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship game. Sea Kings quarterback Kaleb Annett made an excellent debut as the team’s starter. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns thrown to three different receivers. Russell Weir had nine receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown. Corona del Mar will get an even better performance by Annett this week, and the Sea Kings’ great group of linebackers — led by Christian Brooks, who had a team-high 11 tackles last week — will limit how many first-down runs Houston gets this week.
Winner: Corona del Mar
NO. 25 EL DORADO (1-0) VS. NO. 21 LA HABRA (0-1)
Where, when: La Habra High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: El Dorado won last week by a large margin, 49-6 over Valley Christian of Cerritos, and La Habra lost by a large margin, 33-0 to Upland. Were those aberrations or true indicators? This game will reveal plenty about both teams. El Dorado senior quarterback Nate Bento threw three touchdown passes and rushed for 73 yards. Senior defensive back Tanner Fronaberger had a touchdown and recovered a fumble for the Golden Hawks. Little went well for La Habra in the loss to Upland. The Highlanders averaged 2 yards a rush and passed for only 59 yards and turnovers were also a problem. La Habra will be hungry to get this game right, but El Dorado has momentum and might be on its way to a special season.
Winner: El Dorado
ORANGE (1-0) VS. NO. 14 VILLA PARK (1-0)
Where, when: El Modena High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: This matchup has blossomed into a fine rivalry. Orange beat Villa Park in the 2020 spring season. Villa Park beat Orange the past two seasons. Both teams have excellent running backs. Orange senior Ardwon Morris rushed for 295 yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries in the Panthers’ 45-15 win over Pacifica last week. Villa Park senior Carter Christie rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns, including a 71-yard scoring run, in the Spartans’ 37-13 win over Damien in Honolulu two weeks ago. Villa Park did not play last week. Having that week off to rest and prepare for Orange is an advantage.
Winner: Villa Park
NO. 24 HUNTINGTON BEACH (1-0) VS. TRABUCO HILLS (0-0)
Where, when: Trabuco Hills High, Thursday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Huntington Beach might have its best team in a few years. The Oilers opened the season last week with a home win over Mayfair 34-21. Huntington Beach freshman Brady Edmunds (6-5, 210) made an impressive debut as the starting quarterback, throwing for three touchdowns. His 9-of-20 completions-attempts ratio was not great, but no interceptions were thrown so it’s a fine opening effort. A good running attack is a freshman quarterback’s friend. Oilers senior back Tyler Young rushed for 178 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Senior defensive end Bradon Soleau had eight tackles and one of Huntington Beach’s four sacks last week. This is Trabuco Hills’ season opener. The Mustangs have a senior quarterback, Jacob Perry, with sufficient game experience, a good running attack led by Taylor Bowie, and Perry has a reliable target in receiver Ryan Luce. Edmunds will be better than he was last week and the Oilers defense will shine again.
Winner: Huntington Beach
NO. 22 TUSTIN (1-0) VS. NO. 17 FOOTHILL (1-0)
Where, when: Tustin High, Friday, 7 p.m.
Analysis: Tustin looked every bit an Empire League championship contender last week with a 41-14 win over El Toro. Tillers senior receiver Mackenzie Alleyne had touchdown receptions of 34 and 16 yards, a touchdown run of 47 yards and returned a blocked field goal attempt 83 yards for a touchdown. Senior quarterback Jack Stupin completed 13 of 18 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. That’s an unusual amount of throwing for a Tustin football team. Foothill traveled to Santa Barbara for a 31-28 win over Bishop Diego. On the final play of the game, the Knights stuffed a run on third-and-goal at their 1-yard line to preserve the victory. Senior quarterback Nicholas Miali (6-6, 205) completed 21 of 33 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Foothill’s defense will make plays and Miali’s improvement continues in the Knights’ win over their neighborhood rivals.
Winner: Foothill
